IT’S A SHORE ROAD REPEAT!!!!
Congratulations to the Clippers of Xaverian High School on hoisting the Double-A-2 hardware for the second straight year following a 21-8 victory over their rivals from Flushing, Holy Cross!
A rematch of the 2024 finals (won 14-6 by Xaverian); the second-seeded squad played inspired football on Saturday morning for a cause greater than just their own satisfaction….
Dedicating the victory to Coach, Maurice Jones, who passed away in late-September; the Clippers were dominant on both sides of the ball….
Drawing first blood with 5:19 to go in the opening quarter, it would be a 20-yard run by senior field general, Terrence Watson, complemented immediately by a 13-yard TD trek (his 12th of the year) from junior tailback, Richie Aiken, that put the #2 seeds up, 7-0!!
Prior to big runs on back-to-back snaps; it was the Jaydon Salomon creating a turnover when he erased what would have been a 24-yard connection to the XVN 35 by delivering a brutal hit that forced the ball out of the hands of Knight sophomore, Caleb Rivera…Giacomo Tarasco scooped up the pigskin and returned it to the opposing 40 yard line!!
Salomon, who garnered Defensive Most Valuable Player honors, came up clutch yet again on the ensuing possession for Holy Cross, as it was his pass break-ups in the end zone on 4th & 6th that yielded a turnover on downs….HC senior RB, Antoine Williams had his 14-yard touchdown sprint negated by a penalty moments earlier…
The top-seeds from Queens would not lay dormant forever though, as they’d take their first and only lead (8-7) of the finale with 5:16 remaining before halftime when aided by multiple long runs by Wiliams, it was 11th grade signal caller, Madden Martinez, plunging over the line on a 1-yard keeper for his team-high sixth rushing score of the fall….Martinez then faked an end-around before tossing a successful 2pt conversion pass to Ricardo Franco!!
But alas, Xaverian refused to be denied, as they wasted little time at all in vaulting themselves back on top…
Inheriting excellent starting field position on their next possession after a Christian LaRocca KO return to their 45, multiple double-digit runs from AIken acted as a catalyst for Watson’s eventual 4-yard score in the last half-minute prior to the intermission!!
Holy Cross mounted an attempt at striking back before the break, as hook-ups for 13 and 10 yards to Kenneth Brassfield-Dailey and Franco moved them to within the Clipper 30; but the clock would expire to send the teams into the locker rooms with Xaverian holding a 14-8 edge!!!
“Defense” being the theme of the final 24 minutes of action, both sidelines had repeated chances at putting points on the board during the 3rd quarter; but time and time again, it would be a “bend, don’t break” mentality to keep the score unchanged…
On the first series of the 2nd half, LaRocca hauled in a 38-yard pass that advanced the ball to the HC 29; but it was Brassfield-Dailey ripping it loose on a continuation of the sequence for a fumble recovery…
When the Knights took their initial turn with control of the ball in 3Q; Aiken spoiled it by registering a pass break-up on 3rd & 2 that forced them to kick it away….
A series of Watson runs (12, 22, 12, 8) propelled Xaverian inside the HC 14; but the try at tacking on some insurance was halted by a [Caleb] Rivera hit on Aiken that resulted in a fumble recovery on the Knight 11 with 4:29 to go in the 3Q!
A combo sack from Marco Wilen and Christopher Pepe on 3rd down quelled Holy Cross’s next march…
FINALLY, the Clipper offense regained its groove when less than 3:00 into the final stanza (4th quarter), it was Watson hurling a 41-yard, on the money homerun pass to LaRocca for the latter’s ninth touchdown grab of 2025 for a back-breaker that made it a 21-8 affair with 9:13 on the clock!!
Not going down gently, Holy Cross would mount a last-ditch attempt at keeping their titles hopes alive, as multiple receptions from Franco (including a 5-yarder to move the sticks on 4th &5), as well as a 17-yard scramble from Martinez (one snap earlier on 3rd & 22) put the “Green Machine” inside the enemy 24…
But Xaverian stood tall yet again, as Aiden Flood (who earlier in the drive induced an intentional grounding call) sniffed out a screen-pass and made a tackle for no gain to bring up 2nd & 10…Pepe had a run stuff to bring up 3rd & long…And then after an illegal throw (crossed the line of scrimmage before releasing the ball) created a 4th & 15 scenario, it was Andrew Lepore, jarring a Franco grab loose with the pigskin going out of bounds short of the maker to induce the T.O.D. with just over 4:00 separating the Cloppers from the dogpile celebration!!
Watson, whose pair of TD contributions rightfully earned him Offensive MVP distinction, and Aiken each exploded for huge runs down the stretch to allow Xaverian to exhaust the waning clock and inevitably transition to victory formation!!!
The triumph on Saturday capping off an 8-4 campaign; Head Coach, Dominick Aluotto, will forever remember the year in which he kept his alma mater at the top of the mountain in his first-year at the helm!!