Abdiel Capellan (Jr.); DB – Mount St. Michael Academy Mountaineers
Proving an immediate spark for the Mountaineers in their 36-0 win over Cardinal Spellman this past Friday night…
It was the 5’8, 145-pound defensive back out of the Bronx [Capellan] picking off a pass on the opposing 20-yard line on just the second snap from scrimmage to set the Mount up with ideal starting field position for their initial drive….
The first INT in the career of the 11th grader; his turnover producing heroism was laid the tracks for Week #3 POTW selection, Victor Declet (68 yards and 1 TD on nine handoffs) to sprint in from 11-yards away shortly after to put MSMA in front, 7-0, less than 2:00 into the opening quarter!
Adding three cumulative stops to fall just one short of typing his all-time best (week #2 versus Xavierian); the now first-time Player of the Week honoree was a key component in helping MSMA pitch their first shutout since the eighth week of the 2025 season!
Capellan raised his fall stat line to 13 total stops (6 solo), Two TFLs, and of course the well-timed INT on September 25th!
The pundits are “talking titles” on Murdock Avenue; and the stellar and reliable efforts of individuals like #14 is why there is extreme optimism for a program that last hoisted hardware in 2023!
Lake Chiesi (Sr.); WR/DB – Fordham Prep Rams
Making his second career appearance on the POTW list (previously in week #7 of the 2025 campaign); the 6’0, 190-pound senior from the Big Apple “understood the assignment” in last Friday’s weather-plagued 13-6 victory on the road over St. John the Baptist!
The conditions setting the stage for what was going to be a defensive battle all evening; it was the returning All-League wide receiver that succeeded in actually being the most impactful/influential member of the Rams’ “D-Unit” in holding a Cougars squad that entered undefeated and averaging 39 points per game to single digits on the scoreboard!
Responsible for initiating/creating multiple turnovers as part of the collective stymying effort delivered by FP; the Honor Roll student-athlete emerged by posting a personal-best of 11 total stops, while also adding what was believed to be his first career INT!
His commitment to lock down defense evident from the get-go, on SJB’s first possession of the game; Chiesi made back-to-back tackles on 3rd and 4th downs to halt the drive at his own 42 and induce the T.O.D. that kept the Rams in front, 6-0, with approximately 4:00 to go in the opening quarter!
Offensively, Chiesi would also make a contribution as he accrued 29 yards of total production (3 runs for 15 yards, 1 reception for 14), including a much-needed catch in the last 2:00 of the 2nd quarter that advanced the ball from the FP 37 to the SJB 49 as a precursor to Luke McKay’s (47 yards rushing on 15 carries; 83 yards receiving on three grabs) 49-yard haul on the ensuing play to answer a Cougar TD and restore the Rams’ lead to 13-6!
His highlight reel play though being the aforementioned interception; on John the Baptist’s last attempt to even the score before intermission, it was Chiesi making a one-armed over the should snatch on his own 47 before then returning the pigskin to the rival 20 (pushed back to the 35 because of an illegal block penalty)!
His versatility a cherished asset for FP (121 yards rushing, 159 yards receiving, 3 total offensive TDs; 23 stops on D, 1 pick); there is no question that through the first five weeks of the year; Chiesi has been one of the top two-way performers in all of the Metro Catholic League!
Jake Price (Sr.); QB – Xaverian Clippers
No crown; no sash; no scepter…But there is little doubt that the 6’4, 190-pound senior field general was the unofficial HOCO King last weekend on the Xaverian campus!
Registering the absolute “dream performance” on a night that will forever be locked in his memory bank (final homecoming stays with you infinitely); it was the “stylin’, profilin’, limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin’ and dealin’, gunslinging stud donning the #5 jersey registering a performance for the ages in vaulting the 2x Double-A titlist Clippers to a crowd-pleasing 42-0 victory over the boys of Somers, the Kennedy Catholic Gaels!!
Outstanding in every game he has played thus far as the successor to 2x All-State recognized/2024 3rd Team selection, Terrence Watson; the Rockaway Beach resident has been referenced several times already this fall in the write-ups for his teammates; but week #4 marks his arrival as the featured/spotlighted gem!!
Accounting for multiple touchdowns in three of four games this season for the still unbeaten cohort from Brooklyn; Price would establish a new single-game record on November 25th when he collected a perfectly balanced four cumulative scores (two via his arm; a pair coming by way of his legs) despite only playing three quarters!
Still riding the wave of adrenaline from the 16-for-22, 280-yard exhibit he put forth one week prior in a victory over Mount St. Michael Academy; his numbers may not have been as gaudy last Friday; but they were every bit (if not more so) as efficient and lethal!!!
Connecting on six of nine aerial attempts for 126 yards and the already cited two TD tosses; it was actually his other limbs that were the culprits in generating 2/3s of his three touchdowns during the opening 24 minutes of action!
Drawing initial blood on a keeper to the house that gave Xaverian the 7-0 lead in the 1st quarter; he’d later plunged in from 1-yard out with 3:27 remaining before halftime to increase the margin to 21-0!
That cushion expanding to 28-0 in the last :30 of the 2nd quarter; Price found Richie Aiken (129 yards and one rushing TD on six handoffs; 45 yards +1 score on two catches) on a work of art 37-yard screen pass that the latter took to the promised land for his second “6” of the evening (previously bolted 86 yards to make it a 14-0 affair)!!
Before departing, he made certain to foster one more keepsake when he played pitch-and-catch with top WR, Christian LaRocca (3 catches for 66 yards, 1 TD), in the 3Q to further pull away (35-0)!
Quite the claim/argument for Riverso Offensive POY consideration being made during these first four outings by Price; he now has amassed 10 TDs (six in the air, four on land) as part of a seasonal body of work that has witnessed him enjoy a 62.3% completion rate (38-of-61) to the sweet tune of 661 yards!
The now first-time Metro Catholic Player of the Week patron presently ranks 2nd and 3rd respectively among AA-1 quarterbacks in TDs passes and throwing yardage!
When the Clippers made the leap up to the higher/deeper division in 2026; we’re not sure if many of the insiders had them on the bingo card as hardware favorites; but with Price not “skipping a beat”; all of a sudden, a NYCHSFL three-peat in November seems abundantly feasible!
Mamadee Sangaray (Sr.); WR/DB – Iona Prep Gaels
Displaying the form that made him the 2025 O’Connor Defensive Player of the Year recipient, as well as an early favorite to repeat the feat as a senior for the 2x Defending League and CHSAA State Champion Gaels…
The 2x returning All-Catholic/1st-Team All-State selection committed to Boston College repeatedly applied a licking and then kept on ticking in Iona Prep’s 24-9 victory over Monsignor Farrell in the much-anticipated rematch of last fall’s Triple-A Metro title contest!!
His prowess as a ballhawk well-established and pronounced during his 2.5 seasons as a returning Rover/Free safety in New Rochelle; the #9 shirt was in more of a “laying hats” mood, as Sangaray set what is believed to be a single-game personal-high of 14 total tackles (12 of which came as a soloist) to spearhead/anchor a 2nd half shutout for the Gaels (trailed 9-7 at the break) that enabled him to prevail in the battle of the #1 and #2 ranked programs in the Evil Empire!!
Absolutely fitting that he last act under the Friday Night lights came in a clinching fashion; it was the future Eagle parking himself under a desperation Hail Mary toss for the interception near the goal line in the 4Q that ended the visiting Lions’ opportunity to keep suspense alive!
Earning his third career POTW accolade; Sangaray has notched the milestone for a third consecutive season, as he made his debut in week #4 of his sophomore year and then reappeared in 2025 when he garnered Defensive MVP acclaim following the NY Catholic HS State title triumph over St. Francis (Hamburg)!
The breadth of his athleticism once compared in the past to former IP standout/projected 2027 NFL 1st round Draft prospect, Ellis Robinson IV; Sangaray continues to provide evidence of why such praise was warranted!
Peter Tronolone (Sr.); QB – St. Joseph’s By the Sea Vikings
“Week #2 may mark his debut on the POTW list; but there is no doubt we have not seen the last of him on the decorated scrolls!!”…
Those were the words we used just two weeks ago when writing about the 6’2, 175-pound senior desperado; and he certainly did not make us wait long before turning us prophetic!
Amassing a career-topping 387 yards of total offensive production in a “seismic shocking” 34-23 victory against perennial Triple-A title contender, Archbishop Stepinac; it was Tronolone willing the Vikings to their first victory over the Crusaders since 2012, as well as logging a victory over a AAA classified nemesis for a second consecutive year (defeated Kellenberg Memorial in 2025)!!
Clinical and/or precise in carving up his hosts from White Plains on September 25th; the Staten Island virtuoso came just a mere three yards short of tying his single-game career-high for passing yards (341) set in week #2 when he recorded a surgical 21-for-25, 338yrd effort in ravaging a respected Stepinac defensive backfield!
Doing everything he wanted in the air minus being credited with a TD hurl; Tronolone would complement his extraordinary day with his arm by simultaneously registering a breakout performance on the ground, as he trekked for an additional 49 yards (2 TDs) on 10 keepers to come just 15 yards shy of matching his high mark in this capacity!
When combining these two feats; it need not be said that he played his finest game against one of the toughest adversaries on paper; and that ability to rise to the occasion and shine brightest under the most intense levels of pressure cannot be taught; it comes from within the soul of a true competitor!!
Locked in from the very first whistle of the evening; on St. Joe’s By the Sea’s opening series; Tronolone would hit on a perfect 5-for-5 in via the sky (59 yards), including a 31-yard strike over the middle to Arthur McCarthy to the opposing 10) before calling his own number on the 10-yard scramble to immediately give SJS a 7-0 lead 4:10 into the 1st quarter!!
His team now trailing 14-7; it was the #4 jersey rallying the troops just before the break when completions of 10 (McCarthy) and 15 (Nicholas Laona) put the Vikings in business on the STEP 15…Moran later threw a “money” halfback pass to Laona to square the contest at 14-14 with 1:10 to go before halftime!
Responding to a Crusader field goal at the early stages of the 2nd half to make create a 17-14 deficit; it was a 37-yard hook up to McCarthy that moved the ball across midfield from the SJS 21 to the opposing 42 that paved the way for Moran’s eventual 4-yard TD run to put the Hylan Blvd. Posse back in front, 21-17, with 3:12 remaining in 3Q!
An interception by John Kournidakis establishing ideal starting field position (STEP 46) for SJS’s next march; a pair of 10-yard connections to Laona and McCarthy was coupled by Tronolone’s longest run of the evening (20 yards) to put Joe’s inside the red zone and lay the tracks for Moran to barrel his way across the goal line on another 4-yarder to increase the cushion to 28-17 with just over 10:00 remaining in regulation!
A Stepinac TD keeping things interesting (28-23 with just about 8:00 to go in the 4th); the unflappable Tronolone issued the ultimate death blow/nail in the coffin when just moments after finding McCarthy on a 47-yard bomb (to the STEP 27) and aided by a big run from Moran; it was the commander of the offense rolling out on the bootleg and then dancing in from about 4 yards out to cap off his exceptional display with a second TD keeper in the waning 1:45 of the showdown!
Not lost in the excitement of their QBs valor would be the equally necessary resumes posted by McCarthy (10 receptions for 154 yards), Laona (5 grabs for 81 yards, 1 TD snatch), and Moran (94 yards and two scores courtesy of 29 carries; 97 yards receiving via three receptions)!!
Upping his remarkable swan song stat sheet to 1,295 yards (74-for-122; 60.7%) with nine touchdown tosses; Tronolone presently sits atop the entire Metro Catholic league (regardless of division) in both categories!!
Two Player of the Week distinctions under his belt in a span of three weeks; again we say that we have not seen the last of him on this list in 2026!