Milan Bennett (Sr.); PK – Mount St. Michael Academy Mountaineers
Borrowing and adapting the cliche, “It takes a village to raise a child”…
In the Bronx, it takes a “specialist” in order to pitch repeated shutouts!
The Mountaineers now unscored upon in their last three trips to the gridiron; a lot of the great deservedly ought to be extended to the formal members of the D-Unit!
However, what should not be getting cast aside or undervalued is the unheralded mastery being showcased by MSMA’s senior placekicker [Bennett]!!
His booming leg acting as a “12th man”; the 5’9, 160-pound hometown kid has become the consummate dictator of opposing starting field position!
A soccer/futbol star by trade who is on loan to the football team; Bennett has taken on wizard like powers in his ability to bury opposing teams by spotting the pigskin inside their own 10-yard line on almost every kickoff he attempts!
Going a perfect 6-for-6 in this regard during week #6’s 47-0 blanking of Christ the King; over the course of the past two weeks (also factoring in an identical 47-0 goose-egging the prior week vs. Nazareth); the #82 shirt has now hit the mark on nine of his last 10 KOs!
That “lethal limb” in no way a “one-trick pony”; another aspect of Bennett’s skill set that has gone unrecognized thus far has been the consistency he has exhibited all year on his PAT tries; as his 5/6 resume on October 10th (4-for-5 in wk #5) improved his fall abstract to an impressive 20-for-22!
All in all, in his two-year varsity career, he has now connected on 40/44 point after tries! And when the mission is “Championship weekend berths”; you can never overestimate the importance of those 1pt add-ons!
This being his introduction to NYCHSFL accolades; Bennett is the rare “exclusive” specialist to garner this honor; as the last time we call it occurring was back in week #5 of the 2024 season….And the man to do it before him [Justin Jones] later went on to be named as the STPOY in 2025!
Max Bucci (Sr.); OL/DL – Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders
Just call this man, “Bisquick” Bucci; because when #55 throws around that 6’4, 240-pound frame from his center spot in the trenches; PANCAKES GALORE are the end result!!
Routinely dominating his match-ups and getting to the second level on blocks as the ultimately road-grading facilitator for a Stepinac ground attack that is averaging 252 yards (1,767) and 2.4 TDs (17 in total) per outing this season…
The inhabitant of Brewster dished out some “extra helpings” of beatdown during a Saturday trip to Mineola that produced a 28-23 victory against Chaminade that snapped a three-game skid in the rivalry (including the 2025 AAA quarterfinals)!
His presence felt on every big run churned out by the Crusaders’ two-headed RB machine comprised of Nahum Pierre (255 yards/2 TDs on 28 carries) & Ronnell Chambers (125 yards and 1 score from 12 handoffs); with Bucci literally paving the way; the squad from White Plains was able to amass a mind-blowing 397 yards (second highest of the fall) rushing while equally their season-best of four land TDs!
With STEP already out to a 14-0 lead in the last 6:00 of the 1st half; the perfect example of Bucci’s knack for blowing up enemy defenders came when on tape you can with total certainly see him drive a Flyer DB to the right; thus creating a hole for Chambers to sprint 45 yards untouched to paydirt to triple the margin to 21-0!
Bucci, who was named to LoHud Super 11 during the preseason, is now a first-time NYCHSFL POTW selection!
And those who have loyally read our write-ups for the last decade-plus already know how much we relish the privilege of shining a spotlight on the unsung heroes that undertake the grueling, but necessary battles along the line of scrimmage!
Charles Costanzo (Jr.); LB – Monsignor Farrell Lions
Recognized for the second time in a span of four weeks; the way his junior campaign has been playing out; it won’t be long before we start seeing pictures of the 6’2, 235-pound linebacker posted on benches and busses…Because he is a “real estate agent/property developer” who seems to own all of the territory in opposing offensive backfields!
Presently ranked #1 throughout the entire Empire State (per MaxPreps) in the categories of sacks (9) and tackles for losses (18) following another monster effort that yielded a Lions’ 56-14 triumph over defending AA-1 champs, Xavier; it is no small feat to say that Costanzo might have put forth his finest individual performance yet in holding a vaunted Knight attack that entered week #6 averaging just short of 30ppg (29.4) to their lowest sum of the fall thus far (misleading since both of XR’s scores came either directly from or were set up by long kickoff returns)!
Credited with a stat line that read as: 11 total stops (two shy of his personal-best), five TFLs (career-high), and a pair of sacks; it is no longer a question of “if”, but rather “when” the beast in the #0 jersey will surpass the 75-tackle standard he established for himself as a sophomore in 2025. He presently sits second among all Triple-A personnel with 58 and still has the remainder of the regular season and an expected deep postseason run to utterly smash his previous mark!
His presence evident from the very first defensive snap of the evening in Staten Island; it was Costanzo feeding off of the momentum of a Farrell touchdown on their opening series when he shot into the backfield to stuff a Knight ball carrier!
Steadily inflicting pain all night; with MF holding a 35-7 cushion late in the 1st half; it would be Costanzo single-handedly keeping that margin intact when he halted a Xavier march into the red zone by notching both of his QB bags; including one that resulted in an intentional grounding call being made against the opposing QB on 4th & Long to earn the turnover on downs!!
No rest for the “wicked”; Costanzo recharged during halftime and then immediately went back to work, as it was his clobbering for a loss of a XR RB on 3rd down that left the Knights with no other choice than to punt on their initial possession of the 2nd half!
It may have been Senior Night on Amboy Road; but the occasion belonged to an 11th grader! And our gut tells us we are far from done celebrating him in our write-ups!
Not overlooked in an explosive collective display by the Farrell offense would be the breakout body of work put forth by Junior tailback, Luca Bruno, who recorded the first century-mark game of his career (135) and accounted for three of MF’s seven ground scores!
Finn Hastings (Jr.); WR/PK – Kellenberg Memorial Firebirds
His towering 6’5 frame making him visible under any circumstances; on October 10th, it was the size of the Floral Park resident’s talent that was impossible to ignore during the Firebirds’ 38-27 conquest on the road against St. John the Baptist!
Registering personal-bests across the board in all receiving categories; Hastings would haul in five passes for 123 yards (first 100-game effort), and one touchdown to propel Kellenberg Memorial to their third win in the past four weeks!
Two of these grabs occurring during a successful opening drive for the Blue & Gold; it was the #10 shirt moving the chains on two separate occasions behind catches of 14 and 32 yards (from his own 41 to the opposing 27) as a precursor to Quinn Saccheri’s (61 yards and two TDs on 11 hand-offs) 5-yard TD trek that broke the ice and gave KMHS the early 7-0 lead!
A defensive stand by the ‘bird defense giving them excellent starting field position on their second possession of the afternoon; Hastings almost laid the track for a second time in as many marches when his 14-yard snatch moved the pigskin inside the Cougar red zone (7-yard line)…Unfortunately, an ill-timed fumble would halt the series prematurely!
The scoreboard now reading 14-7 in favor of the guests from Uniondale in the 2Q; it was the “Skyscraper” answering an SJB TD and restoring the two-score margin when he made a leaping catch on a 21-yard sniper throw from Brayden Farrelly (12-for-17, 201 yards, 1 TD) for the lone aerial strike of the game for Kellenberg!
The trading of touchdowns in the second stanza continuing; after John the Baptist had a KO return to trim the deficit to 21-14; it was Hastings responding yet again when he took a WR screen 37 yards (own 39 to opposing 24) as a prelude to Farrelly’s 5-yard keeper moments later to make it a 28-14 cushion with 4:54 to go before halftime!
Hastings’ rock steady mitts [hands] being the stars of the show in ruining SJB’s homecoming weekend; it turns out he is quite adept with his foot to boot [pun intended], as he’d go an immaculate 6/6 on kick tries (5/5 PATs); highlighted by a 20-yard field goal at the onset of the 4Q that for all purposes iced the dub by making it a 38-20 gap!
Capitalizing off of his exceptional display last Saturday; Hastings raised his seasonal output to 12 receptions (3rd on the team) for 246 yards (2nd), and 3 TDs (tied for 1st)!….He also remains perfect with his “golden shoe”, with a 25-for-25 vitae on point after attempts!
He is making his first appearance as a Metro Catholic Player of the Week recipient!
Bobby Murray (So.); DT – Fordham Prep Rams
240-pounds and only a sophomore; Bobby Murray is going to be a name we read about for years to come!
A present-day contributor, but no doubt a future anchor in the middle of the DL; the Larchmont resident gave us a preview of what is to come in helping host, Fordham Prep, emerge as 23-13 victors under the Friday night lights against St. Francis Prep in a battle of “Rams vs. Pooches”
The proverbial “landlord” that spent the entirety of the evening surveying the Terrier offensive backfield; Big #65 looked the part of a modern-day Elvin Bethea, as he racked up single-game bests of THREE sacks and 5.5 tackles for negative yardage as part of a unified smothering by the FP defense that witnessed them allow only 234 yards of total production!
The first of his QB trifecta occurring on the “Dog’s” first series of the contest; he’d be in the middle of a gang tackle on 1st down for a 5-yard loss that buried SFP and ultimately forced them to punt!
Fast-forwarding to late in the 2Q (a little over 2:00 remaining before intermission) with Fordham Prep enjoying a 14-7 advantage; it would be Murray doing his part on back-to-back run stuffs on 1st and 2nd downs to keep Francis Prep pinned in their own zone in what later yielded a safety (rather than risk a punt block; the kicker elected to step out of the end zone) to increase the lead to 16-7!
The differential bumped to 23-7; Murray heard his number called again on the last snap of the 3rd quarter when he wrapped up the opposing signal caller for a 3-yard loss to create a 4th & 7 scenario from which the foes from Fresh Meadows would be unable to convert (incomplete pass on the ensuing snap generated a T.O.D.)!
While one sophomore [Murray] was bringing the “BOOM” on “D”; it was another 10th grader sparking the offense, as Vincent Dipasquale (14-for-21, 231 yards) connected with three different receivers for his three total touchdown passes to have a hand in all of the Rams’ trips to the promised land!
Murray is making his POTW debut today!
Caleb Rivera (Jr.); WR/LB – Holy Cross Knights
A human highlight reel on Sunday during the Knights 33-6 triumph over Kennedy Catholic; the 170-pound two-way player hailing from Crown Heights was more involved on the defensive side of the ball; but yet, all the pundits could talk about on Monday morning at the water cooler would be his two explosive exhibits on offense!!
Getting just two total touches as the starting wideout for Holy Cross; the #20 jersey capitalized to the fullest on each instance as he established a single-game best of 149 receiving yards while matching his career-high of two TD hauls!
The 2x returning AA-2 runners-up already out to a 12-0 edge; it was Rivera notching the first of his aforementioned two scores when he found himself on the back end of a 65-yard, over-the-shoulder “dime” courtesy of Madden Martinez to increase the margin to 20-0 less than 2:00 into the 2nd quarter!
The scoreboard unchanged (still 20-0) as the two squads approached the waning ticks before halftime; Rivera’s day went from great to exceptional when in the midst of a wild scramble from Martinez; the ball was dumped off to him on his own 35 and he proceeded to out-race the entire Gael secondary for the next 65 yards to conclude an 84-yard house call to make it a 27-0 affair with exactly 1:00 to go before intermission!!!
His offensive exploits no doubt stealing the show and commanding headlines…
The incumbent All-Catholic defender would not rest on his “O” laurels; as he’d instead maintained that same elite motor/intensity at linebacker to the tune of posting a team-leading 11 stops (9 solo, 2 assisted) en route to also matching his previous personal-top mark (originally set in a week #2 loss to St. Francis Prep)!
With three regular season games to be contested, as well as a likely multi-weekend playoff run; there is every reason to foresee Rivera surpassing his previous offensive vitae from a season ago…He only needs 15 more grabs, 127 additional yards, and two TD hauls to establish new personal seasonal records!
From the defensive side of the line; 44 subsequent stops, 2 TFL, and a pair of sacks are also VERY attainable goals!
Now a two-time POTW recipient in his varsity tenure; Rivera was honored prior during week #9 of his sophomore campaign!