Josiah Kueviakoe (Sr.); LB – St. Francis Prep Terriers
A definitive Defensive Player of the Year favorite as we approach the final few weeks of the regular season; there is NO ONE in all of the entire Empire State has applied more proverbial “lickings” to opponents this season than the “Dog” in the #7 jersey for St. Francis Prep!!!
Boasting a STATE-BEST 92 tackles in 2024, while being tied for 3rd in NYS with seven sacks, the Uniondale resident packs a punch considerably bigger than his 6’1, 168-pound frame!!
A hybrid/Rover safety who is listed as a linebacker within the SFP defensive scheme, Kueviakoe attacks on the gridiron like he is a Walmart cashier at the holidays….NO WEEKENDS OFF; All-out energy!!!
Amassing no fewer than six stops in any one appearance as a senior, Kueviakoe flies to the ball with ease, lives in the enemy backfield, and is proficient at finishing when he gets his opportunities to wallop any/all nemesis personnel…
Having already posted outings of 15, 11, 13, and 17 (career-high) tackles during weeks 0 (St. John the Baptist), 1 (Xaverian), 3 (Holy Trinity), and 4 (Moore Catholic), the anchor of Francis Prep front-7 put forth his most complete/universal showing on October 20th when established a new single-day high for TFLs with 4; tied his career-best of 2 sacks; and stockpiled 15 total stops as part of a statement-making 34-7 road conquest over defending AA-1 champs, Mount St. Michael Academy!!!
Pitted against a dynamic and quick-scoring Mountaineer offense that entered week #7 averaging 38.1 ppg and having not scored less than 32 in any game this fall, the individual heroics of Kueviakoe, coupled with the ferocity of his fellow “mutts” on the defensive side of the ball achieved the once unthinkable, as they limited MSMA to just 7 points during the 48-minute Saturday afternoon affair…
His play-making translating into changes of possession, with SFP already up 2-0, he’d stiff out a screen pass on 3rd & long and make the stop for negative yardage to force a punt with 2:34 to go in the opening quarter…
The Terrier advantage having grown to 21-0, he induced another punt during the Mount’s first drive of the 2nd half, as he blitzed off the edge and then relied on his persistence to drag down the QB for a sack…
On SFP’s next defensive stand, he’d again bag the QB on third down to thwart a second straight MSMA possession…
Today marking his introduction to the POTW list; Kueviakoe no doubt is eyeing November 1st on the calendar, as the Terriers will battle triple-A opponent, Kellenberg Memorial, in his backyard at the Mitchel Athletic Complex…
A strong resume versus a AAA opponent will only further aid his cause for DPOY consideration!!!
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Bryce Moye (Fr.); QB – Monsignor Farrell Lions
The first freshman this season to have POTW acclaim bestowed upon himself, the 6’1, 180-pound diaper dandy [Moye] performed at such a high level in the Lions’ 24-14 comeback victory over Archbishop Stepinac, that one to has wonder if a “Lou Gehrig/Wally Pipp” situation might be developing on Amboy Road between him and starter/Week #0 Week POTW, Ryan Walsh!!!
Inheriting a 14-0 deficit when he took over the reins of the Maroon & Gold offense, the “Fab Frosh” displayed maturity and poise well beyond his chronological age, as he’d connect on 11 of 14 aerial attempts for 121 yards + 1 TD pass; while also using his legs to tack on additional 25 yards and another TD as part of the 24-unanswered point rally on the road last Saturday afternoon!!
His impact on reversing the fortune of the Lions immediate; after scrambling for a 1st down on a 3rd & 7 earlier in the series, Moye culminated his first drive of the afternoon with a 1-yard TD keeper up the middle to cut the deficit to 14-7 in the last 1:00 of the opening half!!
Blessed with a knack/gift for moving the chains in less-than-ideal circumstances, Moye picked up right where he left during the initial series of 3Q, as he’d hit Gianni Pasquolone (5 grabs for 46 yards) for 11yrds on a 3rd & 6 to move the ball to the MF 40; found Aiden Pedreros (3 receptions for 26 yards, 1 TD snatch) on a 10yrd throwback pass over the middle on 3rd &7 (advanced the ball to the Crusader 36); and hurled a 29-yard bullet (on 4th &6) to Alex Ustun as a precursor to Nafis Muhammad’s (93 yards, 1 TD on 25 hand-offs) 3-yard punch-in that evened the game at 14 all with 3:47 to go in the third stanza…
An INT return to the AS 25 by Rocco Del Giorno giving Farrell the ball back a little over 1:00 later, Moye hooked up with his twin brother, Braxton (3 catches for 28 yards), on a 19-yard completion to put the ball on the Stepinac 7 to set up an eventual successful 22-yard FG boot from Jake Burrowes to hand the visitors from Staten Island their first lead of the day, 17-14, with 0:31 remaining in the 3rd quarter…
Clearly no moment too big for him; Moye iced the game when on 4th & goal from the 4, he utilized a 4-yard finesse drop off into the waiting arms of Pedreros for his first career TD pass in the final 1:53 of the 4th quarter to close out the collective claw back effort!!
With two award-winning signal callers from which he can choose, it will be interesting to see whom gets the call from HC, Rocco Del Priore, when MF hosts 3x returning AA-1 runners-ups, Moore Catholic, under the Friday Night lights on the 25th!!
Aahmari Rogers (So.); CB – Cardinal Hayes Cardinals
Making only the third start of his scholastic career this past Sunday, the 5’10, 165-pounder out of Yonkers [Rogers] was the best version of himself on a day where the Defending AAA League and CHSAA State champion Cardinals needed it!!
His squad traveling to Mineola to go mano-a-mano with the Flyers of Chaminade in a preview of what could be a future semifinal match-up (if the standings hold up), neither side was able to get much going when they had control of the ball, as the respective “D” units on both sidelines were to be commended!!
The Cardinals never trailing, but certainly being made to sweat it out as their Long Island hosts came close on a few occasions to breaking through with a go-ahead score, one of the main reasons why the Maroon & Gold machine was able to escape with a 16-14 victory was the stellar and consistent performance delivered by the 10th grader in the #28 shirt!!
Credited with a season-high/career-best of eight cumulative stops (5 solo, 3 assisted), Rogers most certainly did not shy away from contact, as he willingly engaged and sacrificed his body on countless occasions to counteract a CHS gameplay that incorporated a lot of short passes and heavy hoses of hand-offs!!!
The eight tackles in a single afternoon matched his previous fall totals heading into week #7!!
But alas, as steady as he was in a hitting capacity; it would be his abilities as a ball-hawk that commanded the most admiration from Coach CJ O’Neil and his staff, as Rogers would jet in front of a Flyer receiver on a deep ball in the last 3:00 of the 2nd quarter (Hayes leading 16-7) to pick it off and prevent a completion that at the very worst would have put Chaminade close to field goal position…
In a tight showdown where three points would have mattered; this clutch display of concentration and athleticism could be labeled as a “game-saver”!!!
Jeremiah Williams (Sr.); RB/PR – St. Peter’s Eagles
A season removed from being the recipient of the NYCHSFL AA-1 Offensive Player of the Year award, as well as garnering 3rd-Team All-State and/or All-Catholic honors as a junior, the 5’6, 155-pound senior [Williams] has that “rinse and repeat” mamba mentality!!!
Ahead of the explosive pace that he set in 2023 when he sprinted for 1,228 yards and 16 touchdowns; with two more regular season games and then the entirety of what is shaping up to be a deep postseason run, the Eagles’ star tailback has already amassed 1,004 yards and scored on nine separate occasions on the ground (5.9/per carry) to propel St. Peter’s to a 6-2 overall record this fall (losses to “AAA” opponents—Kellenberg Memorial & Monsignor Farrell)…
Just the second player in school history to register consecutive 1,000 yard-seasons and presently only one of two student-athletes in the NYCHSFL to reach the milestone in 2024 (has a +4 edge on St. Anthony’s QB, Gary Merrill), Williams banked the sixth century mark effort of his swan song (13th of his career) on October 19th when he went off for 176 yards (14 shy of the career-high he set in week #0 in a win over Wagner) and found paydirt twice out of the backfield to be the catalyst in a 20-18 victory on home soil over the Rams of Fordham Prep!!
The affliction of torment becoming habitual whenever he squares off with against FP (ran for 166 and two TDs in a 40-20 quarterfinal win last year), the first of Williams’s two touchdown treks came in direct response to a Fordham Prep touchdown, as down 6-0, he’d take the first snap of the next possession 51 yards up the middle and then down the visiting sideline to put Eagles in front, 7-6, in end of the 1st quarter…
Fast-forward to the 4th quarter and the Rams again back on top 12-6, Williams would cash in for the second time on the afternoon when capitalizing off of a Benjamin Lopez INT return to the opposing 8-yard line, he punched the pigskin across on the ensuing play to flip scoreboard to 13-12 STP with 9:20 remaining in regulation…
His influence not just limited to RB1 duties, the speedster demonstrated how lethal he can be in the special teams’ aspect of the game when just over 2:00 later (approximately 7:40 showing on the clock), he’d field a punt on his own 40, make a man miss, and then cut down his own sideline to parade almost untouched to the promised land for what would be a 60-yard game-winning return that increased the cushion to 20-12!!!
His third TD of the contest tying the career-best he set in week #8 of the 2023 campaign (vs. Holy Cross) and his already recognized ‘24 against Wagner, Williams raised his two-year total to 28!!
Now a three-time POTW nominee, he was a bookend selection as an 11th grader during the regular season (Weeks 0 and 8)!!!
Williams and the Eagles will look to maintain their “driver’s seat” status for the top-seed in the Double-A-1 bracket when they welcome in Holy Trinity on the 26th for the first meeting of the schools since 2011!!
