AAA FINALS
#1 Monsignor Farrell (9-1) vs. #2 Iona Prep (9-1)
When: Saturday November 22nd, 2025 @2:30pm
Where: Coffey Field on the campus of Fordham University (441 East Fordham Road; Bronx, NY, 10458)
Watch: Varsity Media (Youtube)
PATH TO THE FINALS (Monsignor Farrell)
–Quarterfinals: BYE
-Semifinals: 34-3 over Chaminade
TITLE GAME HISTORY (Monsignor Farrell)
*1979 (AAA): Champions by way of a 25-14 win over St. Anthony’s
*1982 (AAA): Lost to St. John the Baptist, 14-7
*1984 (AAA): Lost to St. John the Baptist, 7-6
*1986 (AAA): Champions behind a 7-0 shutout over Mount St. Michael Academy
*1988 (AAA): Lost to St. Francis Prep, 10-7 (2OT)
*1991 (AAA): Champions by way of a 22-17 victory against St Francis Prep
*1993 (AAA): Lost to St. Anthony’s, 21-13
*1998 (AAA): Lost to Chaminade, 27-6
*1999 (AAA): Champions courtesy of a 6-0 win over St. Anthony’s
*2000 (AAA): Champions via a 24-23 triumph against St. Anthony’s
*2003 (AAA): Lost 31-12 to St. Anthony’s
*2004 (AAA): Lost 17-14 (2OT) to St. Anthony’s
*2021 (AAA): Lost 49-15 to Iona Prep
2025 PLAYOFF STANDOUTS (Monsignor Farrell):
*Bryce Moye (So.; QB)—Was calm, cool, and collected in completing 12-of-14 passes for 164 yards and a pair of TD hurls in the semifinal win over Chaminade
*Kevin Gumb Jr. (Sr.; RB)—Scoring one touchdown apiece on each side of the ball; the senior tailback established a new personal-best of 193 yards (1TD) on 25 carries; Defensively, he both blocked and returned a punt for a touchdown!
*Braxton Moye (So.; WR)—Scoring the first TD of the game on a long reception; the back-half of the Moye twin magic ended the semifinals with 4 receptions for 82 yards!…Recorded a sack on defense as an added bonus
*Alexander Ustun (Sr.; WR)—One of a pair of Lion student-athletes that garnered POTW honors following the semifinal victory; Ustun got the job done on both sides of the ball; as he both ran (1-yard end-around) and caught a pass (finished the night with 3 grabs for 42 yards) for a touchdown in the win against the Flyers….Defensively, he was credited with 1 tackle and 1 pass break-up; but it was smothering coverage that especially stood out!
*Carlo Della Ragione (Jr.; OL)—Used his massive 315-pound frame to push people around en route to amassing 3 pancake blocks!
*Charles Costanzo (So.; DB)—Led all Lion tacklers with 8 stops (7 solo) last Friday night; also forced a fumble
*Andrew Doyle (Sr.; ILB)—Joining Ustun as a Player of the Week nominee; the senior captain set new single-game personal records for sacks (1.5) and TFLs (2.5) as part of a 5-stop evening last weekend!
*Anthony Vento (Jr.; DB)—Wore multiple hats during the semifinal round, as he finished 2nd on the team with 7 tackles (plus a pass break-up); He’d also have a 55-yard KO return, and gained 12 yards on his lone carry of the evening on offense!
*Daniel Mastroguilio (Sr.; OLB)—Racked up 5 tackles and a QB hurry during the final-4!
*Joseph Vitale (Sr.; DL)—Won his match-up in the trenches consistently, as displayed by a career-best 5 tackles in the semifinal win!
*David Leverock (Jr.; DB)—Registered his 3rd INT of the season and returned it 25 yards!
*Michael Libretta (Jr; DB)—Was his usual reliable self in the defensive backfield; as he logged an INT and a pass break-up to complement his 4-tackle night!
——————————————————————
PATH TO THE FINALS (Iona Prep)
–Quarterfinals: BYE
-Semifinals: 42-0 over St. Anthony’s
TITLE GAME HISTORY (Iona Prep)
*1990 (B): Lost to Holy Cross, 28-14
*1993 (A): Champions behind a 13-0 shutout of Stepinac
*2000 (AA): Champions via a 17-7 triumph over St. Francis Prep
*2002 (AA): Lost 34-8 affair to Christ the King
*2005 (AAA): Lost 28-7 to St. Anthony’s
*2008 (AAA): Champions behind a 48-35 triumph against St. Anthony’s
*2010 (AAA): Lost to St. Anthony’s, 41-23
*2014 (AAA): Dropped a 16-14 finale to Stepinac
*2016 (AA): Champions via a 35-14 victory against Holy Trinity
*2021$ (AAA): Champions behind a 49-15 victory over Monsignor Farrell
*2022 (AAA): Lost to St. Anthony’s, 50-18
*2023 (AAA): Lost to Cardinal Hayes, 30-29
*2024$ (AAA): Champions courtesy of a 43-22 win versus St. Anthony’s
$=Indicates that they later went on to win the NYCHSAA State Crown
2025 PLAYOFF STANDOUTS (Iona Prep):
*Julian Guzman (Sr.; QB)—The future Maryland Terp amassed 224 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in the win over St. Anthony’s….In the air, he connected on 13-of-21 attempts for 159 yards (2 TD hurls); He utilized his legs to chew up 65 yards and an additional score on 10 carries
*Crew Davis (Sr.; RB)—The hero of both the 2024 NYCHSFL and 2024 NYCHSAA State title games (Offensive MVP in each case); the UNC Tar Heel commit simply has a different gear in the postseason and such was true again last week in the semifinals….Amassing 237 yards of total offense, Davis went off for 162 yards and one score on 16 carries while also tacking on 75 yards as a pass-catcher on a season-best 6 grabs!
*Eric Pirrello (Sr.; WR)—Perhaps overshadowed at times due to being a member of such a loaded offensive cohort; the senior wide-out picked a great time to shine, as he registered the first 2 TD reception game of his career and tied his personal-best in total grabs (6) to tie Davis for the game-high in both categories!
*Brennen Pressley (Sr.; LB)—The Defensive MVP of the 2024 AAA title contest; the four-year starter for the Gaels is another student-athlete that takes his game to the next level when stakes are highest….Not utilized as much as a short-yardage/red zone RB this year as he has been in the past; the #2 shirt capitalized on his few opportunities as he ran for 11 yards and a TD on two hand-offs….Defensively, he also notched a pick-6 for his second TD of the afternoon and had a QB hurry on 4th down that caused an errant pass attempt, thus generating a T.O.D.!
*Zander Poole (Jr.; DB)—At the center of a pair of turnover inducing plays, the 11th grader banked his first multi-INT performance of his career, as he picked off a pair of Friar passes to increase his seasonal total to 3!!
*Joshua Simmons (Jr.; OLB/DE)—Defensive stats not available for the semifinal round; just from watching game film, you could not help but notice how effortless the 6’5 junior was able to invade the opposing backfield for QB hurries and/or TFLs!
*Eric Camacho Jr. (Jr.; LB)—Created a T.O.D. when on 4th and long inside his own red zone; the 11th grader shot up the middle and recorded a sack!
*Orion Trujillo (Sr.; DL)—On back-to-back Friar drives, #55 made some serious noise as it was his sack one snap earlier that set up the 4th down in which Camacho shined…And then on the next series, Trujillo made a run stuff on 4th & short to produce the T.O.D. and hand the ball over to the Gael offense on their own side of the gridiron (later cashed in for a touchdown)!
Mini Synopsis/Last time they Met
The only one of our three NYCHSFL titles games where the two teams had a prior meeting during the 2025 campaign…
When the Lions and Gaels last saw one another on October 17th, it was Farrell shocking the entire Empire when they snapped a 13-game winning streak for the defending league and state champs from New Rochelle, 28-21!!!
This loss was the only blemish on IP’s 2025 resume; and you know avenging it is an inch they are going to be determined to scratch in their bid for a AAA repeat!
The game deadlocked at 7-7 at the break; it was the representatives of Staten Island coming out of the locker room with guns blazing in the 2nd half as they strung together 21 unanswered points between the 3rd and 4th quarters before Iona Prep mustered a late rally to make the final verdict look more respectable!
Stepping up and delivering clutch and invaluable performances on offense in the “upset” triumph for Farrell would be both Moye siblings—Bryce (15-for-20, 229 yards, 3 TD passes) & Braxton (career-high 8 receptions that generated 112 yards and 1 TD), as well as Kevin Gumb Jr. (146 yards of production; 101 yards and 1 TD on 16 carries; 3 catches for an additional 45 yards)…
Ryan Tait (2 grabs for 15 yards) and Gianni Pasqualone (51-yard grab for lone reception) each also hauled in a TD toss from Moye!!
An inspired effort on “D” was anchored by the likes of Anthony Vento (10 tackles, 1 pass break-up), Charles Costanzo (9 stops), Alpha Ba (6 tackles), Pasqualone (6 stops), Cole Savino (5 tackles, 1 QB hurry), Andrew Doyle (5 stops), David Leverock (5 tackles, 2 pass break-ups), Alex Ustun (3 tackles, 2 pass break-ups), and Michael Insalaco (4 stops, 1 QB hurry)!
If the top-seeded Lions hope to earn the sweep and hoist hardware for the first time in over a quarter of a century; it is going to be imperative that their defense stand tall yet again!!
As it pertains to the second-seeded juggernaut from Iona Prep; they will step onto the Fordham University campus fresh off of what may have been their finest overall game of the year (42-0 shutout over a very tough St. Anthony’s program)…And there is power that comes with the confidence that is created by such a victory!!
Despite dropping the Week #7 showdown with Farrell, several Gaels turned in solid showing as Julian Guzman amassed 316 yards of total offense (17-for-31 for 182 in the air; 134 yards and a pair of scores on land); Crew Davis ran for 102 yards and TD on 18 carries; & Eric Pirrello (6 grabs for 55 yards), Joe Wolf (4 catches for 49 yards), and two-way beast, Mamadee Sangaray (2 snatches for 49 yards) all did damage as targets in the air strike!!
And what can never be discounted is that as suggested above; “Postseason” Crew Davis is like nothing that the Lions have seen this fall…
In the two titles contests (League + State) he played last year; #5 exploded for 558 yards and 7(!!!) touchdowns on 38 carries; and was not shy as a pass-catcher either, tallying an additional 89 yards on six cumulative receptions!
Guzman (86 yards rushing + 1 TD in the AAA finale; 3 TD passes in the State finals), Pressley (2 TD runs in the AAA title game last year), Sangaray (INT in the NYCHSFL title game), and Zander Poole (Int in the CHSAA finale) are also not strangers when it comes to heroics on the grand stages!