By Matt Diano:
The comeback story is complete!!! A moment five years in the making came to fruition on Saturday morning at the Mitchel Field Athletic Complex as the top-seeded Mavericks of Moore Catholic utilized a huge second quarter to win 32-22 over #3 Cardinal Spellman to claim the CHSFL Single-A crown….The victory marked the second “A” title in program history (last won in 2003) for the Staten Island based school.in their return to the varsity gridiron after being shelved after posting an undefeated 2011 season.
Following a scoreless opening 12 minutes where it was the third-seeded Pilots that had the best scoring chance, getting into the end zone only to have the touchdown called back and then having their 28-yard field goal attempt blocked on the first play of the second quarter, the rest of the opening half would belong entirely to the Nick Giann
atasio coached Mavericks, as the reeled off three unanswered scores in the final 11:50 to take the 18-0 edge into the locker room.
In fact, things were breaking so well for Moore Catholic that just about the only thing that did not go in their favor were PAT/2pt conversion attempts where they went 0-3.
Recovering an Eric Berrios fumble on the Spellman 42 with 9:51 to go, fab freshman, Justin Lacks, drew first blood for the Mavs when he shed two tacklers and trekked 36-yard yards for the touchdown to make the score 6-0.
Lacks found the promised land again with 3:21 still to play in the first half when he powered his way across the goal line from four-yards out to double the lead…While it may have been the phenom from South Plainfield, NJ that put the cherry on the drive, there is little doubt that it was punter, Chris Velasquez that shared in the credit as he kept his composure following a botched kick attempt and ran 25-yards to preserve possession.
Having their foes already on the ropes, Moore Catholic tacked on one additional score in the last half minute as sophomore signal caller, Vincenzo Scarola, hooked up with 9th grader, Leon Lowery, on back-to-back big yardage gainers, including a 15-yard strike for the touchdown.
Spellman did makes things interesting in the second half though as Jordi Mota’s 1-yard quarterback keeper (Dante Camp with the run for the conversion) four minutes into the third quarter and a Darrell Okpo 25-yard dash with 9:05 remaining in the 4th closed the deficit to within 18-14.
But, as he has done all season, when a fight back moment was needed, Lacks was there to answer the call, returning the ensuing kickoff back to the 49 yard line before breaking away from two would-be tacklers to spin in from the 4-yard line for the first of his two fourth quarter TDs to make the score 26-14 with 5:22 on the clock…This run, which proved to be the eventual game-clincher, would not have been possible though is not for the 40-yard pass from Scarola to Zachary Hampton that advanced the ball to the Spellman 9.
Wearing the Pilot colors for the final time in his decorated scholastic career, Rodney N’Guessan’s four-yard TD run with 3:20 to go did create some suspense, but it an unsuccessful onside kick all but wrapped up the hardware for the Mavericks.
Needing only to kill clock, the never content Moore coaching staff would do one better, keeping their foot on the pedal and tacking on an insurance score (Lacks plunging it in from 2-yards away) with 39 ticks remaining…Once again, a Scarola to Hampton connection was the key, as the conversion on 4&3 brought the Mavericks all the way down to opposing 7.
Not surprising, Lacks, who ended the game with 30 rushes for 141 yards and the aforementioned four scores was the game’s offensive outstanding player….Teammate, Mausauri Miller took the honors on the defensive side of the ball.
Congratulations to both Moore Catholic & Cardinal Spellman on a great game and a great season!
NYCHSFL FOOTBALL November 19, 2016 A Division Championship – Moore Catholic vs. Cardinal Spellman
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Cardinal Spellman | 0 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 22 |
| Moore Catholic | 0 | 18 | 0 | 14 | 32 |
| 1st | No Scoring | 0-0 | ||
| 2nd | 09:18 | Moore Catholic | Justin Lacks 36 yd run ( 2pt conversion failed) | 0-6 |
| 2nd | 03:21 | Moore Catholic | Justin Lacks 4 yd run ( 2pt conversion failed) | 0-12 |
| 2nd | 00:26 | Moore Catholic | Leon Lowery 15yd reception from Vincenzo Scarola (kick failed) | 0-18 |
| 3rd | 03:06 | Cardinal Spellman | Jordi Mota 1 yd run (Dante Camp 2pt conversion rush) | 8-18 |
| 4th | 09:05 | Cardinal Spellman | Darrell Okpo 25 yd run (2pt conversion failed) | 14-18 |
| 4th | 05:22 | Moore Catholic | Justin Lacks 3 yd run (Bryan Perez 2pt conversion rush) | 14-26 |
| 4th | 03:20 | Cardinal Spellman | Rodney N’Guessan 4 yd run ( Holocher from Mota 2pt conversion) | 22-26 |
| 4th | 00:39 | Moore Catholic | Justin Lacks 3 yd run (kick failed) | 22-32 |
| Team Totals | Cardinal Spellman | Moore Catholic |
| FIRST DOWNS | 11 | 10 |
| Rushing | 10 | 5 |
| Passing | 1 | 3 |
| Penalty | 0 | 2 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | ||
| Rushing Attempts | 44 | 38 |
| Average Per Rush | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 3 | 4 |
| Yards Gained Rushing | 240 | 177 |
| Yards Lost Rushing | -20 | -5 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | ||
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 1-4-0 | 5-12-0 |
| Average Per Attempt | 10.0 | 10.8 |
| Average Per Completion | 40.0 | 26.0 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS | ||
| Total offense plays | 48 | 50 |
| Average Gain Per Play | 5.4 | 6.0 |
Cardinal SpellmanRushing
| Name | # | Gain | Loss | Net | TD | Long | Average |
| #33 Rodney N’Guessan | 13 | 78 | 0 | 78 | 1 | 17 | 6.0 |
| #8 Dante Camp | 12 | 62 | -13 | 49 | 0 | 17 | 4.1 |
| #17 Noah Stewart | 11 | 51 | -4 | 47 | 0 | 12 | 4.3 |
| #2 Jordi Mota | 4 | 11 | -3 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 2.0 |
| #21 Eric Berrios | 2 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 4.5 |
| #23 Darrell Okpo | 1 | 25 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 |
| #1 Stephen Weir | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4.0 |
| TOTALS | 44 | 240 | -20 | 220 | 3 | 25 | 5.0 |
Passing
| Name | Att Cmp Int | Yds | TD | Long |
| #2 Jordi Mota | 6 1 0 | 40 | 0 | 40 |
| TOTALS | 6 1 0 | 40 | 0 | 40 |
Receiving
| Name | # | Yds | TD | Long |
| #80 Steven Manfredi | 1 | 40 | 0 | 40 |
| TOTALS | 1 | 40 | 0 | – |
Moore Catholic
Rushing
| Name | # | Gain | Loss | Net | TD | Long | Average |
| #6 Justin Lacks | 30 | 142 | -1 | 141 | 4 | 36 | 4.7 |
| #18 Ian Brown | 6 | 11 | -4 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1.2 |
| #10 Chris Velasquez | 1 | 23 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 23 | 23.0 |
| #15 Mausari Miller | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 |
| TOTALS | 38 | 177 | -5 | 172 | 4 | – | 4.5 |
Passing
| Name | Att Cmp Int | Yds | TD | Long |
| #4 Vincenzo Scarola | 12 5 0 | 130 | 1 | 43 |
| TOTALS | 12 5 0 | 130 | 1 | – |
Receiving
| Name | # | Yds | TD | Long |
| #11 Zachary Hampton | 3 | 96 | 0 | 43 |
| #17 Leon Lowery | 2 | 34 | 1 | 15 |
| TOTALS | 5 | 130 | 1 | – |