Week #4 (September 30th-October 1st, 2023)
Issac Glaudin (Sr.); WR – Holy Cross Knights
In his third season as a mainstay superstar at the WR position for the Knights, the 5’11, 165-pound Team Captain out of Ozone Park [Glaudin] has had his fair share of dynamic performances over the years, but nothing compared to the “damage” he inflicted last weekend on behalf of the “Flushing Faithful” in a 42-0 victory over Kennedy Catholic!!
Utilizing that God-given 4.4 speed he possesses for all that it is worth, the gentleman in the #81 shirt took over the game to the tune of a six-grab, 200-plus, 4-touchdown affair that enabled the Knights to win their second straight game and improve to 3-2 overall this fall!!
Receiving (he does a lot of that; LOL) a long overdue first POTW distinction during week #4, Glaudin was an All-League team member as a junior and is a no-brainer to repeat the honor again in his swan song!!
Falling just one haul short (7 versus St. Francis Prep in 2022) of either typing or re-authoring his personal record book in the convincing dub over the visiting Gaels, Glaudin obviously had some extra gas remaining in the tank, as he found the energy to add an additional 35 yards on two carries to round out his mind-blowing display on October 1st!!
Matthew Iannicelli (Sr.); OT/DT – Kellenberg Memorial Firebirds
“If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.”—Matthew 5:41
Making proud his Biblical namesake this past Saturday night was the 6’4, 250-pound senior hailing from East Meadow, as his selflessness and duty to team went above and beyond in helping Firebird Nation extend their current winning streak to three in a row behind a gutsy 28-7 triumph over a “touch, well-coached, and inspired opponent in the persons of the St. Joe’s by the Sea Vikings.”
His reputation as a punishing Offensive Tackle long ago solidified, Iannicelli would demonstrate that he is quite adept on “D” to boot, as injuries and other unforeseeable circumstances resulted in the KMHS depth chart on the DL being somewhat compromised!
Receiving this “summons” to perform double duty from Coach Meisse with the contest deadlocked at 7 apiece in the 1st quarter, all the big man did when inserted into the middle of the defensive line was rack up three stops, one TFL, and consistently harass the opposing field general to the tune of two official QB hurries!!
With Iannicelli in the game on defense, the Blue & Gold were able to pitch a shutout for the final 36+ minutes of the evening to hold their guests from Staten Island to nearly 10 points below the 16.5 ppg they averaged coming into week #4!!!
Turning attention to his regular/incumbent role on offense, there was no shucking of responsibilities, as Iannicelli, alongside his fellow “brothers” in the trenches were all hailed as unsung heroes and facilitators by the Kellenberg coaching staff!!
To capture the essence of how invaluable his OL is, Meisse uttered, “When the output is this spread out, it often is a byproduct of the line playing so well that it lets everyone else around them shine.”
And “illuminated” the KMHS skill positions were on September 30th, as collectively, they’d amass 310 yards of total production (202 on the ground) and witness four different student-athletes register touchdowns, as Kenny Noe (96 yards on 17 keepers), Jack Barkley (55 yards on 8 carries), and Brendan Galla (10 on 2 hand-offs) all punched it in on land, while Jack Geoghan (5 receptions for 68 yards) hauled in a 43-yard strike [from Noe]!
#66 serving as an anchor/heartbeat amid the ongoing mini streak, “The Berg” has chewed up 604 yards and scored 12 touchdowns rushing in weeks 2-4!
Iannicelli and the ‘birds will hope to keep their trend of dominant ground work going strong when they butt heads with Chaminade in what we like to call the “Marianist Bowl” on October 7th!
Daithi O’Connor (Sr.); Place-Kicker – Mt. St. Michael Academy Mountaineers
On an afternoon where five different student-athletes scored touchdowns and the defense pitched the program’s second shutout of the fall, the star of stars and/or glue that held both units together in the opinion of the Mountaineer coaching staff was the 6’1, 150-pound specialist out of Yorktown [O’Connor]!
Responsible for a team-high 8 of Mount St. Michael’s Academy’s 38 points in the 38-0 victory on home soil over Christ the King, O’Connor boasted an immaculate day with his leg, drilling all six of his boot attempts, as he finished the September 30th matinee 5-for-5 on PAT attempts, while also connecting on his only FG attempt of the day!!!
MSMA already up big (35-0) in the early stages of the 4th quarter when O’Connor lined up for his first field goal of the 2023 season, the two-sport student-athlete (also plays soccer) knocked it straight through the posts to establish a new personal-best, as the 37-yarder far surpassed his previous record of 27 set last season!
On the year, O’Connor raised his totals to 8-of-9 on PATs and of course, 1-for-1 on FGs to give him 11 points this season and put him well on track of shattering the 31pts he accounted for as a junior!
As cited above, while his offensive exploits commanded much of this write-up, it needs to be recognized that the shutout may not have been attainable had it not also been for his abilities to dictate opposing starting field position by continually pounding the ball deep and forcing the visiting Royals to begin every series needing to march 70 or more yards!
All in all, he averaged a very strong 46.5 yards per on his six KO attempts!
Up next for O’Connor and the “The Mount” will be a potential AA-2 finals preview, as they travel to Brooklyn to square off with the Clippers of Xaverian in a clash of what is presently the top-2 schools in the division!
Jameer Reeder (Sr.); RB/LB – Holy Trinity Titans
His reputation and/or legacy as one of the most well-rounded and authoritative players in the entire NYCHSFL long ago etched, the two-time All-Catholic selection (once on each side of the ball)/2x Defensive All-State recipient (3rd Team both years) is officially a POTW selection for a third consecutive season, after previously being named as an honoree during week 2 of both the 2021 and 2022 campaigns!
Showcasing that next level skill set on “D” that earned him the 2021 Metro Catholic Defensive Player of the Year award, Reeder was the catalyst in Holy Trinity’s ability to travel to Fordham Prep and toss-up a 21-0 goose-egg!!!
Concluding the afternoon with both team-highs (collectively) and season-bests (individually) in total tackles (10) and TFLs (2), #27 jumped off your screen when watching the game film!!!
Never one to step on the field with a half-hearted mentality, it was inevitable that even on a day where it seemed the host Rams were fully committed to bottlenecking him, he’d still make the most of tough conditions as he emerged with a Titan-best 44 yards on 18 carries to complement his outstanding effort on the other side of the ball!!!
HT has now shutout FP in two of their previous three meetings dating back to the 2022 season (achieved prior on October 1st; 39-0)…
As the anchor/tone-setter for Trinity’s vaunted defense during each of the past three seasons, Reeder has now been a part of NINE shutouts since the fall of 2021!!
Thomas Zeh (Fr.); QB – Moore Catholic Mavericks
Labelled as an “unknown/question” in our GOTW preview, that question has been answered and the responses are all emphatic A++++ for the 6’0, 175-pound frosh out of Staten Island [Zeh]!
Making just his second career varsity start under center for the Mavericks, the diaper dandy displayed a poise/maturity rare for his age, as he slung the pigskin all over field this past Saturday afternoon to propel Moore Catholic to the 27-7 victory on the road over Xavier in a clash of 2022 Championship weekend participants [Xavier the AA-2 titlists; MC the AA-1 runners-up]!
In full command and on-point from start to finish on September 30th, Zeh successfully spread the ball out to five different targets, as he connected on 13 of 16 throw attempts (81%) for 179 yards and three touchdown hurls!!…All of these numbers naturally represented career-bests for the wunderkind!
On fire directly out of the gate, the #12 jersey set the tone for the caliber of day it was going to be both individually and for the program as a whole when he culminated a 73-yard opening drive by hooking up with senior WR, Boakai Veikai (2 grabs for 47 yards, 2 TDs), on a 9-yard crossing route at the pylon for the first of what would be a pair of TD exchanges to give the visiting Mavericks the initial 7-0 edge!
The score now tied at 7-7 (Xavier answered with a TD on their first series), if it ain’t broke, you don’t need to fix it, which is exactly the mentality that Zeh incorporated, as he went right back to his trusted ally in the #1 shirt [Veikai], lofting a beautiful pass over his shoulder for a 38-yard TD hook-up that restored the MC lead to 13-7 in the 2Q!
The scoreboard stuck on 13-7, Zeh polished off the hat trick late in the third quarter when following a short punt that gave his school possession on the Knight side of the field, he capitalized off the starting positioning by finding Army bound Mattias Lighten (4 catches for 65 yards, 1 TD) on a 23-yard out route on 3rd down to increase the cushion to 20-7!
1-1 in his evolving tenure as QB1 on Merrill Avenue, Zeh’s exemplary effort during week #4 raised fall totals to the following: 26 of 39 passing for 451 yards and six touchdowns!!
He’ll face another stiff test this coming weekend as MC returns home to square off with Cinderella darlings/still unbeaten St. Peter’s (4-0) on October 7th for an all-SI slugfest!