Week #8 (October 27th-28th, 2023)
Yasire Dejeus (Sr.); DE – Monsignor Farrell Lions
The captain and foundation for the #1 rated defense (surrendering just 14.2ppg) in the NYCHSL’s Triple-A division this season, the 6’1, 220-pound, three-year hometown hero for the Lions of Monsignor Farrell [Dejesus] has been long overdue to have the spotlight shined on him!!
Garnering his first Player of the Week distinction in the final regular season game of his scholastic career, Coach Rocco Del Priore was spot on when he used the word, “TERROR” to describe the manner in which #40 tormented and/or tortured visiting Kellenberg Memorial in a 28-7 win on October 27th that locked up a top-3 seed for the AAA playoffs!!!
Never one to play passively or take a down off (entered having recorded 5 or more stops in 19 games over the course of the past three falls), the fact that Dejesus established a new personal-best of nine tackles (4 solo, 5 assisted) was itself an accolade worthy of POTW honors….But more so than just the raw numbers was the observation that his stellar performance also yielded outstanding results, as he was a catalyst in a collective effort that witnessed the Lions utterly shut down the ground attack (32 yards on 18 tries), while forcing the Firebirds to commit SIX turnovers (4 interceptions, 2 fumbles), and generating a defensive touchdown!!
Directly or an accessory to several of these possession-changing sequences, Dejesus made perhaps his most significant single contribution of the evening with a little over 7:00 remaining in the 1st quarter when in the process of stuffing a KMHS run attempt, he’d rip the ball out of the hands of the opposing running back to create the first of the sextet TOs and set up his school on the opponent’s 14-yard line!!
Overall though it was simply the consistency of his 48-minute display that acted as the greatest disruptor as the inability to escape him perhaps encouraged the “Berg” to pass more often than they would have preferred!!!
Concluding his dusk dominance with two stops for negative yardage to amass his fifth multi-TFL game of his swan song (ninth of his 3-year tenure), Dejesus increased his 2023 sums to 49 tackles (2nd on the team) and 13 TFLs (1st)…For good measure, he tacked on his 8th QB hurry (3rd among Farrell personnel)!
Up next for the Lions as they begin their quest to return to Championship Saturday for the second time in the last three seasons and go hunting their first crown since 2000 will be a clash with two-time Double-A titlists, Holy Trinity…
With their guests from Hicksville [HT] featuring a very talented tailback in the person of Jameer Reeder, there ought to be plenty of opportunities for Dejesus to deliver yet another sensational and havoc-wreaking demonstration!
Joseph Gaston (Jr.); QB – Iona Prep Gaels
The younger brother of rapper, “Ice Spice” (Isis Gaston), this past weekend in the Gaels’ 42-7 victory against Moore Catholic, it was the 5’8, 175-pound junior field general out of the Bronx [Joseph Gaston] that made the gridiron his “stage” and treated those in attendance to an absolute show!!
A first-time POTW selection in his inaugural season running the offense for Iona Prep (started his career at St. Joseph’s Regional in NJ), making Gaston’s feat all the more impressive was the fact that he was able to amass such mind-blowing numbers in a span of only 24 minutes, as IP was in such full in control (42-0 at the end of the 2nd quarter) of the week #8 contest and did not need to tempt fate by playing their superstar for a single moment of the 2nd half!!
Accounting for 297 yards of total offensive production, the 11th grade standout had it working with both arm and legs in the triumph on the campus of Wagner College under the Friday Night lights, as he’d spread the pigskin out to five different targets, connecting on 13-of-17 toss attempts for 232 yards and 3 touchdowns in the air, while simultaneously averaging over 10 yards per carry on a handful of keepers (65 yards on 6 runs)!
The three touchdown-hurling performance marking a season-best for Gaston (previously had outings of 2 TD throws in wins over Central, Monsignor Farrell, and Cardinal Hayes in weeks 2, 4, and 6), his favorite partner of the evening was Junior WR/Week #6 POTW, Steven Dowdy Jr. (5 receptions for 104 yards), who was on the back end of 2/3s of the touchdown strikes, as he’d haul in a 48-yard, over-the-shoulder bomb that was complemented by a 10-yard score via a shovel pass!
Gaston made certain to get senior, Dylan Iorgoveanu, into the mix as well, as the highlight of his four-grab, 62-yard appearance was a diving 8-yard TD snatch over the middle!!!
The win in the regular season finale being the third in a row (4 of the last 5) for the New Rochelle based program, the Iona Prep will head into the AAA playoffs as the #2 seed, setting them up for date on November 3rd versus the Firebirds of Kellenberg Memorial…
Gaston will carry a dynamic stat line that reads as follows into the postseason: 1,579 yards and 12 touchdowns aerially (142-for-209; 67.9%); 541 yards and 5 additional TDs on 68 carries (8.0/per)…
While it would require a bit of a Herculean effort across the board, if the “rockstar” in the #1 jersey is able to orchestrate an extended postseason journey for IP, a 2,000/1,000 season is not totally out of reach!
Reid Jones (Jr.); WR – Cardinal Hayes Cardinals
The 6’2, 185-pound 11th grade “homerun hitter” is picking a darn fine time to be playing his best football of the 2023 season….
Stepping onto the field at Columbia University last Friday evening having hauled in nine receptions for 237 yards and a pair of touchdowns during weeks 5-7, if Jones was seeking extra momentum for what hopefully will be a deep playoff run for Cardinal Nation, he more than found it in Hayes’ 36-18 conquering of Chaminade….
Establishing a new career-high with nine total snatches (to him 24 on the year for 492yrds ) and just barely missing a new personal-best in yardage (100; had 106 in the win over Stepinac on September 29th), the #8 shirt wasted little time in getting his banner night off to an ideal start as he and junior QB, Rich Belin (1 TD pass, 3 rushing touchdowns), hooked up for a 17-yard TD exchange on the first possession of the game for the Cardinals to give the Bronx contingent the immediate 7-0 edge!!
Influential at almost every stage of the contest, while the aforementioned represented the only “6” of the night for Jones, he was not done by any means when it came to catching key balls…
With the score sitting at 20-10 following a 62-yard TD trek by Belin on the Cardinals’ first snap of the 3rd quarter, it was Jones going to the ground to make a diving catch to complete the 2pt conversion to further add some insurance…
Registering touchdowns receptions in three of his past four games to bump his fall total to six (one off the team-lead currently held by Cleveland Charlton), Jones and the fifth-seeded Cardinals will have revenge on their minds as they travel to South Huntington for the second time this season to square off with defending AAA League/CHSAA State champs, St. Anthony’s….When the teams previously met in week #1, Jones was held without a catch as the visitors dropped a 52-51 heartbreaker….Thus, a hot streak + extra motivation could make for quite the lethal recipe!
Lorenzo Robinson (Sr.); RB – Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders
Playing like a gentleman who is refusing to leave the White Plains’ based campus without a title on his resume, the 5’10, 200-pound “freak” [Robinson] has been a “Champion Slayer” this season as both of his POTW nominations this fall came following weekends in which the Crusaders were able to upend defending Metro Catholic brass ring winners!
Earning the first Player of the Week honor of his career during wk #3 when he produced 269 yards of total offense (206 on the ground) and scored five touchdowns (4 rushing) to vault Stepinac to a 40-20 victory two-time Double-A champs, Holy Trinity!
This past weekend, the stat line may not have been as grandiose, but the significant/ramifications of another monster day was worth its weight in gold, as the National Honor Society inductee and/or scholar-athlete (3.8 GPA) united with fellow senior TB, Jordan Osbourne (175 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries; a 29-yard TD grab) to rack up 320 yards and FIVE combined touchdowns in a 56-35 conquest on home soil over defending League and State titlists, St. Anthony’s, on October 27th!
Wrapping up the night with 145 yards and 3 scores (both 2nd highest single-game quantities behind only his Week #3 display) on just 12 hand-offs (12.1/per), Robinson is a primary reason why the Red, White, and Blue perennial powerhouse will sit on the top line of the triple-A bracket, as he has averaged 99 yards (396 yards) and scored five total rushing TDs during a four-game winning streak that enabled A.S. to leap above all of the other main challengers (STA, Farrell, Iona Prep, Cardinal Hayes) for the throne!!
Exploding for the first of his trip touchdowns as the clock dipped below 7:00 remaining in the 2nd quarter (Stepinac trailing 14-7) when he took a hand-off up the gut, made an understated shimmy and then sprinted almost untouched (was contacted at the goal line) for the 28-yard touchdown to square the contest at 14 apiece!!!
A fire fight where points were being thrown up on the board on seemingly every possession regardless of the jersey you were wearing, Robinson established a two-score cushion for the Crusaders (held a 28-21 lead at the break) when on the third snap of the 3Q (following an unsuccessful onside kick attempt by STA), he’d go all the way from a distance of 29-yards out to make it 35-21 less than 1:00 into the 2nd half!!
A 20-yard dart with 6:14 to go in the 3rd quarter put Stepinac on the doorstep, as he moved the ball to the 1-yard line and then Osbourne powered it the rest of the way to restore the 14pt edge (42-28)!
The completion of the hat trick came on the initial snap of the 4th quarter, as Robinson was met on about the 5-yard line by a Friar defender, but was able to spin out of the tackle and will his way to the end zone from 10-yards out to change the board to 49-35 with 11:54 to go in regulation…
His seasonal accumulation elevated to 1,069 yards and 10 touchdowns (127 carries), Robinson will require just 84 yards in his quarterfinal playoff appearance against Chaminade to reach the 2,000-yard career landmark!….When the two schools clashed on October 21st, he had gains of 70 yards on just six attempts (1 TD); so with an expected escalated workload, he ought to easily hit his objective versus the Flyers!!
Jeremiah Williams (Jr.); RB/PR – St. Peter’s Eagles
Recognized for the second time this season (bookends of weeks 0 & 8), the 6’1, 155-pound speeder [Williams] played a prominent role in EVERY score of the afternoon for the host Eagles, as they raised their 2023 record to 7-2 and clinched the #3 seed in the AA-1 playoffs behind a 28-13 victory over Holy Cross on October 28th!!
Surpassing the 1,000 mark (1,003) this season behind a 19-carry, 122-yard, career-high 3TD afternoon, the Staten Islander in the #6 jersey has now rushed for 100+ yards on six different occasions this fall, with five of those outings also be accompanied by multiple touchdown treks!!!
Achieving the rare true hat trick (three straight scores for his team) in the 1st through 3rd quarters, the first of Williams’ three TDs was likely the most impressive as he’d break for a 24-yarder to the house to turn a then 7-0 deficit into a 7-7 deadlock with 2:05 remaining in the opening stanza!!
Following an induced turnover (fumble recovery) by the “D” that gave the Eagles possession on the enemy 20, Williams sent the team into the locker room with a 14-7 lead when he punched the ball across the goal line from a 1-yard away in the last 2:26 of the 1st half!!
The perfect illustration of his ability to single-handedly take over a game occurred late in the 3rd quarter when he’d field a punt on the opposing 44 and return it all the way to the 16 to put STP instantly in the red zone….He later culminated that series by bursting slightly off center and then cutting up the middle for a 9-yard TD run via a HB draw to increase the cushion to 21-7 with :30 showing on the clock!!!
A consummate “Team>Me” stud, even when he was not the one fortunate enough to called upon to take the carry, Williams made sure he executed his assignment perfectly, as it was a key run block in the 4th quarter the cleared the lane for QB, Marco Aruta (4-for-6 in the air for 38 yards; 17 carries for 127 yards) to cruise 10 yards to the promised land to round out the scoring for the Blue & Gold contingent with 3:20 to go in regulation!!
The first STP teammates to each run for 1,000 yards in the same season, Williams (14 and Aruta (1,001 yards) finished the 2023 regular season as the #1 and #2 runners in the NYCHSFL AA-1 division…They will attempt to make more history as they try to ride their combined 2,004 yards and 26 land TDs to the program’s first Metro Catholic hardware since 2009!!
The Eagles postseason crusade kicks off on November 4th when they host the Rams of Fordham Prep…The squads have not played yet this fall!
Emir Yuksel (Sr.); LB – Xavier Knights
We promised/predicted a defensive duel and both the host Cougars of St. John the Baptist and the visitors from the Big Apple, the Knights of Xavier lived up to their lockdown reputations as a modest 27 combined points were accrued in a 14-13 comeback win by the latter [Xavier]!!
The verdict going down to the wire before a late score (TD run by Mehdi Merah w/ 4:09 remaining in the 4th)) + PAT conversion (Benedetto Loria) proved to be the deciding factors, for much of the afternoon on 28th, neither sideline was able to muster much in terms of threats!!!
Elegantly and accurately utilizing the word “dogfight” to capture the essence of the ferocity incorporated by both programs, Coach Stevens is counting his blessings that in the end, he was the one that had the meanest and grittiest “Rottweiler in the yard” in the person of the 6’0, 205-pound senior backer [Yuksel]!!!
The captain, signal caller, and trend-setter for the entire defensive unit, #9 held himself to be the standard of accepting only a number one effort, as he’d ascend into the top spot on the team totem pole by stockpiling a Knight-best 7 stops (5 solo, 2 assists) to lift his 2023 volume to 56 (one more than teammate, Evan Tarozzi!
This past Saturday being the fifth occasion in which he logged 7 or more tackles (11th time in the past two seasons), Yuksel’s best hit of week #8 came by way of a sack for minus-9 yards. His third QB bag of his swan song, he is presently tied for 2nd on the roster in the category as an illustration of his all-encompassing impact!
The dub over the Cougars officially earning XR the #3 seed in the AA-1 postseason, the decision was made for them to voluntarily drop down to the #4 slot in the bracket so as to avoid besmirching/infringing upon the annual Turkey Day tradition of them playing Fordham Prep!!!
Instead, the 2022 AA-2 Metro Catholic titlists will open up their postseason journey when they host St. Joseph’s by the Sea on the evening of November 4th!!…Yuksel was credited with 9 stops in the 23-14 victory on October 7th that sparked an active four-game winning streak!!