#1 Moore Catholic (5-4) vs. #8 St. Francis Prep (2-7)
When: Saturday November 4th, 2023 @Noon
Where: Moore Catholic HS Campus (100 Merrill Ave, Staten Island, NY 10314)
Previous Meeting: “First Meeting of 2023”
Overview: Bridesmaids in each of the past two seasons to schools that have since been elevated to the Triple-A division, 2023 is very much shaping up to be the year that the Mavericks claim their fourth Metro Catholic Crown in school history (first since 2019)….
Their win/loss record slightly misleading when you consider that all three blemishes were to either out-of-state foes or NYCHSFL triple-A title contenders (Monsignor Farrell & Iona Prep), the “Merrill Avenue Mafia” is cooking with gasoline on both sides of the ball as become apparent when they strung together four consecutive victories between weeks 4-7 (including back-to-back shutouts over Chaminade and St. John the Baptist)….
Incorporating a very balanced attack on the offensive side of the line of scrimmage, the emergence of freshman field general, Thomas Zeh, has been revolutionary for MC, as the diaper dandy has is hitting on 63% of his tosses for this season (68 of 108) for 1,072 yards and 10 touchdowns…His struggles last weekend in the defeat to IP notwithstanding, this is a young gentleman who is playing with a lot of confidence and is without question going to continue to carry himself as the budding superstar that he is destined to be!
Helping make this transition to the big club all the smoother for the 9th grade sensation has been an invaluable trifecta receiving corps compromised of Mattias Lighten (27 catches for 416 yards, 2 touchdowns), Boakai Veikai (24 grabs for 437 yards, 9 TD hauls), and super sophomore, Jayden Melendez (23 snatches for 237 yards)….the All-Stater, Lighten is a four-year varsity starter committed to the United States’ Military Academy; Veikai arrived on the scene in a monster way in 2023 and currently holds a recent offer from Wagner (while receiving game invites from power-5s such a Syracuse and Rutgers); and Melendez is one of the top WRs in the state among his 2025 peers!
Adding to the firepower of Coach Giannatasio’s herd is junior running back extraordinaire, Richard “RJ” Pacheco, who after missing sometime early in the season is now well on his way to a second consecutive 1,000 yard campaign (694 yards and 8 touchdowns on 128 carries). Before being limited to 62 yards and 0 touchdowns in week #8 by the Gaels, the #3 shirt was riding a streak of four straight 100+-yard/multi-TD games!!!….Junior, Gerald Green, is more known for his work on the defensive side of the ball, but can certainly be called upon to spell Pacheco, as demonstrated by running for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns this fall!!
The 16ppg allowed on defense distorted by the 37 and 42 points respectively scored by Trinity (PA) and Iona Prep, for the most the part, the Moore Catholic defense has been as stout as they come during the past two months, as in addition to the aforementioned two goose-eggs they pitched, they have two other opponents to single digits and kept Farrell to a modest 13…
Gifted at all three levels, it is not easy to pick the “strength” of the D-Unit, bit if we did, it would probably be the LB brigade blessed with the presences of the likes of Isaiah Vanterpool (65 stops, 13 TFLs, 5.5 sacks), Michael Herbert (58 stops, 6 TFLs, 1 INT), Omar Mendez (37 stops, 9 TFLs, 3.5 sacks), and Elijah Jones (30 tackles, 5 stops for negative yardage, 2.5 sacks, 1 INT)…
Not to be outdone by anyone, including their own teammates is a DL featuring Aqil Meredith-Smith (37 stops, 5 TFLs, .5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles) & Jason Guttierez (22 stops, 2 TFLs, .5 sacks)!!
The already cited Lighten (35 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 picks) and Green (56 stops, 4 TFLs, 1 sack) is complemented in the secondary by ballhawks—Billy Cosidente III (30 tackles, 4 interceptions) & Glenn Shepperd, who does a little bit of everything as suggested by a stat line that reads as follows: 52 stops, 9 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 2 INTs, and a block punt….Only sophomore, Shepperd certainly looks like a person we should keep an eye on in the coming years for DPOY consideration!
The visiting Terriers got off to the ideal start this fall, as they defeated Christ the King, 34-8, during week #0….But they have been unable to find much of that same fluidity and polish in the ensuing weekends, as they have dropped seven of their last eight appearances…
While not the highest scoring team, SFP has put up a respectable 15.7 points per game this season, as they have received solid contributions the likes of Junior QB, Tommy Zullo; junior RBs—Troy Fason & Frankie Valvo; and the WR trio of Sebastian Quartarolo, Payton Buchanan, and Jonathan Nguyen…
Zullo, who has hit 94 of 179 tosses for 1,191 yards and 10 touchdowns, needs to limit the interceptions on Saturday (has thrown 8 picks), but otherwise has been quite commendable in running the show for the boys from Fresh Meadows!
Quartarolo, Buchanan, and Nguyen have all registered a combined 65 grabs for 863 yards and all 10 scores, with the former [Quartarolo] enjoying a masterful senior year with team-leading quantities of 32/374/5!!!
The junior backfield mates (Fason & Valvo) have accounted for 560 yards on 114 hand-offs between themselves!!!
Scoring on the Mavericks is not an easy undertaking, but with these personnel, it certainly is achievable…
The bigger obstacle on November 4th is going to come on “D”, where St. Francis Prep has allowed 20 or more points in seven of their nine contests in 2023, including surrendering 34 in week #8 to Holy Trinity….
It cannot be overstated enough that the front-7 of Christopher Felle (56 stops, 8 TFLs), Aiden Alvia (51 tackles, 4 stops for minus yardage), Anthony Brown (36 hits, 8 TFLs, 2 sacks, Giuseppe Gregoriano (27 tackles, 3 TFLs), Julian Melendez (23 stops, 9 TFLs, 1 sack), Josiah Kueviakoe (20 tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 sack), Tristan Hilman (18 stops, 5 TFLs, 1 sack), and Kareem Vessup (15 hits, 7 TFLs, 3 sacks) all need to play with desperation and reckless abandon as their ability to disrupt everything at the line of scrimmage will go a long way towards speeding the game up for a still very young opposing signal caller!!
Assuming the front line does their job, the benefactors along the last line of defense will be Christian Colangelo (34 tackles, 1 INT), Randy Yoo (19 stops, 1 sack, 3 pass break-ups 1 INT), and Nicholas Amadio (11 stops, 2 interceptions)!
Using a common opponent of St. Peter’s as a barometer where MC had to rally late to win; and then SFP hung tough before losing to the Eagles; our feeling is that this match-up is not the one-sided affair that raw numbers might try to indicate!
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#2 St. John the Bapitst (4-4) vs. #7 Christ the King (0-8)
When: Saturday November 4th, 2023 @2:30pm
Where: St. John the Baptist HS (1170 Montauk Hwy, West Islip, NY 11795)
Previous Meeting: “First Meeting of 2023”
Overview: Double-A semifinalists in each of their past three attempts (AA-2 runners-up in 2021), despite still navigating the learning curve that comes with having to reinvite your entire offensive scheme due to injury, we remain quite confident that the host Cougars will be able to extend their streak to four straight berths to the championship round of 4 when they welcome in their guests from Middle Village, Christ the King, on November 4th…
Seemingly growing a little more comfortable as a passer, junior QB, Maxwell Bowers (20-for-43; 330 yards, 2 TD hurls for the year) tossed a touchdown pass for the second weekend in a row in a narrow 14-13 loss in week #8 to Xavier….Therefore, if he is forced to go to the air this Saturday, we think he can be effective!…But alas, the scrambling aspect of his skill set is still more pronounced (156 yards on 29 keepers)…
Should Bowers come out of the gate looking to test the Royal secondary, then seniors—DJ Lisbon (436 yards and 5 TDs on 22 reception) and & Michael Conza (11 grabs for 121 yards, 1 score) are the top weapons at his beck and call!!…Both recorded multi-snatch efforts in week #8, with Lisbon showing his big-play potential when he was on the back end of a 35-yard TD strike…
The consistent variable/source of guaranteed production can be found in the person of senior running back, Andrew Simmons IV, who is averaging just under 7 yards per carry (6.9), trekking for gains of 550 yards and 6 touchdowns on 80 hand-offs…Accruing 60 or more yards in six of his eight trips to the office this fall (career-high of 121 vs. Holy Trinity in week #6), the Deer Park resident is the stabilizer/calming force since his consistency takes a lot of the demand off of Bowers…
Scoring 13 or less points in weeks 4 thru end of the regular season, SJB has not been that “light up the scoreboard” type team that we have seen during past seasons in West Islip, but that is of little concern since a vaunted/lethal defense has all but erased the burden to be that explosive machine!!
With the likes of Luka Skoda (35 stops, 11 TFLs, 5 sacks, 6 QB Hurries, 2 pass break-ups), Branden Raines (23 tackles, 10 stops for negative yardage, 8 sacks, 4 Hurries), Jovan Bonilla (22 stops), and Brandon Moloney (21 tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 sack) living in the opposing backfield and blowing up snaps ever chance they get, it has become a daunting task to try to breakthrough this “tungsten wall” as the Red, White, and Black are allowing just 8.75 points per in their wins this season (15.9 overall)…
The undeniable efforts of DBs— Calogero Rosado (28 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT), Joseph Rivera (25 stops, 2 pass break-ups, 1 interception), Christopher King (17 stops, 3 PDs), Michael Wheat (10 stops, 2 TFLs, 1 INT), and especially Jayden Miller (17 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 PDs) have been the perfect complement to collective chaos created upfront!!
Not much is none about CTK since they have not posted any box scores this fall, but looking at the averages (3.75 points scored; 35.5 allowed), all signs point at this being potentially a rough afternoon for the student-athletes from Queens…
With SJB expected to pound the ball as much as they can with Simmons, as well as “power backs”, Skoda and Raines, for CTK to stay in contention, they are going to need for their predominantly upper-class (3 juniors, 3 seniors, 1 sophomore) DL/LBs of Zaire Lester, Kamarian Thomas, Jacob McFarland, Kaleb Eaton, Angel Pena, Amani Cespedes, and Gerald Simon to be up for the challenge!
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#3 St. Peter’s (7-2) vs. #6 Fordham Prep (5-4)
When: Saturday November 4th, 2023 @1pm
Where: St. Peter’s HS (200 Clinton Ave, Staten Island, NY 10301)
Previous Meeting: “First Meeting of 2023”
Overview: Picked to finish towards the cellar in the preseason polls, the dishing out of crow by the Eagles of St. Peter’s has been one of the top stories of the 2023 NYCHSFL season…
From Cinderellas to established royalty, there is a definitive buzz on Clinton Avenue as Head Coach, Mark DeCristoforo, and his pupils have a VERY achievable path to the program’s first Championship Saturday appearance since 2010!!!
Developing into a much more balanced squad on offense in the middle of the year after utilizing a predominantly run-heavy attack at the onset of the fall, the strength of the Staten Island contingent remains on the ground; but their increased willingness to take flight (with success) is most certainly a step necessary in order to keep rival defenses honest and guessing…
Led by protagonists—Jeremiah Williams (1003 yards and 14 touchdowns on 138 carries) & Marco Aruta (1001 yards and 11 scores on 99 keepers), who are believed to be just the second pair of teammates from an SI based school to each surpass the 1,000-yard milestone in the same season, STP has rushed for 3 or more touchdowns in six of their nine outings in 2023, with two of the other appearance being 2TD affairs as the crux of a system that has generated a AA-1 leading average of 31.1 points per game!!!
With 12 combined century mark games between them during the past two months, the dynamic duo will inevitably force the hand of the visiting Rams “D” to sell out on stopping the run; and if/when that happens it is going to create added opportunities for Aruta (602 yards and 4 touchdowns on 34-of 60 passing) to hook up with his favorite receiving target, Matthew Sweeney, who has hauled in 12 of his 18 receptions this season (including all four of his TD catches) during weeks 5-8!!!
Overshadowed and/or perhaps not given the true respect and credit they deserve is an Eagles’ D-Unit that also ranks atop the AA-1 charts, surrendering a mere 13.4 ppg, highlighted by a pair of shutouts, and the allowance of 14 or less points in 2/3s of their tries!!
Anchored by an imposing front-7 starring the likes of Aiden Ledlum, Angelo Negrette, Dominick Capuano, Francesco Cali, Frank Langello, Joseph Laureano, moving the ball against St. Peter’s has been problematic, as they have habitually limited/held in check the ground attack of the majority of their nemeses!
Sweeney, Brody Turnball, and Nicholas Scolaro have all been outstanding playing in the defensive backfield to further cement the “fortress”!
And as if they did not already have enough motivation to take a deep journey into the postseason, there is certainly some bonus enthusiasm as they will be wearing their hearts on their sleeve as they play in honor of teammate, Joseph Jakubouskas (a leader among the LBs), that was carted off the field during the regular season finale!!
Turning our attention to the other sideline, we’d expect to see Patrick Deane’s Ram brethren incorporate a healthy dose of junior RB, Jack McKillop…The wearer of that #22 jersey that has come to represent/signify All-League caliber efforts on the ground, the 160-pound Edgemont resident has been the most reliable when FP has the ball…
Keeping the ball on the ground and hopefully being able to just enough against the vaunted STP DL to move the chains will be a huge step towards accomplishing two main goals—-1) Control possession so that Williams/Aruta cannot take over; 2) Shorten the game by eating clock so that you can try to steal the dub in a low-scoring affair!!!
If there is a need to skyward, Junior QB, Jonathan Bailey, has been solid in stepping for incumbent starter, Matthew Moorehead, who has struggled to stay on the field during his senior campaign…Bailey, in conjunction with receiving personnel such as Luke Arezzi, Jake Brodick, and John Curto can use the pass to complement/set up the run….The status of Senior WR/TE William Wood could also have a bearing on how effective the air strike is on Saturday. In reviewing the film from last week, we did not see much of Wood; so, if he is out, that is a major loss!
Spearheaded by their star LBs, James Rice & Sean Rooney, we cannot state enough how essential it is going to be for the Fordham Prep defenders up front to do their best to win at the line of scrimmage…
Abbie Cornachio, Patrick Keeley, Nicholas Dimitri, Marcelo Viscoso (did not see him either in the win over Kennedy Catholic), Patrick Sohr, etc., will all have to go the extra mile and have career afternoons to serve as thorns in the sides of the dynamic duo of STP roses (Williams + Aruta)!
The Rams have not been bounced out of the AA playoffs prior to the semifinal round since the 2016 season…Hence, they are a program that knows how to turn on the intensity and peak for the postseason! You can never discount a track record and mentality reared on clutch demonstrations!
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#4 Xavier (6-3) vs. #5 St. Joseph’s by the Sea (4-4)
When: Saturday November 4th, 2023 @7:30pm
Where: Aviator Sports Complex (3159 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11234)
Previous Meeting: Xavier 23-14 on October 7th (Week #5)
Overview: Just about a year removed from winning the AA-2 crown, the Knights of Xavier HS are taking the approach that the only thing better than one crown in 2022 is the ensuing repeat in 2023!!!
Advancing to the ‘ship four times since 2012 (3-1 in those finales), the gents from Manhattan have every reason to be encouraged about their prospects of making it back to the Mitchel Field Athletic Complex in a matter of weeks as they are still riding the wave that was created by late-game heroics that vaulted them to a 14-13 triumph in week #8 over Double-A-1 second-seeded St. John the Baptist!!!
Unlike any of the other top-3 seeds in the bracket, Xavier enjoys the luxury of having already previously seen their quarterfinal opponent, as the charges of Head Coach, Chris Stevens, already defended their home turf (Aviator Sports Complex) on October 7th and are determined to make it a clean sweep against the St. Joe’s by the Sea Vikings on November 4th!!
A program that knows who they are and are proud to uphold the tradition of their rough/tough Single-Wing scheme, XR has is quite comfortable with 48-minutes of ground & pound, as is indicated by the 2,199 yards (244.3/game) and 29 touchdowns (3.2/game) they have accrued over the course of the past nine weekends)!
When the Big Apple and Staten Island last collided in week #5, the Blue & Maroon were even finer than usual, as the trio of Mehdi Merah (193 yards on 21 hand-offs), Jeremy Kuharski (67 yards on 12 attempts), and Sean Kull (61 yards on 5 carries) combined for 321 yards, with each scoring one TD apiece in the 23-14 victory!
Each chasing their own personal milestone, with a typical game (by his standards), Merah (932 yards and 16 touchdowns) should crack 1,000 yards for the year and move closer to the 20 TD mark!…He is averaging 127.8 yards and has scored 7 touchdowns in the midst of the school’s current four-game streak!!
Kuharski, who has stepped up to dutifully fill the cleats of 2022 All-League selection/AA-2 Title game Offensive MVP, Shane Zaletofsky, as the “quarterback”, currently has 605 yards (6 touchdowns) and with a deep run into the playoffs could challenge 1,000!
Kull, who logged his century 100+-yard outing of the fall, is shooting for 500 and should reach it if the Knights advance to the finals, as he presently sits at 327 yards (5 scores)….
Flipping the script to the occasions in which they do not have the ball, while their throwback system on “O” maybe their most differentiating characteristic, it is not their only calling card, as stellar, no mercy efforts on “D” is also a staple of any roster mentored by Stevens and company…
Flying to the ball like “Bulls that see red”, the likes of John Ratigan (34 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 4 sacks), Evan Tarozzi (55 stops, 10 TFLs, 3 sacks, 2 INTs, 2 forced fumbles), Eoin McBride (38 hits, 6 stops for minus yardage, 1 sack) and “the glue”, Emir Yuksel (team-high 55 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 3 sacks) have brought heat from every level!!….During the first meeting of these two schools last month, Yuksel posted a game-best 9 stops, while Tarozzi, McBride, and Ratigan were on his with 8,6, and 3 respectively; Tarozzi also tacked on an INT to round out an extraordinary display!!
Defensive backs, Liam Travis (4 stops), Tomas Diaz (2 tackles), and Benedetto Loria, deserve equal credit for doing their part to limit SJS to just 56 yards (6-of-14) in the air!
Utilizing the two quarterbacks for much of the year, the decision to stay primarily with the senior, Nicholas Fiorentino, for the homestretch is probably the right call, as his 61.1 completion percentage (33-of-54; 538 yards, 3 TD tosses) is a slight improvement over the 52.5 (32-of-61; 424 yards, 4 TD passes) they got out of 11th grader, Michael Lotito…The contrast in precision really showed itself in the early-October clash with Xavier, where the former connected on 3-of-5 tries, while the latter never found his touch, hitting on just 3-of-9….
By giving a boost to the aerial attack by going with the more accurate Fiortentino, it ought to do wonders to further put junior tailback, Thomas Digregorio (636 yards, 4 touchdowns on 89 attempts in 2023) in a position to thrive….Afterall, he did amass a season-high of 155 yards (15) carries during the week #5 meeting, and those numbers can be amplified even more if the Knight “D” has to drop their safeties to cover the pass!!
Limited to just a single grab for 6 yards by XR last month, we’d be very surprised if Vikings top target, Robert Stefanelli (20 snatches for 293 yards, 4 touchdown grabs), did not have a much more active role this Saturday. He shook off his quiet Wk 5 outing by peeling off games of 3 (97 yards, 2 TD),4 (43 yards), and 3 (44 yards) receptions in weeks 6-8 against Holy Cross, Moore Catholic, and Mount St. Michael Academy!….Don’t sleep on Damian Aviles (14 catches for 226 yards, 1 TD this season) either; the Junior was the only SJS receiver to be credited with more than one snatch on 10/7, as he pulled in two passes for 28 yards!
Needing to commit themselves to matching or outworking the ferocity that Xavier routinely brings with them, DL/LBs—Joseph Solla (49 tackles), Dean Coscia (30 stops), Salvatore Buscemi (19 hits), Marco Domante (17 tackles, 1 sack), John Munson (19 stops, 4 sacks), and Anthony Maniscalco (26 tackles, 3 sacks) will get their “Varsity Blues” moment as they will have the chance to play like heroes….And if they perform well, it could make them collective GOATS!….From this group, it was Solla, Coscia, and Buscemi that were most active during the last showdown, as they contributed 7,5, and 5 tackles among themselves….DB, Anthony Lavezzoli, headlined the stat sheet with 9 stops!
When the Blue & Gray are playing at top form on “D”, goose-eggs are attainable as verified by the fact that they pitched consecutive shutouts in weeks 1 and 2 versus Christ the King and Capital Prep (Harlem)!…They are also just days removed from showing out to the tune of keeping a powerful MSMA offense to a tie for their season-low of 7 points in a 10-7 victory to close out the regular season!