Author: Kevin A'Hearn

2021 CHSFL AAA Semifinals Preview

By Matt Diano: #1 Iona Prep (8-1) vs. #4 St. Anthony’s (6-3) When: Saturday November 13th, 2021 @1pm Where: Wellington T. Mara Field on the campus of Iona Prep (255 Wilmot Rd, New Rochelle, NY 10804) Previous Meeting: 35-34 Iona Prep on October 22nd (Week #7)   Synopsis: The rematch that everyone wanted has now come to fruition! An instant classic that has to be among the best football games we have ever seen at any level of the sport, the difference between sweet victory and sour defeat on Friday October 22nd was a mere couple of yards.   After seeing their 27-7 first half lead wiped away, the host Friars had an opportunity to steal the “w” in the closing seconds, as they completed a Hail Mary just short of the goal line and desperately tried to muscle their way in, only to fall just short of the miracle!!!  Conjuring

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CHSFL Quarterfinal Players of the Week

By Matt Diano: Jaziyah Welch (Sr.); RB – St. Francis Prep Terriers When you reach the postseason, there is no time for worrying about injuries/illness; every scenario becomes “next man up” with the hope that the person you turn to can at least provide some semblance of a contribution…And in the case of the 5’7, 165-pound 12th grader from West Hempstead [Welch], he more than earned his keep in sending the Terriers’ to the NYCHSFL AA-1 semifinals behind the dramatic 28-27 overtime victory against St. Joe’s by the Sea this past Saturday evening… The only lower seed [#6] to prevail in any of the nine quarterfinal match-ups contested across the three Metro Catholic divisions, SFP entered the weekend without the services of the program’s leading rusher in 2021, Jaden St. Ford (222 yards and 1 TD on 51 carries this season)…However, despite the absence of their key personnel member, Francis

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2021 CHSFL AA-2 Quarterfinal Preview

By Matt Diano: #2 St. John the Baptist  (7-1) vs. #7 Cardinal Spellman (2-5) When: Saturday November 6th, 2021 @2pm Where: St. John the Baptist HS (1170 Montauk Hwy, West Islip, NY 11795) Previous Meeting: 49-0 St. John the Baptist on October 23rd (Week #7) Snynopsis:  A rematch from just two weeks ago, even if you subscribe to the “Little Giants” mantra of “one time”, it is hard to rationalize a way that a 49-0 ending can turn around in such a short period of time…What we will say in respect to the Pilots is that this Saturday will not be the first time that they were written off and then made the critics eat a helping of crow.  Just two years ago in the “A” title game, they transformed a pair of losses to Kennedy Catholic by an average of 17 points during the regular season into a championship

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2021 CHSFL AA-1 Quarterfinal Preview

By Matt Diano: #2 Moore Catholic (4-3) vs. #7 Xavier (1-6) When: Saturday November 6th, 2021 @3pm Where: Moore Catholic HS (100 Merrill Ave, Staten Island, NY 10314) Previous Meeting: 28-14 Moore Catholic on October 2nd (Week #4)   Snynopsis: A game that we expect to be much closer than the numbers adorning their school names, when the two teams played back in week 4, the Mavericks jumped out early and never looked back.  But alas, if there is one characteristic that has defined the Knights over the years, it is their ability to process and make adjustments.  The boys of West 16th are a “second half of the year” squad and while they surely will step onto the gridiron in the role of underdog, that pooch is going to bring the bite!…The Mavericks, who won crowns in 2016 (A) and 2019 (AA-2) will likely be competing with a chip

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2021 CHSFL AAA Quarterfinal Preview

By Matt Diano: #2 Monsignor Farrell (6-2) vs. #7 Christ the King (1-7) When: Saturday November 6th, 2021 @4pm Where: Monsignor Farrell HS (2900 Amboy Rd, Staten Island, NY 10306) Previous Meeting: 1st time this season   Snynopsis: What a week #8 it was for Monsignor Farrell; they went from unsure that they would even be advancing to the triple-A postseason to now enjoying the comforts of the #2 overall seed in the bracket…Seeking their first Metro crown on the gridiron since the back-to-back seasons in 1999 and 2000, the Anthony Garofalo mentored squad should be heavily favored this Saturday when they play host to the CTK Royals…A program that is extremely well balanced on both sides of the ball, the return of reigning POTW, Messiah Burch (565 yards and 9 touchdowns on just 36 carries) to the line-up during the second half of the year, coupled with a second

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Week 8 CHSFL Players of the Week

By Matt Diano: Kameron Robbins (Sr.); RB – Holy Trinity Titans If you are a philatelist, you collect stamps; a numismatist collects coins; the lepidopterist collects butterflies…So what does the 6’0, 190-pound senior running back for the Titans [Robbins] stockpile? Player of the Week awards!!!! And the definition for that hobby is simply “beast”! Making the POTW list for the third time in as many years (once each in his sophomore-senior campaigns) in the final regular season contest of his incredible scholastic career, the Baldwin resident was so lights out in HT’s 42-0 victory against Kennedy Catholic last Saturday afternoon, that he required just one half and five touches to leave yet another indelible mark on his home soil! Posting a career-best three touchdown effort, #3 in Green & White took it to the house from distances of 15, 48, and 5 yards out between the 1st and second quarters

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CHSFL QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFF DATES, SITES & TIMES

AAA Quarterfinals #1 Iona – Bye #5 Cardinal Hayes @ #4 St. Anthony’s (11/5. 7:00 pm) #7 Christ the King @ #2 Monsignor Farrell (11/6, 4:00 pm) #6 Kellenberg @ #3 Archbishop Stepinac (11/7, 1:30 pm)  AA1 Quarterfinals  #1 Chaminade – Bye #6 St. Francis Prep @ #3 St Joseph by the  Sea (11/5, 7:00 pm) #5 St Peter’s @ #4 Fordham Prep (11/5 @ Flowers Park, New Rochelle, 7:00 pm) #7 Xavier @ #2 Moore Catholic (11/6, 3:00 pm) AA2 Quarterfinals  #1 Holy Trinity – Bye #6 Xaverian  @ #3 Kennedy Catholic (11/5, 7:00 pm) #7 Cardinal Spellman @ #2 St. John the Baptist (11/6, 2:00 pm) #5 Mount St. Michael @ #4 Holy Cross (11/7, @ Flushing Memorial Field, 1:00 pm) JV AAA Quarterfinals  #8 Cardinal Hayes @ #1 Archbishop Stepinac (11/6 – 12:30 pm) #7 St Peter’s @ #2 Chaminade (11/6 – 10:00 am) #6 St Anthony’s @ #3 Kellenberg (11/6 – 10:00 am) #5 Monsignor Farrell @ #4 Iona Prep (11/6, 1:30 pm) JV AA #1 Fordham Prep, #2 St. Joseph by the Sea, #3 Christ the King – Byes  #5 St. Francis

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CHSFL PLAYOFF PAIRINGS ANNOUNCED

CHSFL 2021 playoff pairing are all set!  Iona, AAA, Chaminade, AA1, and Holy Trinity, AA2, grabbed the top seeds and a bye heading into next weeks quarterfinal round.  Archbishop Stepinac, JV AAA, and Fordham Prep, JV AA, are the top seeds in the Junior Varsity playoffs.  The 2021 playoff pairings are as follows: AAA Quarterfinals #1 Iona – Bye #7 Christ the King @ #2 Monsignor Farrell (11/6, 4:00 pm) #6 Kellenberg @ #3 Archbishop Stepinac (11/7, 1:30 pm)  #5 Cardinal Hayes @ #4 St. Anthony’s (11/5. 7:00 pm) AA1 Quarterfinals  #1 Chaminade – Bye #7 Xavier @ #2 Moore Catholic (11/6, 3:00 pm) #6 St. Francis Prep @ #3 St Joseph by the  Sea #5 St Peter’s @ #4 Fordham Prep (11/5 @ Flowers Park, New Rochelle, 7:00 pm)   AA2 Quarterfinals  #1 Holy Trinity – Bye #7 Cardinal Spellman @ #2 St. John the Baptist (11/6, 2:00 pm) #6 Xaverian  @ #3 Kennedy Catholic (11/5, 7:00 pm) #5 Mount St. Michael @ #4 Holy Cross (11/7, @ Flushing Memorial Field, 1:00 pm) JV AAA Quarterfinals 

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Week 7 CHSFL Players of the Week

By Matt Diano: Vaughan Johnson (Jr.); DT – Fordham Prep Rams Like NFL Hall of Famer defensive stoppers, Harry Carson and Len Ford, the 5’9, 220-pounder from White Plains [Johnson] did just live up to the reputation of the #53 jersey last Friday night, he has been making the number infamous all season long on behalf of the Rams….Their most recent victory (9-6 over Christ the King), which snapped a four-game drought, was just the continuation of the habitual sovereignty that the Fordham Prep junior DT has enjoyed this season against rival offensive lines… Entering week #7 tied (with teammate, Jaziah Moore) for the lead in the NYCHSFL (all divisions) with six sacks, the multi-sport (5th at the 2021 CHSAA City Wrestling Championships) student-athlete might as well change his legal name to “Furnace” because he was providing nothing but heat up the middle all night! A disruptive force that plagued

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Week 6 CHSFL Players of the Week

By Matt Diano: Leroy Biyo (Sr.); PK/MLB – Cardinal Spellman Pilots If James Brown was the “hardest working man in show business”, then when it comes to New York Catholic athletics, that moniker has got to attached to the 6’1, 155-pounder, senior, out of the Bronx [Biyo]…He is not just a dual-sport athlete overall; he’s doing double duty simultaneously!!! In one of the absolute most fascinating tales we may encounter this season, Biyo’s journeymen to stardom conjures up memories of the Neil Diamond classic, “I am, I said” where the sing-songwriter describes a frog who dreamed of being the king and then became one.” Already a full-time member of the Spellman varsity soccer squad, when Biyo originally joined the football team, it was to serve only in the capacity of a kicker/punter…However, as time passed and his passion grew, it was not long before he was requesting additional responsibilities and

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