Category: Awards

By Matt Diano: Aidan Bernal (Sr.); Two-Way Lineman – Kennedy Catholic Gaels In his 2010 song, “Timing is Everything”, Country singer/actor Garrett Hedlund proclaimed, “When the stars line up and you catch a break, people think you’re lucky, but you know its grace.”…For the Gaels in their 28-12 regular season title clinching win over Cardinal Spellman last Friday, it was a case of creating their own fortune and it all started with a game-changing play from their senior captain [Bernal]. Trailing 6-0 in the first quarter and in danger of falling into a deeper hole, the 5’11, 205-pound senior knocked the pigskin loose right before a Pilot runner could break the threshold.  In doing so, he created a 12-point swing in momentum (KC scored on the ensuing possession) and the Dom Tassone mentored program was never looked on their way to clinching the top seed in the “A” playoffs for

By Matt Diano: Shane Greene (Sr.); RB/LB – Xaverian Clippers We don’t know if the 5’10, 175-pound two-way force from Brooklyn is sentimental; but what is keenly obvious is that there is just something about the hoopla of Homecoming weekend that causes Greene to elevate his performance to an entirely different level…Honored as a POTW in the fourth week of the 2018 season (also Homecoming) after running for a career-high 155 yards and two TDs in a win over Mount St. Michael Academy, the Clipper senior made it two straight years that he was the “King of the Homecoming Gridiron” when he led Xaverian to the 42-23 triumph over Holy Trinity. Single-handedly accounting for nearly 25% of his school’s scoreboard output, Greene scored one of the team’s five rushing touchdowns when he took the ball to the house from 10 yards out.  He then added a pair of successful 2pt

By Matt Diano: Derrin Hansen (Sr.); OL/LB – Xaverian Clippers A bona fide game-changer on both sides of the line of the scrimmage, the 2018 All-Catholic selection (for defense) showed exactly why pundits consider him one of the supreme two-way players in the NYCHSFL by impelling the Clippers to their first win of the 2019 season, 32-0, over St. John the Baptist this past Friday. Recording double-digit stops for the third straight game (including the 2018 playoffs) and the fifth overall time in his three-year varsity career, the 6’2, 195-pounder out of Staten Island would be the main reason that Mike Jioia’s troops are celebrating their first shutout of an opponent since the second week of the 2017 season (48-0 against Kennedy Catholic).  Adding to the prestige of this feat is the fact that it was the first time since the 2015 AA quarterfinals that the Cougars were held scoreless.

By Matt Diano: Seth Surrett (Sr.); RB/DB – Kennedy Catholic Gaels Playing for the first time this season as a “solo act” in the backfield after it was announced that his band mate”, Myles Proctor (Single A rushing leader with 978 yards) would be sidelined for their semifinal game against Nazareth Regional, the 5’10, 180-pound Newburgh native [Surrett] would clarify that even if he wears jersey #2 and entered the game trailing his teammate for the top spot among all A Division runners, he most certainly does not play second fiddle to anyone in the NYCHSFL. The first student-athlete of the 2018 season to be named a Player of the Week on three separate occasions (previously recognized during weeks 1 and 4), the Kennedy Catholic senior would score all three of his school’s touchdowns in their 21-12 victory at home last Friday night. A defensive stalemate for first 17 minutes