Awards – Page 5

2021 NYCHSFL Awards Announcement

December 5, 2021

By Matt Diano: Tis the season where good deeds are rewarded tenfold and kings are gifted with gold!!! Unable to break bread as one Christian flock for a second consecutive season because of ongoing health restrictions (COVID), nothing replaces the elegance of our Communion breakfast custom…But still we are overjoyed to commemorate these worthy disciples with the same passion and affection of yesteryear! Today, your legacies are forever cemented as you are officially recognized as the finest of your craft! Taking home the top offensives prizes in recognition of respective outstanding performances that yielded 6,601 yards, 77 touchdowns, and most importantly, THREE NYCHSFL title-game berths on behalf of their schools were… Joseph Riverso Memorial Award – Ajani Sheppard, Iona Prep AAA Offensive Player of the Year Ajani Sheppard Jr. QB Iona Prep – Made Westchester County history last weekend during the 2021 CHSAA AAA State title when he became the

2021 New York State CHSAA Title Game MVPs

December 1, 2021

By Matt Diano: Offense: Justin Joly (Sr.); WR/RB/DB – Iona Prep Gaels A proverbial Swiss Army knife on offense for the Gaels, the 6’4, 220-pounder put a bow on an already immensely decorated scholastic career when he donned multiple hats as part of the 38-22 victory over St. Francis (Buffalo) that delivered the first New York State crown in program history to the New Rochelle based campus (Iona Prep) Directly responsible or a major contributing party to the majority of the Maroon & Gold’s scoring drives, the newly back on the market standout (decommitted from Delaware on Monday; pondering interest from the likes of UConn, Stony Brook, Albany) amassed 125 yards of total offensive production and scored three touchdowns (two of which occurred in the 2nd half as part of streak of 21 unanswered points that blew the contest open)! Handling the pigskin on 15 combined opportunities, #7 emerged with

“Top Turkeys/Thanksgiving MVP’s”

December 1, 2021

By Matt Diano: 98th Edition of Fordham Prep vs. Xavier Jack Annicelli (Sr.); QB – Fordham Prep Rams Suiting up for the Rams for the final time in his varsity career, next to a title, there was no sweeter manner in which the 6’3, 190-pound, field general out of Bedford could have concluded this chapter of his scholastic story, as he alongside fellow 12th grader, Jack Wolf)were the driving forces behind FP’s 27-13 victory on home soil over the Knights of Xavier this past Thursday! The triumph, their third in the last four years, improved FP’s record in this historic annual showdown to 53-41-4! His school trailing 7-0 to their rivals at the end of the 1st quarter, the cerebral stud (4.3 grade point average) ignited a streak of 27 unanswered points when he posted his first rushing touchdown of the fall on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to even the

2021 CHSFL All League Players

November 29, 2021

CHSFL ALL-LEAGUE 2021 OFFENSE Last First Class Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown High School Alacqua Christian 12 RB 6’0 185 Manhasset, NY Chaminade Allen Dae’Shawn 11 WR 5’11 165 Greenburgh, NY Archbishop Stepinac Annicelli Jack 12 QB 6’3 190 Bedford, NY Fordham Prep Aracena Yordyn 12 OL 6’0 260 Brooklyn, NY Christ the King Bartolomei Jonathon 10 QB 5’5 140 Deer Park, NY St. Dominic Beauvoir Donovan 12 WR 5’11 180 Bronx, NY Cardinal Hayes Becker Scott 12 OL 6’2 295 Briarcliff Manor, NY Iona Prep Belin Henry 12 QB 6’3 225 Harlem, NY Cardinal Hayes Bernal Evan 12 OL 6’3 265 Ossining, NY Kennedy Catholic Braithwaite Dylan 11 WR 5’11 180 Valley Stream, NY Holy Trinity Brown Josiah 10 WR 6’0 180 East Rockaway, NY Holy Trinity Bruno Nicholas 12 RB 5’9 150 Staten Island, NY Xavier Burch Messiah 11 RB 5’10 170 Staten Island, NY Monsignor Farrell Cammileri

Recapping our Championship MVP Performances

November 24, 2021

By Matt Diano: “AAA” Offense: Ajani Sheppard (Jr.); QB – Iona Prep Gaels From start to finish of the fall (although the Gaels are not done yet), the 6’2, 230-pound 11th grader has been the most versatile and dominant offensive weapon in all of the Metro Catholic football league (regardless of classification) …What he achieved this past Saturday in Iona Prep’s 49-15 triumph over Monsignor Farrell was just the next act in what was a weekly pattern of dual-threat excellence and/or superiority! Quite frankly, if you are a power-5 NCAA program that paid attention to his junior campaign and still are not ready to extend that offer, then the loss/regret is going to stay with you forever!!! Leading the Gaels to their first triple-A hardware since 2008 (won AA in 2016), even a leprechaun would have been envious of the standout in the #3 jersey on November 20th;

CHSFL Semifinal Players of the Week

November 17, 2021

By Matt Diano: John Caufield (Jr.); QB/Punter/DB – Monsignor Farrell Bestowed with the most flattering of praise from the Lion coaching staff following a 24-21 victory in the semifinals against Archbishop Stepinac, the 6’1 175-pound, junior hailing from Staten Island [Caufield was so perfectly described as “having his fingerprint all over the victory” this past Saturday evening. Embattled in a contest where it was known that a back-and-forth shootout would favor the visiting Crusaders (who were seeking their seventh straight trip to the AAA finals), Caufield not only shined in his usual roles as a defensive back and a punter, but also went the extra mile, stepping up to take a few snaps as a wildcat quarterback as part of a deliberate attempt to control possession and keep the pigskin out of the hands of their always explosive opponents from White Plains. Pitted against an AS offense that entered boasting

CHSFL Quarterfinal Players of the Week

November 10, 2021

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

Week 8 CHSFL Players of the Week

November 3, 2021

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

Week 7 CHSFL Players of the Week

October 28, 2021

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

Week 6 CHSFL Players of the Week

October 20, 2021

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

Category: Awards