Awards – Page 6

Week 5 CHSFL Players of the Week

October 13, 2021

By Matt Diano: Wayne Coleman (Jr.); DT – Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders In a week #5 collision of two absolute triple-A title contenders where 70+ points are put on the board between two explosive offenses, it might have been hard to find the diamond(s) in the rough on the other side of the line of scrimmage; this was NOT the case with Wayne Coleman…. The 6’1, 270-pound 11th grader made it quite easy to take notice of his complete display, as the tireless work ethic he implored and the energy he exuded (both on special teams and on “D”) were apparent from the opening whistle to the final horn of the Crusaders’ 40-36 victory on the road against St. Anthony’s this past Saturday afternoon… To borrow from former UFC two-division titlist, Conor McGregor, “Life is about growing and improving, and getting better.”…And that is precisely what has been transpiring with the

Week 4 CHSFL Players of the Week

October 6, 2021

By Matt Diano: Justin Joly (Sr.); WR/RB/Rover – Iona Prep Gaels Let’s just put it out there; Justin Joly should have been a Player of the Week selection last week; Double-J could be a POTW pick next week, and so forth…That is just how much of a game-changing/revolutionary performer the 6’4, 220-pounder is on a consistent basis…There is no hesitation on our part when we proclaim that there will not be an outing this season that #7 fails to make a positive impression or significant contribution…After all, when you have accumulated over 80 grabs for close to 1,300 yards, and 13 touchdowns during a three-year starting career in New Rochelle, it is no longer a secret that you are a “weapon of mass production!!!” Still riding the momentum/wave of a week #3 display that witnessed him catch six balls for 203 yards + a touchdown trifecta in the Gaels’ 63-20

Week 3 CHSFL Players of the Week

September 29, 2021

By Matt Diano: Christian Alacqua (Sr.); RB – Chaminade Flyers To watch the 5’11, 185-pounder out of Manhasset compete the past three weeks is to ask yourself, is it impossible to have a “once-in-a-generation” caliber talent on campus TWICE in a matter of three seasons? Sidelined for much of his abridged junior campaign due to the injury bug last spring, the future Cornell University lacrosse midfielder is turning heads and making jaws drop with the way he has come out of the gate on fire in his swan song on behalf of the Kevin Dolan Crimson & Gold ground attack!! The successor to 2019 3rd Team All-State selection/2x Newsday All Long-Island 2nd-team honoree, Mario Fischetti Jr. (now playing in the backfield at Williams College), [Christian] Alacqua has been so remarkable at the onset of the fall that he has the Flyer faithful feeling overcome with a sense of déjà vu….

Week 2 CHSFL Players of the Week

September 22, 2021

By Matt Diano: James McCauley (Sr.); QB – Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders Judy Garland delivered the famous line, “There’s no place like home.”; Elvis Presley sung, “Home is Where the Heart is.”; And for the 6’2, 190-pound, senior signal caller for the Crusaders [McCauley], “home” can be found on Mamaroneck Avenue and it truly is the ONLY place he wanted to write the final story of his scholastic chapter!! The back-up field general for Head Coach, “Mike O’Donnell’s 2019 NYCHSFL triple-A runners-up as a sophomore, the cerebral assassin (boasts a grade point average of 104; posted an SAT score of 1340) spent his junior season leading Georgia prep powerhouse, Carrollton, to an 8-3 record en route to earning individual 2nd Team All-Region honors in his lone year in the “Peach State”. However, with there being more reassurances that there would be action on the gridiron in New York despite the on-going

Week 1 CHSFL Players of the Week

September 16, 2021

By Matt Diano: Chad Case (Jr.); LB – Holy Trinity Titans Speaking of virtuosic stoppers on “D”, the 5’8, 180-pound dynamo from Baldwin competed with such tenacity and firepower during week #1 that those in attendance must have thought he had been shot out of a cannon.. Going above and beyond in the HT 27-0 goose-egging of Monsignor Martin (Buffalo) league member, St. Joseph’s Collegiate, Case logged a double-digit (10) effort in tackles and cemented his POTW status behind a supplemental highlight package that included, but was not limited to, 1 TFL, 1 sack, and a fumble recovery… With Case delivering the pain on behalf of a Holy Trinity defense that pitched their first shutout since 2018 (49-0 against St. Dominic’s on 10/28), it is no wonder why Titan third-year head coach/Class of ‘97 graduate, Kahmal Roy, was overjoyed when the young hammer elected to be a Titan! Concentrated and/or

NYC Spring Series Week 4 Players of the Week

May 12, 2021

By Matt Diano: Troy Telesford (Jr.); LB – Moore Catholic Mavericks After scintillating performances on the offensive side of the ball during the first two weeks of the 2021 season (courtesy of John Michalski and Michael Peraino), it was the defense’s turn to take center stage in the Mavericks’ spring sendoff…And boy did they get their money’s worth and then some out of the 6’2, 225-pound junior linebacker [Telesford]…So accurately described in a tweet from Defensive Coordinator, Nate Ryan, as a “sideline to sideline killer”, the Brooklyn boy may have been playing on the school’s new red turf, but “black & blue” seemed to be his mantra for the day after delivering one bone-chilling hit after another in Moore’s 29-12 victory over St. Peter’s on May 8th…Hearing his name and #1 jersey called so often that at times it must have given off the impression that he had been cloned,

NYC Spring Series Week 3 Players of the Week

May 5, 2021

By Matt Diano: Aidan Hanley-Piri (Jr.); QB – Cardinal Spellman Pilots Someone please give Aidan Hanley-Piri a pair of aviator sunglasses and a Blue Angels jacket. The past Sunday, people tuned in expecting to watch football; instead, the 6’2, 200-pound junior field general treated them to an air show en route to propelling the Pilots to their first victory of the spring, 40-28, over visiting Nazareth Regional…Working his way back into prime game condition after being hampered by an ankle injury suffered during week #1, the gentleman in the #2 jersey shattered not only established new personal bests, but also shattered quite a few school records with 48-minute display of aerial brilliance…Connecting on 23 of 31 throws, he hurled for a remarkable 315 yards, and SIX touchdowns to have a direct hand in all of Spellman’s scoring plays…And trust us when we say that pitted against a gritty Kingsmen foe

NYC Spring Series Week 2 Players of the Week

April 28, 2021

By Matt Diano: Elijah Fuentes (Sr.); DL – Cardinal Hayes Cardinals A year ago, Coach CJ O’Neil’s Cardinals were mere moments away from hoisting a Catholic League State title before a Canisius touchdown pass (and 2pt conversion) with no time remaining on the clock ripped their hearts out…The memories of that loss are now serving as the inspiration behind what very much appears to be the best defensive unit the school has boasted in quite some time…Surrendering just 32 points total during the first two weeks of the 2021 spring (after allowing an average of 22+ in 2019) en route to victories over Monsignor Farrell & St. Peter’s, the defending NYCHSFL Triple-A champs are looking unbeatable at the halfway point of their abridged season…Acting as the heartbeat for these “pillars of pain” is the Syracuse University bound defensive lineman out of the Bronx [Fuentes]…Regarded as one of the top-10 in-state

NYC Spring Series Week 1 Players of the Week

April 21, 2021

Joshua Bagwell (Sr.); QB – Holy Cross Knights Looking at the NYC week #1 schedule, it would not have been surprising to hear most pundits predict that that a senior signal caller would put on a show and unequivocally be rewarded with POTW honors in the battle of Queens between Holy Cross and Christ the King…However, what many of these insiders are now humbly forced to confess (myself included) is that while we were correct on the position, we missed on the individual…With all of the attention focused squarely on seeing what 247 Sports #1 rated NYS QB/2x All-Catholic/2019 1st-Team All-Stater, Noah Bodden, would do as an opening act in 2021, instead it was his counterpart [Bagwell] that owned the night en route to leading the Knights to the decisive 34-12 triumph last Friday…Completing nine of 14 throws for a sum of 111 yards, the 5’10, 150-pounder out of Springfield

LI/West Bowl Game Players of the Week

April 20, 2021

By Matt Diano: Maximus Mongelli (Sr.); WR/DB – Kellenberg Memorial Firebirds Last Friday marked the “last hurrah” for one of the most prolific families in Kellenberg and/or NYCHSFL history when the 6’0, 180-pound two-way player out of Port Washington [Mongelli] became the last of his four brothers to don the Blue & Gold for a final occasion in his school’s 35-25 road victory against St. John the Baptist…Dating back to the 2013 season, the quartet of “ginger gems” (Michael: 2013/2014, Marco: 2015/2016, Matthew: 2017/2018, Maximus: 2019/2021) racked up 150+ catches, over 3,000 yards of receiving output and were responsible for 35 touchdowns on behalf of the Firebirds…The latter three brethren combined to earn POTW honors four times (Max being the only 2x recipient; previously during the 2019 AA semifinals), with the last two leading KMHS to a pair of “AA” crowns in 2017 and 2018 (Matthew), as well as a

Category: Awards