Category: Awards

2022 Players of the Week – Week 2

Article by Matt Diano Week #2 (September 16th-18th, 2022)   John Michalski (Sr.); QB – Moore Catholic Mavericks Always questions of “when” and/or “how often” the 6’2, 205-pounder hailing from the Garden State will grace us with his presence on the POTW list, the future Sacred Heart University Pioneer has now made it three straight seasons that he garnered this esteemed honor…And for the second straight occasion [previously in the 2021 A-1 Quarterfinals], his highlight reel came at the expense of a very determined squad from Xavier… Less than a year removed from tormenting the Knights to the tune of a 300-yard passing, 80-yard rushing, 5-touchdown effort in the previously cited Metro Catholic playoffs last fall, the returning All-Catholic/2nd Team All-Stater was back to terrorize his foes from Manhattan this past Saturday afternoon, as he was the ringleader in a Mavs’ 28-17 victory on home soil that kept the ‘21

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2022 Players of the Week – Week 1

Article by Matt Diano Week #1 (September 9th-10th, 2022) Kameron Wheeler (Sr.); WR – Mt. St. Michael Acad. Mountaineers Named as a Metro Catholic Player of the Week for the first-time in his career as a Mountaineer, the 6’4, 180-pound senior wide receiver may have fallen slightly short of equaling the career-highs (6 receptions, 65-yards) he set last season versus Holy Cross, but there is no debating that Friday, September 9th, 2022 marked his finest showing as a student-athlete at the Mount!! Demonstrating that ability to embrace the big moment and rise when his team needed a catalyst, it was the Manhattan resident answering the call is MSMA’s 27-21 victory over the Gaels of Kennedy Catholic… Hauling in a pair of grabs that totaled nearly half (30 of 62) of the yardage accumulated by the Mountaineers during their game-winning drive, it was Wheeler on the back end of a perfectly

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2022 Players of the Week – Week 0

Article by Matt Diano Week #0 (September 2nd-3rd, 2022) Mattias Lighten (Jr.); WR/CB – Moore Catholic Mavericks A returning All-Catholic selection on offense at WR following a sophomore campaign that witnessed him haul in 37 balls for 655 yards and 4 touchdowns, Lighten if off to the kind of fast start that has us thinking that shattering his previous bests is not a question of “if” it will happen, but rather “how quickly” he is able to surpass his impressive stat line from a season ago! Pitted against an Eagle defense that features one of the top defensive backs in the AA-1 division this season [Elijah Campbell], Lighten would record the fourth 100+-yard receiving game of his career (accomplished the feat three times last year), as he was on the back end of four of teammate/fellow 2021 All-Catholic selection, John Michalski’s (6-for-10 passing; 145 yards, 2 TD tosses) six completions,

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2021 CHSFL PLAYER AWARD WINNERS

The CHSFL Congratulates the 2021 CHSFL Player Award Winners CHSFL AWARD WINNERS 2021 Monsignor Peter’s Memorial Award – Academic Scholarship Award Scott Becker (Iona Prep) Monsignor Peter’s Golden Eleven – Academic Scholarship Award Andrew Bardak (St Anthony’s) Henry Belin (Cardinal Hayes) Thomas Stueber (Chaminade) Liam Dunn (St. John the Baptist) James McCauley (Archbishop Stepinac) Michael Solimando (St Francis Prep) Justin Axiak (Xavier) Matthew Skjeveland (Holy Trinity) Christian Terranova (Kellenberg) David LaGanga (Xaverian) Anthony Ulses (St. Joseph by the Sea) John Bromm Memorial Award – Injured Player Award Charles Zamora (Archbishop Stepinac) Jordan Alvarez (Archbishop Stepinac) Ken Weinman Memorial Award – Injured Player Award Nick Duryea (Kennedy Catholic) Jose Ruiz (Iona Prep) Lieutenant Ronald Winchester Memorial Award – Unsung Hero John Prince (Archbishop Stepinac) Offensive Players Awards Joseph Riverso Memorial Award Ajani Sheppard (Iona Prep) AAI Offensive Players of the Year Christian Alacqua (Chaminade) AA II Offensive Player of the Year

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2021 NYCHSFL Awards Announcement

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

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2021 New York State CHSAA Title Game MVPs

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

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“Top Turkeys/Thanksgiving MVP’s”

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

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2021 CHSFL All League Players

  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

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Recapping our Championship MVP Performances

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;

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CHSFL Semifinal Players of the Week

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

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