Category: Players of the Week

Gregory Ajose-Martinez (Sr.); DE/OLB – St. Peter’s Boys Eagles While the temperature on the evening of September 20th never creeped below 72 degrees; there was a definitive chill in the air thanks to the presence of the 6’1, 180-pound Staten Islander [Ajose-Martinez]… A bona fide “Stone Called” assassin in the Eagles’ 21-7 triumph over Xaverian, the #26 was so active throughout the 48-minute ordeal, that it would be easier to count the number of defensive snaps where he did not record a hit or stop…. His 15 total tackles this season in the lead-up to week #3 among the tops on the team, the #26 shirt utilized a career night to vault himself to the top of the totem pole, as he’d double up the next highest tackler on the squad (Cosmo D’Amelio), 18-9, to usher in a wave of Blue & Gold defensive dominance… His epic effort invaluable in

Jonathan Bailey (Sr.); QB – Fordham Prep Rams Officially holding the rank of QB1 in 2024 after seeing plenty of field time (733 yards and 4 TD tosses on 52-of-114 passing; 238 yards and 2 touchdowns on 41 keepers last season) as a trusted back-up during his sophomore and junior years, the strapping 6’3, 176-pound field general out of Yonkers [Bailey] is epitomizing the saying that “the best things in life are worth waiting for.”… Like Adam, Abraham, King David, and all of the great shepherds guiding his flock, Bailey could not have been more in control of the Ram offense than he was this past weekend in orchestrating Fordham Prep’s 44-12 victory on Coffey Field over Holy Cross!!! The ability to elevate the performances of every teammate around you being the trait of any true leader/kingpin, Bailey succeeded in doing this in spades as he’d connect with five different

WEEK #0 (August 30-31st, 2024) Troy Fason (Jr.); RB/FS – St. Francis Prep Terriers “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”… For the two-way, dual-sport (also is a baller for the 2024 Diocesan Champs on the hardwood) weapon [Fason], his moments on offense may have been few; but he certainly made them count when it mattered most, as he would be the ultimate catalyst on both sides of the line of scrimmage in vaulting the visiting Terriers to a 21-20 triumph over the defending NYCHSFL AA-1 titlists from West Babylon, St. John the Baptist, on the afternoon of August 31st!! Prolific in all areas last season as a sophomore, despite entering his 11th grade campaign as the top returning rusher (71 touches for 329 yards on the ground; 16 receptions for an additional 200 yards) on the

Turkey Bowls (November 23rd, 2023) Reid Jones (Jr.); WR – Cardinal Hayes Cardinals Earning his second Player of the Week distinction in less than a month (previously in week #8), the 6’2, 185-pound wide receiver out of Brooklyn provided the entrée, the stuffings, and the dessert this past Thursday in vaulting the Cardinals to their 9th straight Turkey Bowl victory, 42-10, over Mount St. Michael Academy, in the All-Champion (Hayes the AAA titlists; the Mount claiming the AA-2 hardware) affair that determined Bronx bragging rights!!  Limited to just two catches (both in the finals win over Iona Prep) for 17 yards in the postseason, whether there was added motivation or just additional opportunity, Jones should certainly be “thankful” for that next gear he found this past Thursday, as he’d burn the Mountaineers to the tune of a 5-catch (2nd highest quantity this season), 165-yard (new career-best), 1 TD morning! Making

AAA (Cardinal Hayes Cardinals) Kenneth Antoine (Offensive; Sr.; RB) In a decorated four-year varsity career ripe with individual achievements, the only thing missing on the resume of the 6’0, 190-pound tailback from Harlem [Antoine] was the team hardware to accompany all of his personal feats!!! Last Saturday night, in the final game of the 2023 NYCHSFL Championship triple-header on the campus of Fordham University, t#22 made sure that he checked that box as well, carrying the pigskin 16 times for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns to propel the Cardinals to the program’s seventh overall Metro Catholic crown (third in the AAA division; first since 2019) behind a 30-29 victory over the Gaels of Iona Prep! Completing his three-game postseason saga having accrued 330 yards and four ground scores on 46 attempts (7.2/per), it did not take Antoine very long to make his presence felt in the title contest,

Semifinals (November 10th-11th, 2023) Rich Belin (Jr.); QB – Cardinal Hayes Cardinals I don’t get a vote, but from where I am sitting (currently on the living room couch of my home), if there was any debate as to whom the 2023 Metro Catholic Offensive Player of the Year recipient ought to be, that discussion was settled on the afternoon of November 11th, as the 6’0, 188-pound junior field general hailing from Harlem [Belin] was a human highlight film and/or one-man show at times during Fifth-seeded Hayes’ 29-26 victory on the road over their top-seeded hosts from Archbishop Stepinac!! Literally having a hand or leg in EVERY single point put on the board by the Cardinals during their semifinal showdown with the Crusaders, Belin notched his 15th-18th rushing touchdowns of the 2023 campaign to give him 41 total scores (23 passing, 18 rushing) this fall!! Amassing 285 yards of total

Quarterfinals (November 3rd-5th, 2023) Israel Centeno-Johnson (Sr.); RB/KR/PR – Kennedy Catholic Gaels There is just something about playing opposite the Pilots of Cardinal Spellman High School that brings out the best in the 5’10, 150-pound fireball hailing from the Nutmeg State [Centeno-Johnson]…. Honored as a Metro Catholic Player of the Week for the second time in his three-year varsity career [both occasions coming following explosive efforts in victories over Spellman; previously week #2 of the 2022 season], the Kennedy Catholic senior was electric every time he had the pigskin in his hands, as he amassed a legendary 305 yards of total production and was directly responsible for three touchdowns in vaulting the “boys of Somers” to the 33-12 quarterfinal triumph this past Friday Night!!! Two of his three scores coming on back-to-back kickoff returns at the conclusion of the 1st half and/or commencement of the 2nd half, Centeno-Johnson raced 75+

Week #7 (October 20th-22nd, 2023) Jon Bartolomei (Sr.); QB/DB – St. Dominic’s Bayhawks Welcome back to the club, Bayhawks!!!   Earning their first Player of the Week honor since week #7 of the 2017 season (per our records) following a 27-6 conquest over Cardinal Spellman on the afternoon of Saturday October 21st, St. Dom’s Head Coach, Gian Villante, could not have asked for a more comprehensive and utterly outstanding effort than the one he received out his two-way starting senior stud [Bartolomei]!! Getting the job done on both sides of the ball to deliver the second victory of the fall to the Oyster Bay based program, the 5’7, 155-pound resident of Deer Park went from having accounted for just one touchdown in his previous four appearances (22-yard TD pass in a victory over Yonkers Force in week #0) to striking for THREE in a single afternoon, as he almost single-handedly defeated

Week #6 (October 13th-15th, 2023) Steven Dowdy Jr. (Jr.); WR – Iona Prep Gaels Already sitting in the driver’s seat be the Gaels’ triple-crown winner in the receiving categories, not to mention the current chart-topper in the entire NYCHSFL with 36 catches heading into week #6, the 11th grader out of the Bronx [Dowdy Jr.] did nothing but further add to the legacy he is establishing in 2023 by emerging with program-highs of 3 hauls for 63 yards, and a pair of TD catches in Iona Prep’s 46-35 victory over Cardinal Hayes on Saturday afternoon!  His immense body of work raising his seasonal totals to 39 snatches for 455 yards, the pair of previously cited TDs (giving him 5 on the year) marked the first multi-touchdown reception game of his varsity career!! Registering the first of his two touchdown-yielding grabs with host, IP, holding a 10-7 lead, Dowdy Jr. slipped