Category: Players of the Week

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

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

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;

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