Category: Players of the Week

Joseph Petti (Sr.); OT/DT – Fordham Prep Rams Donning the Ram colors for the final time in his scholastic football career, Petti closed out this chapter of his gridiron saga in much the same way all of the previous pages were written—by being a dominant force on both sides of the line of scrimmage in sending Fordham Prep to their second straight “W” in the Annual Turkey Bowl (celebrating its 94th anniversary last week), 28-0, over the rival Knights of Xavier. Known more for his work as the hole-plugging centerpiece (DT) of the FP defensive line, when it comes to protecting his quarterback, we find that Petti is pretty darn good on the offensive side of the ball as well….With the gentle giant watching his blind side, the Rams’ record-setting signal caller, Matt Valecce, would give those who have had the privilege of watching him under center the past four

Before we turn our attention to Championship Saturday let’s look back at some of the players who shined in getting their teams there. By Matt Diano: Ian Devine (Sr.); DE/DT – Fordham Prep Rams Described as “the anchor on the defensive side of the ball” in Fordham Prep’s 41-14 AA semifinal victory over St. Francis Prep, the 6’2, 260-pounder impacted the game in every way possible, serving as the Ram’s primary run-stopper (4 tackles), as well a relentless pass rusher on Terrier toss attempts…With the Pelham resident applying constant pressure from the edge, the FP defense limited St. Francis Prep to a 20 percent (3-for-15) completion percentage and a modest 54 yards while forcing them into a trio of interceptions…. Among these three interceptions, the most outstanding of the bunch would be posted by Devine himself when, with the #2 seeded Rams already leading 27-0 in the second quarter, he

By Matt Diano: Jayden Lambert (Jr.); RB/CB – Iona Prep Gaels There is no sweeter time to get revenge than in the postseason….Only a few weeks ago, the Gaels of Iona Prep were left with that bitter feeling in their stomachs when Monsignor Farrell rallied late in the game to steal the week #6 match-up by a mere point, 29-28…This past weekend, the two storied programs squared off again in the opening round of the triple-A playoffs and unlike the first meeting, there would be no back-and-forth drama, as the visitors from New Rochelle scored at the halfway point of the first quarter to take the 7-0 advantage and never looked back, exploding for 52 points in their 52-20 victory over the Lions. While the firepower and quick striking ability of the Gaels as a unit came as no surprise (they average nearly 40 points per game), the individual who

By Matt Diano: Jonathon Geruso (Sr.); RB – Xavier Knights Unlike Iona Prep, Xavier took the field during the last week of the regular season not knowing their exact fate.   Entwined in a four-team battle for only three postseason berths, the Knights took the field on October 28th knowing that if they did not win, it might mean a premature conclusion to their 2017 season….Making an already fairly dire situation worse was the fact that not only did they need a win to feel safe, they needed to earn that win over one of the top teams in the AA division, the Mountaineers of Mount St. Michael Academy (the 3rd place team heading into the contest). Well aware of the explosiveness of the MSMA ground attack, Coach Stevens and his staff would “dance with the lady who has brought them so much success over the years.”….Rather than try to engage

    By Matt Diano: Jack Rooney (Jr.); QB – St. Dominic’s Bayhawks If we have said it once, we had uttered it 100s of times, “the test of the true leader is when the chips are stacked against you, you still find a way to prevail”….For the Bayhawks and their junior signal caller, the situation was not looking particularly good last Saturday, as they trailed Nazareth Regional 6-0 late in the 4th quarter….In desperate need of a spark, the Oyster Bay based program would put their fate in the proverbial hands and the literal arm of the Syosset resident.  Coach Robert Ploth and his staff would be rewarded for the confidence they showed in their “Jack of All Trades” quarterback as Rooney would orchestrate the game-tying drive when he dropped back and hit senior, Robby Rossiter, on an 82-yard strike in the final 6:00 of regulation to even the

By Matt Diano: Liam McHale (Sr.); WR – Fordham Prep Rams Playing on a Ram offense that features two returning All-State players, it is often easy to get overlooked.   This is precisely what has happened in the case of the 6’6 Fordham Prep receiver, McHale…Without question, the #1 target on just about every other NYCHSFL team, while he may not get the respect he deserves in the publications, the Buchanan resident is having a monster senior campaign and may be very well be on his own All-State path following yet another steady and outstanding effort in his team’s 42-30 victory over Moore Catholic. The team leader last weekend with his seven grabs, McHale’s combination of size and athleticism continues to make him a match-up nightmare for most secondaries….Countless times on third down, his number would be called and he’d respond with a leaping catch over the middle to preserve the

Demetrios Demetriades (Jr.); WB/CB – Xavier High School Knights This time last year, the junior two-way player was focused on a different kind of football, as he was a sophomore starter on the soccer team during his sophomore campaign….Thankfully for Head Coach, Chris Stevens, and his staff, the 5’11, 170-pound Brooklynite elected to ditch the pitch and take his amazing athletic skills to the gridiron in 2017.   That decision is already proving to be worth its weight in gold for the Knights as Demetriades has factored prominently into each of his school’s two wins thus far this season. During the opening week of the season, it was his 20-yard TD run (on just his second touch of the game) in double-overtime that was the difference maker in a 19-13 victory over St. John the Baptist…This past week, his contributions may have lacked that same level of drama that accompanies a

Matt Valecce (Sr.); QB – Fordham Prep Rams A student-athlete who has been so dominant during the early part of his senior campaign that based on merit, he could easily be a four-time POTW selection already, Valecce makes his debut on the 2017 list following his second straight five touchdown pass game in a 35-28 victory over Mount St. Michael that kept the Rams atop the AA standings…In the four games that Fordham Prep has played this season, the Boston College bound signal caller has had a hand in no less than three scores each time he has stepped onto the field…His march up the record books is as ferocious as ever as he has now  tossed for 1,226 yards and 16 TDs whole completing a remarkable 74 percent of his throws (84-for-114) in keeping his school unblemished thus far. While the gaudy numbers are no doubt mind-blowing, as we

Frankie Roder (Jr.); RB/LB – Kellenberg Memorial Firebirds For many an athlete at any level of competition, you can wait your entire career and never have the kind of show-stopping, page-turning, game-changing type of performance that Firebird junior, Frankie Roder, posted last Saturday afternoon in KMHS’s season-opening 47-26 road victory over Mount St. Michael Academy…And, it all happened in his VARSITY DEBUT!!!  If what happened on September 9th becomes the norm for the 5’11, 170-pounder from Franklin Square, then we just saw the birth of a future legend in the Blue & Gold. Carrying the pigskin just eight times on the afternoon, Roder would certainly maximize the quality of all of his touches, as he found the end zone 50 percent of the time, scoring his four touchdowns from distances o 2, 14, 14, and 18 yards away…The timing of his success could not have been more perfect as his initial