Category: Game Reports

MIGHTY DEFENSE LEADS LI TO 14-7 SENIOR BOWL WIN!!!  In the time-honored Metro Catholic football tradition of some “pancakes and sausage” in the morning (Awards Breakfast); followed by one final appearance on the gridiron for our departing seniors… The theme of the day for the contingent from Long Island’s defense was “bend don’t break”!!! Spoiling repeated promising drives from their counterparts hailing from NYC; the Nassau/Suffolk/Queen comprised roster rose to the occasion when needed en route to hanging on for a 14-7 triumph on Sunday afternoon at the Mitchel Field Athletic Complex!!! The biggest defensive stand/game-saving moment occurring in the final 10:00 of regulation; it would back-to-back run stuffs by Chaminade LB, Liam Trainor, complemented by pass break-ups on 3rd and 4th downs courtesy of Josiah Dodson (St. Francis Prep) and Brody Richert (St. Anthony’s) that stranded the City boys on the LI 5-yard line and yielded a turnover on

XAVIER-22; FORDHAM PREP-21 EPIC FINISH!!! The 102nd edition of the Turkey Bowl will not soon be forgotten!!! In a game that featured four lead changes during the 4th quarter; it would be a 19-yard field goal on the last snap of the morning from the leg of senior specialist, Theo Sheridan-Vitale that proved to be the difference-maker as the visiting 2025 AA-1 Champion Knights stole the 22-21 triumph against the archnemesis Rams of Fordham Prep!!  Trailing 21-19 with just over 3:00 (3:07) remaining in regulation; the traditional/vaunted Xavier run attack gave way to an air raid as field general, Peter Heaney, would connect on 4-of-6 of throws, including a 21-yard hook-up to Ace Jernstedt on 4th &5, multiple pitch-and-catches to Michael Schechner (23 and 11 yards respectively), and a 14-yard exchange to Liam Averill (to the FP 5) to march the Manhattanites 83 yards to set up the dramatic conclusion!!

XAVIER-28; FORDHAM PREP-0 Playing inspired football on both ends, it would be the Dom DeFalco mentored Knights snapping a four-game losing streak in the 101st rendition of the historic rivalry when they emerged as 28-0 victors over the Rams of Fordham Prep on a miserably rainy Thanksgiving morning… The clock at the end of the 1st half being the only element that could stop their vaunted single-wing running attack during the opening 24 minutes of actions, Xavier would do all the damage necessary as it was a natural hat trick from strapping 6’2, 235-pound Jackson Lent that enabled them to successfully culminate their first four consecutive possessions of the day After a pass break-up (almost INT) by Maxwell Wyckoff on 3rd down generated a short punt to the FP 40 on the opening drive, it would be senior RB/WR, Aydin Mora, registering his 7th rushing down of the 2024 when

SENDING THEIR MENTOR OUT WITH THE CROWN!!! Congratulations to the top-seeded Mountaineers of Mount St. Michael Academy, who claimed the fifth NYCHSFL title in program history (1st since 2009) this morning behind a 34-3 victory over #2 Xaverian in the first leg of the Metro Catholic Championship triple-header on the campus of Fordham University! While not technically their final appearance of the 2023 campaign (they still have the annual Turkey Bowl showdown with Cardinal Hayes on Thanksgiving), the triumph on Coffey field served a two-fold purpose, as it not only erased the painful memories of the heartbreaking 29-22 loss suffered in the 2022 title contest at the hands of Xavier; but also had the added benefit of ensuing that 40-year Head Coach/pillar of the school, Mario Valentini’s final season on the sidelines was brought to a deserved and proper conclusion!!!    The Offense not quite clicking at the onset of

Article by Matt Diano More important than what a scoreboard read on a dreary Wednesday night at Mitchel Field, the memory that will last a lifetime is that for one final occasion, the best and brightest of the NYCHSFL’s class of 2023 got to strap on some pads and play the game they love…It is this sense of camaraderie, of passion, and of sportsmanship that defined us on November 30th, as former rivals were transformed into teammates and brothers!!!   That having been said, a score was kept and when the final horn sounded after 60 minutes (running time) of fierce action that witnessed both sidelines pour their entire being into the pursuit of victory, it was Team Long Island owning the gridiron, as they piggybacked off of the St. Anthony’s Catholic State title win (27-20 over St. Francis) by emerging with a 38-21 triumph over the contingent from New York

Article by Matt Diano Fordham Prep-41; Xavier-25 A traditional showdown that was much closer than the final score indicated (was as tight as 28-25 with 8:06 remaining in the 4th), a few costly turnovers and/or mental mistakes down the stretch allowed the Rams to pull away en route to the 41-25 victory in the 99th Annual Turkey Bowl over the 2022 NYCHSFL AA-2 champs from Xavier… The Maroon & White having now prevailed in four of the past five on-field meetings (including the virtual game played in 2020 due to Covid; also won by FP), they raised their overall lead in the saga to 53-41-4!!! Propelled by a career-day from junior signal caller, Matthew Moorehead, who tossed a personal-best 5 touchdown passes (after entering with just 10 during the season) on Thursday morning, the 41-points generated by the boys from the Bronx was the most they have accumulated during the