NYCHSFL Week 7 Power Rankings
1.) St. Anthony’s – Saint Anthonys is currently on a 4-game-winning streak and one of those wins came against Iona Prep who the Friars lost 35-28 in the playoffs last year. The Friars defeated Fordham Prep on Friday 35-7 continuing their dominant run on the league. Senior Quarterback Dante Torres is leading the Catholic League in passing yards (1,765) as well as total yards (1,988). The 5-1 Friars are looking to finish the season off strong against Christ the King (1-6) and Stepinac (6-1).
2.) Iona Prep – The Gaels are coming off a huge 49-0 win over Kellenberg to improve their record to 5-2 on the year. Iona had the rushing game working with QB Ajani Sheppard rushing for 111 yards with a touchdown, and RB Colin O’Garro rushing for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Firebirds. Senior quarterback Ajani Sheppard has torched defenders throwing for 14 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, along with 784 rushing yards.
3.) Stepinac – The 6-1 Crusaders are led by their junior Quarterback Will Currid who has thrown for 2,370 yards and 21 touchdowns. The Stepinac defense has been a critical component for the team’s success, led by Senior JT Krivinskas leading the team in 93 total tackles. Last week the Crusaders they had a monstrous victory 56-20 over Christ the King. Jandiel Jimenez recovered 2 fumbles that were both forced by JT Krivinskas with one being a touchdown! Senior Serge Lagerdere continues to be a force on the field finishing the game with 3 receptions 107 yards and a touchdown.
4.) Holy Trinity – Holy Trinity has been steamrolling the competition starting the season 7-0. Holy Trinity defeated Moore Catholic 21-14 led by Junior Quarterback Rocco Rainone paving the way. Rainone has 9 passing touchdowns with 0 interceptions as well as 787 passing yards. This team has been dominating its competition having its last loss two seasons ago after gong 10-0 last year as well.
5.) Kellenburg – The Firebirds started off hot with a 5-game winning streak starting the season. Senior Sean Cannon is making a difference on both sides of the ball with 538 receiving yards a team-leading 52 tackles and 5 interceptions. Kellenburg took a tough loss against Iona Prep 49-0 not being able to get the offense going against one of the best defenses in New York. Senior Jack Ligarzewski led the team with 8 tackles against Iona Prep. The Firebirds finish their season with two home games against Stepinac (6-1)
6.) Cardinal Hayes – Cardinal Hayes has had a rough start to the season going 0-6 so far. With their last game losing 56-20 against the Stepinac Crusaders they struggled to move the ball in the first half. Hayes’s offense is led by Sophomore Quarterback Rich Belin who did a tremendous job against the Crusaders extending plays in the second half. Belin found himself with many hard earned plays including rushing for a touchdown and many passes while jumping in the air or while scrambling out of the pocket.
7.) Chaminade – The Flyers are hot with a 3 game winning streak coming off a big win against Christ the King. Chaminade’s senior quarterback Matthew Dieguez led with 217 passing yards and 6 passing touchdowns! Gavin Creo the Fylers return man is 4th in New York State with 345 return yards giving Chaminade the best field position for Dieguez to work with. Chaminade has a tough final 2 games against Holy Trinity (7-0) and Iona Prep (5-2)
8.) Moore Catholic – The Mavericks have started the season 5-2, their second loss coming last week against the undefeated Holy Trinity. Matthias Lighten couldn’t be guarded with 7 receptions 151 yards and a touchdown. On the other side of the ball senior Michael Zah had two interceptions against the Holy Trinity offense. Even with these great individual preformences Moore Catholic came one touchdown short of the victory. Moore Catholic will face St Peters Prep (2-4) and Cardinal Hayes (0-6) to end the season.
9.) Farrell – Monsignor Farrell have started the season 3-4 which isn’t the start they were hoping for especially with finishing 8-3 last season. Nonetheless the Lions are coming off a huge 52-0 win over St Joes By The Sea which will hopefully give them momentum moving forward.
10.) St John the Baptist – The Cougars have started the year off hot 5-2 and currenrlty on a 2 game winning streak. Their most recent victory comes against Xavier defeating them 21-7 led by an outstanding game from Senior Elijah Alvarez. Alvarez had all three of the teams touchdowns with 113 rushing yards (2 rushing touchdowns) and 119 receiving yards (1 receiving touchdown)! The Cougars defense was taken over by the underclassman, Sophomore Lukas Skoda leading the team with 12 tackles and 1 TFL against Xavier. Junior Michael Wheat had an interception and Junior Branden Raines had a fumble recovery! St Johns the Baptist has one final regular season game this Saturday away at Mt. St. Michaels.
-Contributor: Jake Sanders
