Kellenberg Memorial has been a force on the ‘AA’ level for as long as I know. They have a total of 7 ‘AA’ titles, or equivalent championships throughout their history. This includes ones that they can claim through Maria Regina Diocesan High School. In my time, the Firebirds have always been a well coached, disciplined team that just couldn’t quite get over the hump. To be clear, there is no reason Kellenberg should not be one of the strongest programs in the CHSFL. Their enrollment is over 2,500 students, making them among the largest high schools in the area. I suppose what limits their competitiveness is that they compete with St. Francis Prep, St. Anthony’s, and Chaminade, all massive schools and well respected academic, and athletic institutions in their own right. 

Something just clicked for the Firebirds in the late 2010s. While they were part of the ‘AAA’ division, Kellenberg would often be looking outside at the ‘AAA’ tournament, competing in the ‘AA’ playoffs for much of their time. In 2010, and 2011, the Firebirds went to the ‘AA’ championship, only to lose to Stepinac 41-7 in 2010 and Fordham Prep 22-21 in 2011. Both stinging losses to the proud program. 

After these two seasons, the Firebirds struggled, going 16-28, and being bumped down to the ‘AA’ division. It is around this time that the CHSFL put a hard border between divisions. The introduction of Matt Sluka in 2017 revived the program, as he took the ‘AA’ by storm. In 2017, Sluka passed for 984 yards, and 10 touchdowns, and ran for 1619 yards, and 24 touchdowns. The offense was powered by this strong running game, as Frankie Roder (809 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns) and Jordan DeLucia (821 total yards, 8 touchdowns) rounded out a powerful ground game. The Firebirds ran through their schedule, and the playoffs, going 10-0, winning every game by 10 points or more. In the ‘AA’ Championship, they faced Fordham Prep, who was 9-1, led by phenom quarterback Matthew Velecce, who threw for 3,333 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just 7 interceptions). Velecce was a 4 year starter, who would end his career with 10,027 yards, 113 touchdowns, and just 22 interceptions. The Firebirds would continue their dominance in the championship, winning 54-19 and capping off an undefeated season at 11-0. 

Here are the scores for the 2017 season:

• Game 1: W vs Mount Saint Michael 47-26
• Game 2: W vs Holy Trinity 45-0
• Game 3: W vs St. John the Baptist 47-10
• Game 4: W vs Xavier 27-7 
• Game 5: W vs Fordham Prep 34-24
• Game 6: W vs St. Joseph by the Sea 31-6
• Game 7: W vs Holy Cross 42-25
• Game 8: W vs Moore Catholic 42-20
• ‘AA’ Playoffs Rd 1: W vs St. Joseph by the Sea 27-6
• ‘AA’ Playoffs Rd 2: W vs Xavier 28-7
• ‘AA’ Championship: W vs Fordham Prep 54-19

Matt Sluka Highlights 2017

The next season, Sluka and the Firebirds would not take anyone by surprise, and championship winners are awarded with a more difficult schedule. But where Sluka was known, the emergence of Jordan DeLucia as a force in the backfield would be realized. The Firebirds, a program that has always been a run first offense out of the spread, had the ideal team. They raced through the schedule yet again, with Sluka leading the offense again, throwing for 1,203 yards, and 14 touchdowns, and running for 1,131 yards, and 22 touchdowns. At RB, Jordan DeLucia rushed for 1,380 yards, and 18 touchdowns, and hauled in another 15 passes for 271 yards and 1 touchdown. In the championship, the Firebirds would face the other Jesuit school, Xavier, who made it on the backs of Daniel Vittiburga (1,257 yards, 19 touchdowns) and Kevin Gates (806 yards, 7 touchdowns). The Knights entered the ‘AA’ championship game with an impressive 7-3 record, but would face a buzzsaw in the championship, as Kellenberg completed their second undefeated season in a row, winning 41-6 to go 12-0 on the season. 

Take a look back, the broadcast is on YouTube

Here are the scores for the 2018 season:

• Game 1: W vs Massapequa 56-6
• Game 2: W vs Holy Trinity 34-14
• Game 3: W vs St. Francis Prep 42-6
• Game 4: W vs Xavier 47-14 
• Game 5: W vs St. John the Baptist 34-11
• Game 6: W vs Holy Cross 41-3
• Game 7: W vs Chaminade 42-14
• Game 8: W vs St. Peter’s 33-32
• Game 9: W vs Fordham Prep 41-0
• ‘AA’ Playoffs Rd 1: W vs St. Peter’s 48-14
• ‘AA’ Playoffs Rd 2: W vs Fordham Prep 47-20
• ‘AA’ Championship: W vs Xavier 41-6

Matt Sluka would graduate from Kellenberg, and spend a year at the Peddie School, before going to Holy Cross. In three seasons as a starter, he would throw for 5,709 yards and 57 touchdowns, and just 14 interceptions, and would run for additional 3,345 yards, and 34 touchdowns. After finishing at Holy Cross, Matt would transfer to UNLV, where due to NIL disputes, he sat out after three games. He is now at James Madison.

What would happen to Kellenberg in 2019? Well, they did not go undefeated, but they still had a wildly successful season, going 5-3 in the regular season– making it to the ‘AA’ championship game for the 3rd year in a row. Led by Jordan DeLucia, who ran for 1821 yards and 22 touchdowns, hauled in another 27 catches for 559 yards and 6 touchdowns, the Firebirds would face off against Chaminade in the ‘AA’ Championship, where the Flyers would beat them, 29-12. After this stretch, Kellenberg would move up to the ‘AAA’ division, where they would stay for four seasons, going 16-24, before the ‘AAA’ shrank yet again. Now, they are in the ‘AA’, and should be the prohibitive favorite to win the division again this year. 

Kellenberg is a historically strong program on Long Island, though often played 3rd fiddle to Chaminade and St. Anthony’s. Their dominance, and Long Island’s historic dominance over the CHSFL is important to understand where the league is today. After this, I will go back to the Bronx, to one of the more storied rivalries in the CHSFL, and how it changed the league, relatively recently.