There are three games left in the 2025 football season for Catholic schools in New York. The annual Turkey Bowl between Fordham Prep/Xavier and Mount St. Michael/Cardinal Hayes played on Thanksgiving morning, and the NYCHSAA Championship game between Iona Prep and St. Francis High School.

I know a lot of people roll their eyes when it comes to the Thanksgiving day games, but to each school community, these games mean something. Nothing counts if you lose that last game. So whether it is “Beat the Mount, the rest don’t count,” or “Slam the Ram,” these traditions are what separates the NYCHSFL from the rest of the leagues in New York. Whether it is the first Fordham/Xavier game being called due to darkness in 1887, or Xavier triumphing over Fordham Prep on their way to a ‘AA’ Championship in that hurricane Sandy stricken season in 2012, or Mount St. Michael and Cardinal Hayes duking it out for the ‘AA’ Championship in 2009 and 2013, and when Cardinal Hayes won the state championship in 2023, the State Championship game was delayed, to make room for the Mount/Hayes game, these games mean something. During the ‘AA-1’ Championship this past Saturday, early in the 1st quarter, Xavier spectators were already talking about this Thanksgiving day rivalry.

Here are some plays from the Fordham Prep vs Xavier game throughout the years.

See below:

Shawn Antione II, a Cardinal Hayes Alumnus, made a documentary short film about the Mount St. Michael vs Cardinal Hayes rivalry.

See below:

Show Mr. Antione II some love, see his work here. His IG is @shawnantoineii.

First the Turkey Bowl Games:

Fordham Preparatory School vs Xavier High School– YouTube Broadcast

Fordham Prep/Xavier played their first game in 1887 and has played every year since 1927, except for 2020 during Covid. The game has been played 101 times with this year being the 102nd Edition. Fordham Prep holds a 55-42-4 lead in the series.

Scores here.

Last year, in the pouring rain and the wind whipping back and forth at Aviator, Xavier put on a clinic against the heavily favored Rams. Jackson Lent rushed for 195 yards and three touchdowns, and Jerry Kuharski added 102 more yards on a day where the Knights chewed up 327 yards of offense in a 28-0 shut out. This was Xavier’s 42nd win, but Fordham Prep has owned the series recently, winning 6 of the previous 8 meetings.

This year, Fordham Prep struggled, going 3-8 on the year, and had a very difficult schedule for a ‘AA-1’ school. They played Eagle Academy II, a PSAL AAAA program, as well as St. Anthony’s, and Monsignor Farrell, top teams in the ‘AAA’. They came up short against St. John the Baptist, the number 1 seed of the ‘AA-1’ St. Joseph by the Sea twice, St. Peter’s and St. Francis Prep. They notched victories over Mount St. Michael, Holy Trinity, and St. Francis Prep in the playoffs before falling in the semifinals. The offense struggled a lot this year, but found its groove later in the year. The team is young with a lot of underclassmen getting significant playing time. The strength of this team is on defense, led by their defensive line– Kevin Cameron, David Agyemang, Oliver Valeras, Pierce Brogan up front supported by linebackers Nicholas Holahan, Dylan Saladino, David Holahan, and Lake Chiesi. On offense, Collin Ballantyne takes the majority of the snaps at quarterback, and when he’s not handing off to Luke McKay, he is throwing to targets Mendim Dacaj, Alessandro Sanchez, Lake Chiesi, Adam Hermosura. MaxPreps does not have any numbers listed offensively, but this is a group that improved over the season.

On Xavier’s side, it all begins and ends with the Single Wing and their tough defense. Few teams, save for Stepinac, have shown that they could slow down this offense led by four great backs, Peter Heaney, Elijah Stewart, Tyler Buono, and Riley McLaughlin. While Fordham Prep has shown they know how to stop the single wing over the years, it tends to be really difficult when the system is run as efficiently and as well as the Knights have done this season. It doesn’t help that the defense is as strong as any in the league this year. Led by Robert Milacci, Xavier is stout from top to bottom. It was difficult for any team to move the ball on this unit, especially on the ground.

I do think Fordham Prep’s defense will be ready this year. The Rams always defend the single wing relatively well when they have a large and imposing defensive line, and a great linebacking corps. The Rams will look to play spoiler and ruin Xavier’s season. Xavier will only be on a few days rest from winning the ‘AA-1’ Championship. That being said, this Xavier team is special. I am picking Xavier to win the Turkey Bowl for the 43rd time.

Mount St. Michael Academy vs Cardinal Hayes High School– Hudl Broadcast

Mount St. Michael and Cardinal Hayes has played an impressive 81 times, with this year being the 82nd Edition. This game has been played every year since 1943, except for 2020 during Covid. Played at the Mount, Cardinal Hayes has won every game since 2013, but Mount St. Michael holds a 47-29-5 lead in the series.

Scores here.

The rain did not spare last year’s edition of this game either, as Cardinal Hayes came away with a win 22-0 in the pouring rain. This was Rich Belin’s send off game and was expected after a strong Cardinals season.

Cardinal Hayes nearly turned over their whole team, and had a very difficult season, playing most of the ‘AAA’ and St. Peter’s in the ‘AA-1’, Hayesmen finished 3-8, two of those wins were against Erasmus Hall in a scrimmage type game, and a forfeit by Moore Catholic who folded this year. The 3rd win came in a tough game against Albany against St. Joseph Collegiate Institute by a score of 28-14. The identity of this team is running the football. With Khalid Hedges and Kymonni Valentine in the backfield, you will find few defenses that can deal with the duo. Kyle Mercorelli, a transfer from New Jersey, targets receivers Erik Drobnak, Aiden Howard, Johnnye Booker, and Saleh Atariwa. The Hayes offense struggled this year with finishing drives. They will have to do so this game if they want to come away with a win. Mount St. Michael had a disappointing year, going 4-6 overall with wins against St. Dominic’s, Nazareth, Kennedy Catholic, and fellow Bronx school Cardinal Spellman. The Mount is led by sophomore quarterback Jacob Jimenez, who threw for an impressive 1,226 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year. Throwing to Ryan Reid, who has 30 receptions 559 yards, and 8 touchdowns, Drew Diaz, who has 12 catches 231 yards, and 3 touchdowns, and Ryan Urena, who has 12 catches 203 yards and 3 touchdowns, this was a banner year for the Mount passing game. Anchored by Victor Declet, who ran for 804 yards and 9 touchdowns, the Mount will need all of these players to show up of they expect to win this year.

I think that this year will be closer than usual, but the strength and size of Cardinal Hayes is will be too much for the Mount. I am picking Cardinal Hayes to get their 30th win.

NYSCHSAA State Championship

The NYSCHSAA, the governing body for Catholic School athletics, governs four dioceses across the State of New York. The NYCHSFL, which is different than the NYSCHSAA, organizes football for the following dioceses:

• The Archdiocese of New York
• The Diocese of Brooklyn
• The Diocese of Rockville Centre

The NYCHSFL is the CHSAA champion of these three regions in New York. But there is a Catholic league upstate. The football league is called the Monsignor Martin league, or the MMHSAA, and they operate out of the diocese of Buffalo. Since 2014, when a champion is crowned in the ‘AAA’ division of the NYCHSFL and the ‘A’ division of the MMHSA, the NYSCHSAA Championship is held, and a State Champion is crowned. For the first 6 years of the game, the two league’s split, with Canisius High School being crowned Catholic State Champion 3 times, and Archbishop Stepinac being crowned Catholic State Champion 3 times. Since Covid, the NYCHSFL Champion has been victorious in all four of the meetings. The NYCHSFL is 7-3 in these games, playing only Canisius High School and St. Francis High School in these games.

See the Championship game results below:

Onto this year’s edition:

Iona Preparatory School vs St. Francis High School– SportsEngine Broadcast

This page does not cover the MMHSAA, so I am not as familiar with the Red Raiders but they come in with an impressive 10-1 record overall. Their results below:

• 42-35 Win vs Jackson High School (OH)
• 20-15 Win vs St. Andrew’s College (Canada)
• 56-32 Loss vs Catholic Memorial High School (MA)
• 49-22 Win vs Cathedral Prep School (PA)
• 35-0 Win vs St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute
• 46-6 Win vs Erie High School (PA)
• 59-35 Win vs Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School
• 35-28 Win vs McDowell Senior High School (PA)
• 29-14 Win vs Canisius High School
• 35-0 Win vs Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School
• 41-34 Win vs Canisius High School

The Red Raiders are a team that can run the football. They have 2,840 yards rushing on the season with three players having more than 600 yards and 8 touchdowns. Tyrone Clark Jr. is the workhorse, and one head of the three headed monster in the backfield. He comes into this game with 1,141 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season. Dominic Cook Jr. is the second head of the the backfield with 748 yards and 11 touchdowns. Trent Buttles, the team’s quarterback, adds another 633 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground. All three players are juniors, and I am not sure that Iona has played a team with three dynamic weapons all year. Though this teams identity is clearly running the football with over 400 rush attempts on the season, Trent Buttles has been stellar at quarterback. He has 1,668 passing yards on 60% completion, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. His top two targets combined for 58 of his 109 completions on the year. Junior Aiden Hopwood has 30 catches, 535 yards, and 5 touchdowns and sophomore Mason Anderson has 28 catches, 500 yards, and 11 touchdowns. On defense, Trent Buttles is all over the field as well with 77 tackles, second on the team, and 3 interceptions. Seniors Larry Hardy III with 83 tackles and Samuel Skalski with 54 tackles round out a strong defensive unit. St. Francis’ defense has 11 people on the team with over 20 tackles, and 3 more with 20+ on the year, indicative of strong team defense.

The Gaels offense is much more balanced with 2,401 rushing yards and 2,220 passing yards. Julian Guzman is their quarterback, and he is the facilitator and super star that has compiled an impressive 2,113 yards on 67% completion, 19 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions. He throws to a variety of targets, which include Eric Pirello who has 36 catches, 434 yards, and 5 touchdowns, Joe Wolf with 29 catches, 600 yards, 9 touchdowns, and of course, Crew Davis, who has 29 catches, 396 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Julian Guzman also provides a threat on the ground, running for 703 yards and 11 touchdowns on the year. On the ground though, Crew Davis is the answer. He has compiled an impressive 1,257 yards on the ground, and 15 touchdowns. This totals 183 touches, 1,653 yards, and 18 touchdowns. His total last week in the NYCHSFL ‘AAA’ Championship? He had 25 carries, for 204 yards, and a touchdown, as well as 5 receptions for 51 yards. The formula is simple, get the ball to Crew, preferably behind this offensive line led by CJ Malespin, Anthony DiNapoli, Abraham Guerrero, Dashawn Harley, and Dilen Mulaj. Defensive stats incomplete on MaxPreps, I know that Josh Simmons, Mamadee Sangaray, Brennen Pressley, Austin Farrell, Zander Poole, and Lamar Lewis are solid contributors.

This page is an NYCHSFL page, therefore I am obviously going to be rooting for Iona Prep to win this game, and keep the State Championship in New Rochelle, and more importantly down state.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend everyone!