Happy Labor Day! Week 1 is done! This has been a tough week, with 19 games, shifting schedules, and a lot going on as school opens. I have been so busy with my life/job, and of course, this blog that I just stayed home and streamed games where I could.

I think that the NYCHSFL needs to do some soul searching when it comes to pounding their chest. Do I think the NYCHSFL is the strongest league in New York from top to bottom? Yes, but that does not mean there are not other strong programs in New York? No, as demonstrated this week. In non-league match ups, the NYCHSFL went 7-11, with 4 of those wins coming against the PSAL in NYC. Not a great showing overall, but not exactly surprising if you know what you’re talking about. The biggest surprise to me this week was New Rochelle’s win over Kellenberg, and the Christian Brothers Academy of Albany’s win over Stepinac. More on that later.

As for the summaries, bear with me, as there was a lot that happened this week. A lot of games had broken streams, did not stream, or I just did not get to watch. I have done my best here.

Onto the results:

• Clarkstown South 50-Kennedy Catholic 0; I am not going go spend much time on this game, since it was clear early on that the Gaels from Somers were overmatched by the Vikings. Clarkstown South controlled this game throughout, and took a 29-0 lead going into the 2nd half, and piled on three more touchdowns in the second half to cruise to a win. Clarkstown South is a Section 1 Class ‘AA’ power, and all the credit to them for doing what they needed to do. Kennedy Catholic, with a plethora of new transfers, and staff changes, looked out of sync in their first action of 2026. This may have been a miscalculation on the part of the Gaels. Still though, I did see some promise. Outmanned up front, I felt, at times, Kennedy Catholic played some good defense, forcing some punts from a superior opponent. On offense, not much push up front and a few off target passes really derailed any kind of rhythm. Kennedy has the week off to get things right, and lick their wounds, before they welcome the Mount for their first league game.
• Iona Prep 38-Christian Brothers Academy of Syracuse 18; The clash of New York powerhouses, the Gaels of Iona Prep made the trip up to Syracuse to face off against the Brothers in a Thursday night clash in the JMA Dome. Things got off to a fast start with the defense forcing a turnover on 4th down on CBA’s first possession, giving Iona the ball at the 43 yard line. The offense, now re-tooled due to the graduation of Crew Davis and Julian Guzman, rolled, as now starting quarterback Jaydin Jackson hit transfer wide receiver Trey Newton on an 18 yard touchdown. Newton, the transfer from Delaware Valley, climbed the ladder and hauled in the touchdown. Iona would strike again. Newton would come wide open, and Jackson would hit him for a 25 yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-0 late in the 1st quarter. The Brothers would respond like champions. Quarterback Gradyn Dixon hit Edenfield on a long pass down the middle of the field. Khalen Reese would pound the ball into the endzone from 5 yards out to cut the lead to 14-6. Iona Prep would respond, marching it down the field and ended with a Willie Reeves 2 yard touchdown to extend the Gael lead to 21-6. As the half dwindled away, CBA would go score for score with the Gaels, as Dixon hit running back Austin Ariola on 4th and 8 for a touchdown in the redzone to cut the lead to 21-12 with 2:18 left in the half. As it seemed the Brothers would settle in, Iona would make a statement. Trey Newtown, for the 3rd time, would come wide open and hauled in a 73 yard touchdown to balloon the lead to 28-12 going into halftime. CBA would have a chance. In the second half as Jaydin Jackson’s legs seized up with cramps as he was throwing. The Brothers stepped in front of his errant pass and returned it for a touchdown to cut the lead to 10. Niko Diamandis would add a field goal from Iona to put the lead back to 13 as the 3rd quarter expired. Iona would dominate the rest of the game, smothering CBA’s offense, and on offense, Chase Reeves chewed up yards to keep the clock moving. Tyrone Mushatt took a pop pass 17 yards for a touchdown to finish the scoring. The highly anticipated the game went about as expected. CBA hung around in the first half, but Iona’s speed, strength, and depth was too much for the Brothers in the end.
• Morristown Beard 52-Christ the King 14; The Crimson controlled this game throughout, despite being a smaller team, Morristown Beard was able to control the tempo, deal with Christ the King’s size, and capitalize on Royals’ mistakes. I want to be clear that this was not a physical mismatch, Christ the King could move the ball relatively well. They were bigger than Morristown Beard. But that’s not how football games are decided. The lack of experience from the players at Christ the King (a lot of underclassmen on the team) resulted in a ton of turnovers and penalties at inopportune times. Royal defenders out of position led to big plays on key times that kept Morristown drives alive. This was a learning experience for a young team that showed flashes. A few big time plays resulted in touchdowns for Christ the King. They better get back to work though, as they travel to Brooklyn next, to take on Poly Prep.
• Hackley 30-St. Dominic’s 6; The Hornets controlled this game throughout. Hackley, a strong MIFL team, traveled to Oyster Bay to take on St. Dominic’s and quickly got out to an early lead. Taking advantage of some early turnovers that snuffed out some promising Bayhawk drives, the Hornets jumped out to a 27-0 lead going into halftime. St. Dominic’s would get on the board late with a 70 yard touchdown from Aaron Bengtsston to Maurice Daniels make the final score 30-6. The Bayhawks could move the ball relatively well this game, but they need to clean up the exchanges in the backfield, and protect the football. Numerous fumbles, and botched handoffs derailed this game. St. Dominic’s begins league play next week, where they St. John the Baptist.
• Yonkers Guardians 33-Mount St. Michael 13; The new look Yonkers high school football team, a Section 1 Class ‘AA’ team, now combined into a single team, got off to a roaring start against the Mount, who came to visit to try to bounce back after a tough loss to St. Francis Prep. The Guardians would jump out to a 14-0 lead in the first half. Mount would cut the lead to 14-7 in the 3rd quarter on a rushing touchdown from Dylan Turrenne, but Yonkers were able to respond in kind, scoring three straight touchdowns on the ground to build their 33-7 lead. Rafael Brown would haul in a touchdown pass late to make the score 33-13. The Mount return home next week, to prepare for a non-league matchup against Xaverian, who is rolling.
• Monsignor Farrell 38-St. Peter’s 0; I am not sure what we expected from this game, but the size of the teams, to the talent on the field made it clear that Monsignor Farrell was going to win this game, by a lot. Bryce Moye threw 2 touchdowns to Joseph Augustine-Martino, 1 to Braxton Moye, who also terrorized the Eagle defense at defensive end, Jayden Burch ran a touchdown in the first half to build a 28-0 lead before the break. STP would make some good plays to extend their drives, but the physical difference in size, and speed kept them from finishing drives. Angelo Stallon, Braxton Moye, and the Lion defense played smothering defense. Burch would score again in the 3rd quarter and Nico Laieta would add a field goal to make the score 38-0. St. Peter’s welcomes New Jersey for Hudson Catholic to Staten Island next week. Monsignor Farrell stays at home again, and will play New Jersey power DePaul Catholic.
• New Rochelle 23-Kellenberg Memorial 21; No stream of this game, and very little information from this game, especially on the New Rochelle side leaves me in a bit of a pickle. The Firebirds were coming off a huge win in Mineola last week, but traveled to Fosina Field at Flowers Park in New Rochelle. The game would go into halftime tied at 14, before the Huguenots would take the lead 20-14 in the 3rd quarter. Kellenberg would take the lead 21-20 in the 4th quarter, but New Rochelle would come through late with a field goal as time expired to win 23-21. This is a huge win for New Rochelle, one that is making waves in Section 1. The Firebirds performed well on offense, compiling over 350 yards of offense, which included more than 150 yards rushing. All three of the Firebird touchdowns were on the ground, 1 run in by Brayden Farrelly, and 2 by Doug Cristales. Kellenberg heads back to Long Island to play South Shore, a PSAL ‘4A’ team.
• Red Bank Catholic (NJ) 62-St. Anthony’s 41; My original choice to tune in on Friday evening, it seemed that Accelerated Sports Network’s weekend pass did not actually mean weekend, as I bought the pass for Iona-CBA, and intended to use it for this game. Anyways, this seemed like a wild game. I think just going through the box score will give us a good understanding of the type of game that occurred here. Red Bank drew first blood on a 35 yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. St. Anthony’s responded with Anthony Diieso, who ran for 71 yards for a touchdown. The Caseys responded with a 1 yard run by Gabe Kemp. Xavier Bala would haul in an 11 yard touchdown pass for the Friars to retake the lead 14-10. Mike O’Neal would not make it last long, taking the next kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. Diieso would respond for the Friars, hitting Rory McDermott for a 52 yard touchdown. Simon Picinic scored his second field goal before Luke Maurino hauled in a 27 yard touchdown from Diieso. RBC would score from 1 yard out to take the game into the half tied at 27. In the 3rd quarter, the Caseys went right back to work, with quarterback Rahmir Rivera hitting Jason Berecsky for a 43 yard touchdown to go up 34-27. St. Anthony’s responded with a touchdown of their own on 14 play drive capped by a four yard run by Bala to make it 34-34. Rivera would respond again, hitting Berecsky for a 16 yard touchdown to go up 41-34. Xavier Bala began to take over on the next drive, wearing out the defense before James Barrese sprung free on a 32 yard touchdown to tie it up at 41 going into the 4th quarter. Kemp scored his third touchdown of the game from 20 yards out, putting RBC ahead for good early in the 4th quarter. After a turnover, Jordan Mosenthine ended a RBC drive with a 9 yard touchdown run after Rivera put them in position on a 35 yard run. This would put RBC up 55-41. Needing a score to keep pace, St Anthony’s was finally stuffed. With time dwindling, the Caseys broke through once more with another touchdown by Kemp, a 9 yard run to finally end the scoring. St. Anthony’s goes back to Huntington after a wild game. This week they face St. Peter’s Prep at home, part of the Battle of the Bridge.
• Xaverian 33-Fort Hamilton 20; The Battle of Bay Ridge happened on Friday night as well, a rematch of last year’s game in which Xaverian won 44-14. This year’s edition would be far closer and entertaining. This year, Fort Hamilton started the scoring. With a Jake Price pass being tipped off the hands of his receiver, and a Tiger defender snagged an interception and put Fort Hamilton in the lead 8-0. Xaverian would respond with a drive orchestrated by Price capping it with a touchdown pass to Bradley Spaeth to cut the lead to 8-6. Back and forth it would go, with the score being 20-14 at the half, and 26-20 late, the Clippers Richie Aiken scored three touchdowns on the night— 2 rushing and 1 receiving, and quarterback Jake Price threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for another in a 33-20 win. Xaverian goes on the road again, up to the Bronx to face Mount St. Michael.
• Immaculata (NJ) 50-St. Joseph by the Sea 28; A new look Immaculata took the field this game and it would be a tough matchup for St. Joseph by the Sea. Immaculata would start fast with a 58 yard touchdown by Jaiden Drake-Murray to go up 8-0. Joey Moran would respond with a 13 yard rushing touchdown to cut it to 8-7. Immaculata would go on a run with Jamie Marin hitting Adrian Hunter or a 21 yard touchdown, and Kenneth Sharperson running for a 57 yard touchdown to take a 22-7 lead at the halftime. Immaculata could not be stopped as Jaiden Drake Murray would extend the lead on a 38 yard touchdown run. But it was Pete Tronolone’s turn, he found Moran for a 90 yard touchdown on a screen pass to cut the lead to 30-13. He would find Moran again on a 10 yard pass. After cutting the lead to 36-21, Adrian Hunter took a kickoff back for a touchdown to put them up 43-21. Jaime Marin hit Quinn Hayden for a 47 yard touchdown to put the game truly out of reach 50-21. Pete Tronolone ran in a 25 yard touchdown run late to make the score 50-28. Pete Tronolone would pass for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns, both to Joey Moran who had ~120 yards on the ground with 1 touchdown, and ~200 yards receiving. St. Joseph by the Sea goes on the road next week to play Long Island Lutheran in their last non league contest of the year.
• Christian Brothers Academy of Albany 62-Archbishop Stepinac 24; The other marquee matchup this weekend in New York was a big time game between the Crusaders and the Brothers from Albany. Last year, CBA Albany was crushed by an excellent Monsignor Farrell team. They would go on to lose to CBA Syracuse in their next non-league game, and drop their first Section 2 title in 5 years to Saratoga Springs. The Brothers were back for revenge, and they made sure to get their get back at the NYCHSFL when the Crusaders came to town. The game started off with 2 quick touchdowns over the middle from quarterback Matt Kowalski to Gavin Potter. The Crusaders, who seemed stunned, weathered the storm. Dylan Wrona completed two passes to Gio Bowley and scored with his feet from 12 yards out to make it 14-7. Kowalski would find Potter again for another touchdown to get the lead back to 14. Stepinac would march down the field again and Ronnell Chambers would finish the drive late in the 1st quarter. It seemed that Kowalski had an answer to everything, as he took over the next drive and ran down the sideline for 74 yards yards to end the 1st quarter 27-14. Wrona would start the 2nd quarter quick, hitting Nick Harrison for a touchdown to cut the lead back to 6 at 27-21. Kowalski finds JT Vogel for an 81 yard touchdown, and hits Potter for 2 points to extend the lead back to 35-21. And it was here that CBA Albany’s defense clamped down. A strip sack on the next drive resulted in CBA ball at the 2 yard line. Tommy Toher pounded the ball in to stretch the lead to 42-21. A pass deflection deep in CBA territory resulted in another turnover, and Kowalski hits Vogel again to stretch the lead to 49-21 before halftime. Kowalski would find Vogel again for his 6th touchdown from 29 yards out to go up 55-21. Stepinac would keep fighting with them hitting a 46 yard field goal to make it 55-24. Myles Johnson ended the scoring with a touchdown run. A tough night for the Crusaders, they come back to White Plains for this year’s edition to the Battle of the Bridge— against Immaculata.
• Pope John XXIII (NJ) 21-Cardinal Hayes 15; A tough physical game out in New Jersey, the Hayesmen got their first taste of 2025 in a hard hitting, physical matchup against Pope John XXIII. I have only seen glimpses of highlights from this game, but it appears that Erik Drobnak made some big plays, Kymonni Valentine had some good runs, and Johnnye Booker, who played quarterback, scored their two touchdowns. Cardinal Hayes started off scoring a safety on a botched snap on a punt. After a fumble, Booker hit Drobnak down the sideline to get it to the 2 yard line. Booker ran it in, taking a 9-0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. In the second quarter, Booker orchestrated drive with deep passes to Drobnak, and big runs by Valentine before plunging in from 2 yards out to go up 15-0 before Pope John started their run. Quarterback Vic Fiore would score on a 17 yard run. Later in the 2nd quarter, Yazir Register would score on a 62 yard touchdown to make it 15-14 at halftime. Luke Gialanella added a touchdown in the 3rd quarter for Pope John to take the lead 21-15. The Cardinals accumulated over 325 yards on offense, but yielded just a pair of touchdowns. A point that will need to be resolved moving forward. Cardinal Hayes plays Middletown High School, from Delaware next week.
• Belen Jesuit (FL) 33-Fordham Prep 28; A 12:00 p.m. kickoff, I actually was not planning on watching this and had errands to run into the morning. I checked in early in the game and saw that the Rams were winning, and so I tuned in. With Vinny DiPasquale starting the game, Fordham Prep struck first on their first drive. A mix of big runs by Luke McKay, Lake Chiesi, and a key conversion from DiPasquale to Brendan Campbell got the game started as McKay scored from 4 yards out as the Rams took a 7-0 lead. Lucas Carillo from Belen Jesuit would force a fumble just as the 1st quarter ended to give the Wolverines good field position. Early in the 2nd quarter, Belen Quarterback Jake McFarlin found Joshua Duran for a 22 yard touchdown. Henry Brumfield would convert the 2 point conversion to make the score 8-7. Fordham Prep would respond quickly. Luke McKay would take the next kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to retake the lead 14-8. On the next Belen drive, a snap would go over the head of Jake McFarlin and Fordham Prep’s Joseph Nwaogwugwu would fall on it, giving the ball to the Rams at the 13 yard line. Luke McKay would score on the next play to take a 21-8 lead with 7:49 left in the half. The Wolverines responded the next drive, McFarlin going deep for 31 yards. McFarlin would finish drive himself, running a boot leg in from 11 yards out to cut the lead to 21-14. With a minute left in the 1st half, George Jackson Jr. would orchestrate a drive ending with him hitting Brendan Campbell for an 18 yard touchdown to take a 28-14 lead into halftime. That would be the end of the fireworks for the Rams, as Belen would furiously comeback. Some penalties on the next drive aided Belen, as McFarlin ran the ball in from 2 yards out to cut the lead to 28-21 early in the 3rd quarter. The score would hold into the 4th quarter with Belen Jesuit driving down the field. A big play from Henry Brumfield drove the ball into the redzone for Belen. The Prep defense would hold, but a forced fumble by Giancarlo Morales with the recovery by Carillo with the recover on the next play gave the ball back to the Wolverines at the 29 yard line of Fordham Prep. On the next play, Perez burst through the defense on a hand off to go 27 yards to the 2 yard line. A shovel pass to Aiden Rodriguez from 2 yards out made the score 28-27 in the 4th quarter. After forcing a punt, McFarlin threw a 59 yard touchdown to Angelo Mora to take the lead 33-28 with 1:56 left in the game. Fordham Prep would not be able to execute the 2 minute drill. Fordham Prep now enters a bye week where they will now prepare for their first league game in two weeks, which is a trip to St. Peter’s.
• St. John the Baptist 42-Eagle Academy III 14; Eagle Academy III is slated to be one of the best teams in the PSAL 3A this season, and I heard reports of them playing very well in their scrimmage against St. Anthony’s earlier this summer. This was the first option for me to stream, but alas, it seemed like Hudl was having issues in the press box. Well, as they say, everything changes when it is a real game, and St. John the Baptist gave them a taste of what NYCHSFL football is all about in this game. Devin Michaels, the Holy Trinity transfer, would start the game with a 31 yard touchdown to Shane McLaughlin to take a 6-0 lead early on. Eagle III would respond after a bad snap on a Cougar punt. Jordan Smith would find Daryus Mohammed to get down to the 1 yard line, where Smith would cap the drive to tie the game at 6 with 7:32 remaining in the half. Devin Michaels would throw his 2nd touchdown of the day to Jordan Redding, finding him for a 13 yard touchdown on 4th and 6. Kalen Percer would muscle his way into the the endzone for a 2 point conversion to make it 14-6 with 3:23 remaining in the 1st half. On the ensuing drive BJ Hunter would step in front of a pass, and race 76 yards for a touchdown. Kalen Percer would score again for the 2 point conversion to make it 22-6. Kalen Percer would add to this lead with a 19 yard touchdown run with 47 seconds left in the 1st half. Darnell Rink, a Holy Trinity transfer, would respond for Eagle. He ran back the next kickoff for 70 yards and cut the lead to 29-14 after the 2 point conversation. This score would hold into halftime. The defense of the Cougars would dominate the 2nd half, with Percer, Luperon, Redding, and of course, Chris Trinca leading the way to shut down the talented Eagle III squad. Devin Michaels would run a touchdown in from 2 yards out earlyu in the 3rd quarter to extend the lead to 36-14. Rink would end another SJB drive with an interception in the endzone. SJB would hold this score into the 4th quarter. St. John the Baptist starts their league schedule next week, where they welcome St. Dominic’s.
• Cardinal Spellman 32-Frederick Douglass Academy 0; Cardinal Spellman welcomed the PSAL 1A school to the Bronx for an early game on Saturday. I had originally intended to stream this game, but hudl cut out. Seems to be a common issue. I heard that Cardinal Spellman jumped out to a lead quickly, and never looked back. With a running clock in the 2nd half, the Pilots notched an impressive win to start the year. This was a good tune up game for Coach Burnett, and they will need this confidence boost to take them into next week, where they welcome Xavier.
• Xavier 29-A. Philip Randolph 8; The Battle of Manhattan, ‘AA-I’ champions vs PSAL 3A semifinalist took the field at Aviator Saturday. This was also game I wanted to watch, and as you can imagine, Hudl went down just before the game. As with Xavier, even though there are new names, there is a familiar cadence to the type of game they play. Ace Jernstedt, a standout from last year, had two interceptions, and a 62 yard fumble return for a touchdown, and 2 more pass break ups. On offense, Anthony Pierro had a rushing touchdown. Senior Cole Wallace hauled in a pass from Cole Manfredo and ran a touchdown in. This would round out the scoring as the Knights look to defend their title. Xavier travels to the Bronx, to play Cardinal Spellman next week.
• Holy Cross 46-St. Mary’s 38; With Madden Martinez sidelined this week, the Knights went on the road to play the Monsignor Martin team that got off to a fast start, scoring 19 points in the 1st quarter. Holy Cross would charge back and the Lancers would cling to a 25-22 lead into halftime. Holy Cross would explode late, scoring 22 points in the 3th quarter to win 46-38. To counter Lancer quarterback Vincenzo Mullett, who ended the day 20-29, for 277 yards, 4 touchdown passes, with an additional 107 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown, the Knights relied on their offensive line and rushing attack. Brandon Glaudin had over 200 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, Caleb Rivera had over 100 rushing yards and a touchdown. Joseph Alestra, stepping in for Martinez added over 50 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. All these players played both ways, with Caleb Rivera notching an interception, and Alestra with a pass break up. Adrian Collado would come up big on defense as well with 2 sacks on the day. Holy Cross and their offensive line compiled over 350 yards on the ground, and will build on this success to play their rival, St. Francis Prep in the Battle of the Boulevard next week.
• Stow-Munroe Falls 35-St. Francis Prep 6; In the Hall of Fame Classic, St. Francis Prep would strike first, going up 6-0 after a touchdown pass. The Stow-Munroe Falls would respond before halftime, and the score would be 7-6 at the half. The Terriers would struggle in the second half, being shut out by the Bulldogs. Stow would get rolling in the second half with 3 passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown to end the game. St. Francis Prep returns to New York this week to take on their rival, Holy Cross, in the esteemed Battle of the Boulevard.
• Chaminade 18-Bishop Hendricken 17; Last game of the weekend, the Flyers needed a pick me up after losing to Kellenberg last week. Chaminade traveled to Rhode Island to play the state’s powerhouse Bishop Hendricken. Bishop Hendricken would score first on a 29 yard touchdown on a swing pass from Isaiah Brito to Javien Valle to take a 7-0 lead in the 1st quarter. Kellan Stapleton would hit two field goals in the 2nd quarter, one after a Guiseppe DeVita interception to take the game into the half 7-6. After a defensive 3rd quarter, the game would come to life. Brito would find Valle again to take a 14-6 lead. Chaminade, as they always seem to do, kept it close, Michael Gowen scored on the next play on a 57 yard run to cut the lead to 14-12 after a failed 2 point conversion. Hendricken would add a field goal to make it 17-12, and seemingly would end the game after an interception by Jamel Flomo with 2:02 left. Sean Carnevale would work his magic with one last chance. He heaved pass to the endzone and Michael Genovese would haul it in for a 34 yard touchdown pass with no time left. The Flyers would escape Rhode Island with a win. They welcome Seton Hall Prep from New Jersey to Mineola next week.

I am going to explain how I do standings:

• Standings are purely based on league record.
• If the league record is tied, I go by the overall record.
• If the overall record is tied, I go by preseason rank.
• When power points are calculated, power points are the only thing that matters.
• Note: Since Holy Trinity folded so late in the year, all of their seven league opponents all have an extra league win. Holy Trinity will be on the standings, just like Moore Catholic was last year.

See below for the updated standings, post week 1:

Here are next week’s matchups:

• Poly Prep (MIFL) vs Christ the King
• Cardinal Hayes vs Middletown HS (DE)
• Kellenberg Memorial vs South Shore (PSAL AAAA)
• St. Anthony’s vs St. Peter’s Prep (NJ)
• Archbishop Stepinac vs Immaculata (NJ)
• Mount St. Michael vs Xaverian
• Iona Prep vs Paramus Catholic (NJ)
• Chaminade vs Seton Hall Prep (NJ)
• St. John the Baptist vs St. Dominic’s (NOTE: League Game)
• St. Peter’s vs Hudson Catholic (NJ)
• Monsignor Farrell vs DePaul Catholic (NJ)
• St. Francis Prep vs Holy Cross
• Long Island Lutheran vs St. Joseph by the Sea
• Cardinal Spellman vs Xavier

My Take on week 1:

In the ‘AAA’:

• Iona Prep proved who they were, the undisputed #1 team in New York, despite what others will say. They have championship pedrigee— having actually won a title in their league, and have pushed themselves each year to play the very best in the State. These teams are not pushovers either, CBA Syracuse is a quality team.
• On the other side, I think folks owe CBA Albany an apology, including myself. I was unfamiliar with their game. Very rarely do you see a ‘AAA’ program like Stepinac taken apart like that. Kudos to them. Stepinac has to get back this week to their winning ways.
• Is Chaminade going to do this again this year? Win games that they shouldn’t? Who knows, but the Flyers are 1-1 after another literal last second win.
• Cardinal Hayes seemed to compete with a good Jersey power— and we know how dangerous the Hayesmen can be late in the year.
• St. Anthony’s put up 41 but still lost. They gotta tighten up defensively or it is going to be a long year.
• Monsignor Farrell took care of business Friday. They look every bit as strong as they did last year.

In the ‘AA-I’:

• I want to give New Rochelle all the credit that they deserve for beating a very tough Kellenberg team, but this was a “hangover” game for the Firebirds. This was a classic trap game that I had a gut feeling over. Still though, 21 points, and a lot of offense for Kellenberg. They need turn that yardage into points though.
• St. Joseph by the Sea seems to be rolling on offense, putting together some very impressive outings. They happened to face a buzzsaw of a program in Immaculata, but that happens.
• Xavier did what they did best, beat a team they are supposed to beat. Not much information yet, and as I have said before, early season Xavier is the worst version of that particular team. Xavier is a program that gets stronger as the year goes on.
• Fordham Prep looked very impressive up front against Belen Jesuit, and they really should have come away with a win on Saturday. They also could move the ball, especially on the ground. Concerning me about the Rams is the amount of penalties, and big plays allowed on defense. Still though, they played two very good teams to start the year and played well. They now have two weeks to prepare for league play where they face a gauntlet of a schedule.
• St. Peter’s played their rival Monsignor Farrell, who looks to be one of the better teams in the state yet again. A brutal two games to start the year, the Eagles will get better as the year goes on. Their coaching staff is too good, and they do have some very talented players. Look for STP to surprise folks going forward.
• St. John the Baptist showed everyone that a football game is not a scrimmage. There is too much hype early on for performances in scrimmages. The Cougars look dangerous with Percer in the backfield, and Michaels at QB. This could be a dangerous team.
• St. Francis Prep played a tough game for a half out in Ohio, and should be encouraged by their performance. Still though, they have a difficult road ahead, starting with their archrival, who is coming off a huge win in upstate New York
• Xaverian is the King of Bay Ridge again. The Clippers are potent on offense, and strong on defense. Coach Aluotto has a very well balanced team. Jake Price and Richie Aiken orchestrate this spread offense as well as anyone.

In the ‘AA-II’:

• Holy Cross, even without Madden Martinez, looks to be the class of the AA-II. Doing most of their damage on the ground this week, the Knights roll into week 3 confident. They have scored 74 points in two games. They play their archrival this week in a reawakening of one of the oldest rivalries in the NYCHSFL.
• Section 1 is good football. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Anyone expecting an easy matchup playing NYSPHSAA Section 1 teams is in for a rude awakening. Kennedy Catholic learned this when they played Clarkstown South. The Gaels have two weeks to practice up and get back at it. The real season begins now for them.
• The Mount is in this boat too. A rejuvenated Yonkers program was going to be tough for them to beat. I trust Coach Holt will have them ready. Their season doesn’t get any easier though.
• Christ the King is young, but they really seemed shocked at how it went out in New Jersey against Morristown Beard. Still, a very talented team, just inexperienced. This team should get better as the year goes on.
• St. Dominic’s had signs of good football against a strong program in Hackley, but its the basic things that they struggled with. The Bayhawks will clean it up, and they have to. League play begins this week for them.
• Cardinal Spellman did what they had to do and beat an inferior PSAL opponent. The Pilots now welcome a ‘AA-I’ Xavier to the Bronx.

We are 2 weeks into the season, and what have we learned? Well– the NYCHSFL is 4-1 against PSAL teams, 1-4 against NYSPHSAA teams, and 3-5 against out of state teams. While I am still as pro-NYCHSFL as they come, I think we should pump the brakes on that rhetoric for now.

This week is the Battle of the Bridge, and we have 6 games against New Jersey powers. Do we win the Battle of the Bridge this year?

What thoughts, and comments do you have? What matchups are you intrigued in?

Pete’s Prognostication 2026: 19-7

Coach X and O’s Picks 2026: 16-10

Coach Redzone Rick’s Picks 2026: 3-0

The Community: 14-12