We have past the time of non-league play. The annual series between New York and New Jersey is done. The Battle of the Boulevard has been played. And now we look ahead to week 3. These games now actually have weight in the standings and playoff race for the NYCHSFL.

First, though, lets look back on last week. The availability of streams this week was not an issue, but the quality of the streams left something to be desired. While SportsEngine was stable for the most part, I found Hudl to be unreliable, and there was no way to tell what the score was in those games. This provided a challenge for me in updating you all.

The last point is Varsity Media. I didn’t watch the first two ones, but I did watch, or try to watch, the Battle of the Boulevard stream Saturday night, and I was not impressed. The sound was low. Much of the second half there was no sound. A good 1/3 of the 4th quarter was lost due to the stream glitching out. Also, what a downgrade in score bug.

Just disappointing overall.

Anyways, onto the results:

• Poly Prep 33-Christ the King 8; With no access to streaming, and no stats listed for the Royals, I can only guess as to what happened. Poly Prep dominated this game and was up 19-0 at halftime. The Blue Devils added two touchdowns in the second half to make up their scoring. The two Poly Prep quarterbacks were 8-15 for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. Michael Berger added 88 yards and a touchdown of Poly’s 107 yards on the ground, and Aiden Regina-Kagan added another rushing touchdown. Dylan Archer and Teddy Thanopoulos each had a touchdown receiving. Poly Prep is one of the MIFL’s strongest programs, so this result, and the fashion in which they won was not entirely shocking to me. Christ the King goes into league play after playing two very disciplined and quality non league opponents. They travel to the Bronx to play Cardinal Spellman this week.
• Kellenberg Memorial 42-South Shore 20; Back on track! The Firebirds made quick work of the PSAL 4A school. Unfortunately, this game was not streaming either, but I got a feel for it through X/Twitter updates. Brendan Barkley scored on a 1 yard touchdown run late in the 1st quarter for Kellenberg. Octavius Sullivan struck back with a 2 yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 7-6 with 6:59 left in the 1st half. Barkley responded by capping a quick Kellenberg drive with a 7 yard touchdown run with 4:06 left in the half. Sullivan scored again, this time on a pass from George Adams to make it 14-12 at the half. Then the flood gates opened. Brendan Farrelly found Finn Hastings for a 19 yard touchdown midway through the 3rd quarter. Just 3 minutes later, Doug Cristales scored from 23 yards out to make it 28-12. Kellenberg was able to get the ball back quickly, and Cristales scored again from 26 yards out to balloon the lead to 35-12 with 10:27 remaining. Just 26 seconds later, Quinn Saccheri scored on a 22 yard touchdown run to go up 42-12 early in the 4th quarter. Farrelly would go 13-15 for 121 yards and a touchdown, spreading the ball around to 8 different receivers. This passing attack complemented a dominating rushing attack that racked up 230 yard and 5 touchdowns. Doug Cristales had 12 carries for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. Quinn Saccheri had 6 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown. Brendan Barkley had 12 carries for 70 yards, and added 3 catches for 22 yards to total 15 touches, 92 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Kellenberg bounces back in a big way. Their reward? A date with Cardinal Hayes next week for their homecoming game.
• St. Anthony’s 24-St. Peter’s Prep (NJ) 45; Close for much of the game, St. Peter’s Prep ended up taking care of business. Don’t let the score fool you, St. Anthony’s was only down 24-21 late in the game. The heavily favored Marauders came to Huntington probably thinking it would be an easy go of it. They were wrong. Early in the 1st quarter, on St. Peter’s Prep second drive, a shovel pass went awry and the Friar defender Bentley Cannon stepped in front of it and raced 44 yards for a touchdown to go up 7-0. SPP turns a few missed tackles on a pass from Zach Karelis to Chris Horn Jr. put SPP in position to score. The St. Anthony’s defense would stand tall, and force a 27 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 to end the 1st quarter. The Marauder defense would clamp down, and on the next punt Ty’ire Clark would take the ball 45 yard back to the endzone to take the lead 10-7. St. Anthony’s would respond quickly in the way of their own phenom– Xavier Bala took the ensuing kickoff all the way for a 98 yard touchdown to retake the lead 14-10. The Friars would drive on the next possession but would the drive would end with Ty’ire Clark getting an interception at the St. Peter’s Prep 5 yard line. Aided by a receiver pass on a jet sweep from Kingston Hill to Amari Jones drove Peter’s Prep deep into Friar territory. The Anthony’s defense would hold, but a forced fumble by Clark, a big play by him again, got the ball back to the Marauders in the red zone. Zach Karelis would pull the ball on a run and plunge into the endzone from 9 yards out to retake the lead going into halftime 17-14. On the first drive of the second half, the Friars would move the ball down the field with on point passes to Skenderis and Maurino from Diieso, and steady running from Xavier Bala. But Clark again would step in front of a Diieso pass and returned the ball to the Friar 21 yard line. St. Peter’s Prep would capitalize and stretch the lead to 24-14 on a pass from Bryant Isaac to Kymore Monroe. Two big plays with a Bala run and two receptions by Rory McDermott drove the ball deep into SPP territory. Bala would finish the drive from 9 yards out on 4th down to cut the lead to 24-21 which would hold until the end of the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter would be different though. Clark would have a big punt return to get SPP deep into St. Anthony’s territory. Karelis would run it two the 2 yard line and then Karelis would Monroe for a 16 yard touchdown to put them up 31-21. St. Anthony’s would drive the ball into the redzone, but the drive would stall out. Alex Gizzi would kick a field goal from short to make it 31-24. It was the ground game that led the way for St. Peter’s Prep with runs by Karelis, and short screen passes that went for 1st down to grind the clock out. Karelis would find Amari Jones for a 13 yard touchdown to go up 38-24. Down 2 touchdowns, Diieso would be intercepted by Clark again and it was returned for a touchdown. The score would be final after this. St. Anthony’s is now on the road. They go up to White Plains to play Archbishop Stepinac, in a clash of titans of the ‘AAA’.
• Archbishop Stepinac 38-Immaculata (NJ) 16; Sometimes, you just have to run the ball. Immaculata was handled by Archbishop Stepinac in a Friday night clash in a Joe Riverso Memorial Game. Immaculata has come off an impressive streak of 6 straight games against the NYCHSFL, their most recent one being an impressive 50-28 romp over St. Joseph by the Sea. And early on, it seemed like this would be another impressive statement win over a proud NYCHSFL program from Immaculata. After exchanging punts, it would be Immaculata that would strike first. Jaime Marin would find Quinn Hayden for a 45 yard touchdown to go up 8-0 with 7 minutes left in the 1st quarter. A solid drive by Immaculata was ended by a dropped pass on 4th down in the redzone, while the Crusaders would struggle to get anything going for much of the 1st quarter. The Spartans would continue their good offensive play with Marin hitting Jayden Drake-Murray to get the ball inside the 10 yard line. Immaculata would come up empty missing a field goal with 6:51 remaining. A big play from Dylan Wrona to Nick Harrison gets the ball near midfield. Another pass to Gio Bowley pushed the ball passed midfield. A few plays later Ethan Espinal hit Gio Bowley for a touchdown on a jet sweep pass from 35 yard out to get the Crusaders on the board with 4:51 left in the half. Stepinac would force Immaculata to punt on the next drive and would get the ball on their own 19 yard line with 2:57 left in the half. Wrona would hand the ball off Nahum Pierre who raced down the field for 81 yards for a touchdown to put Stepinac ahead 14-8. Immaculata would strike back. The quarterback Marin would orchestrate a 2 minute drill with Drake-Murray punching the ball into the endzone to take 16-14 lead into halftime. The Crusaders got the ball in the second half, and whatever was done in halftime, worked to perfection. After a few quick passes from Wrona to Gio Bowley to get the ball to their own 40 yard line, Pierre struck again. Pierre would break multiple tackles on his way for a 60 yard touchdown to put the Crusaders up 21-16. After forcing a punt, Stepinac would get back to work again. After two big runs by Pierre, Ronnell Chambers would enter the game with some nifty runs to drive the ball past midfield. Chambers would spell Pierre, and Stepinac would mix with quick passes to Harrison to drive the the ball into the redzone. Pierre would score his third touchdown of the day from 7 yards out to put the Crusaders up 28-16 with 1:52 left in the 3rd quarter. Rested and rejuvenated, the Stepinac defense clamped down, shutting down the Spartan offense. The front getting multiple sacks, and tackles in the backfield. Their ears pinned back, the Spartans were forced to punt after a short drive. The offense would take the field at the end of the 3rd quarter. Chambers would do most of the work on the next drive, punching the ball into the endzone from 4 yards out to put Stepinac up 35-16. Immaculata would get the ball back with 8:37 left in the game. The Spartans would drive the ball, but a well time sack pushed them to the 35 yard line and the Crusader defense would hold, sacking the quarterback Marin again, ending the scoring threat, and effectively the game with 6:28 left to go. Chambers would carry the ball for much of the next drive, with Wrona hitting Ethan Espinal on a well timed pass to convert. Stepinac would run the clock down to 1:27 before James Lilly hit a 43 yard field goal. Pierre would have 280 yards on 17 carries and 3 touchdowns on the day. Chambers added 126 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown to dominate the ground game. Archbishop Stepinac stays in White Plains this week to welcome St. Anthony’s.
• Cardinal Hayes 30-Middletown HS (DE) 28; The debut for Sage Media Solutions’ foray into the Catholic League, the Cardinals welcomed the Cavaliers to Columbia University for a Friday night showdown. The Cavaliers, being defending Delaware State Champions, and filled with Power 4 division 1 prospects, got all they could handle and more. Hayes answered first with big 260 lb. running back Kymonni Valentine bulldozing and dancing his way down to the 7 yard line on the first drive. Quarterback Johnnye Booker would find Justice Baldwin in the endzone for a 7 yard touchdown to go up 6-0 with 9:27 left in the 1st quarter. Shellshocked, Middletown got their first taste of the ferocious Hayes defense, and after a botched punt, Valentine made them pay with a 10 yard touchdown to make the score 12-0 just before the 1st quarter ends. On their next possession, Valentine again would lead the way, setting up a sensation Booker touchdown run from 10 yards out to go up 18-0. But the Cavaliers were champions as well, and responded like so. Miller took a hand off outside and raced 54 yards for a touchdown, and after a turnover, DJ Davis took a screen pass into the endzone to make the score 18-14 at halftime. The avalanche of scoring continued in the 3rd quarter as Miller scored again on the ground to make it 21-18. The collapse seemed to be on as Riley Robinson caught a pass on a crossing route from Phipps and raced 73 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-18 in the 3rd quarter. The Hayesmen would finally make something happen. An interception would end a Cavalier drive, and Valentine would score again on a big 45 yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 28-24. Hayes would intercept another pass to end a Middletown drive and take the game into the 4th quarter. Late in the game, Booker would orchestrate a 2 minute drill, and a jet sweep to Holy Trinity transfer Marcus Abellard would go 9 yards for a touchdown to put the Cardinals up 30-28 with 31 seconds left. Cardinal Hayes improves to 1-0, and now travel to Uniondale to face off against the red hot Firebirds of Kellenberg Memorial.
• Xaverian 35-Mount St. Michael 21; Richie Aiken, Jake Price, Christian LaRocca– the three headed monster at Xaverian made plays early and often. On the first play, Price would hit LaRocca for a big gain for 82 yards to get the ball inside the Mount’s 5 yard line. On the next play, Richie Aiken would run the ball into the endzone from 4 yards out to give the Clippers a 7-0 lead. After a Mount punt to the Xaverian 10 yard line, Richie Aiken would score again on an explosive 74 yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 14-0. In the second quarter, an interception by Cameron Mattone after a Xaverian punt led to another Clipper touchdown on a Price 19 yard pass to Christian LaRocca to extend the lead to 21-0 which would hold into halftime. A big play for Mount was negated by a fumble recovered by Kaseem Goulbourne that would have Xaverian take over at their own 5 yard line. A mix of big pass plays and runs resulted in a backwards pass to Richie Aiken going from 26 yards to cap off a 95 yard drive for the Clippers. Holding a four touchdown lead now, Mount’s offense would come to life, with Jacob Jimenez throwing 3 second half touchdowns, 1 to Payton Little, 1 to Jamir Abney, and 1 Adam Richard. On Xaverian’s side, Mario Manna would add a touchdown to put the Clippers up 35-7 on a 17 yard touchdown run. Improving to 3-0, Xaverian has the week off. Mount now begins league play by traveling to the north to Somers, to play a rested Kennedy Catholic team.
• Seton Hall Prep (NJ) 30-Chaminade 11; The return of Trapani was well awaited. Chaminade drove the field the first possession with two hand offs to Trapani, but Chaminade would come up scoreless. Seton Hall Prep would drive the ball, but would be stopped by the Flyer defense. On the next drive, Chaminade’s punter could not handle the high snap and the first points would be a safety for Seton Hall Prep. Chaminade would score next with a 4 yard touchdown by Anthony Trapani to go up 8-2. But quarterback Jayden Bullock and the Pirates would respond in, driving down the field. Cadel Barilford hauled in a swing pass for a 17 yard touchdown to go up 9-8. Before the half expired, Kellen Stapleton was able to hit a 45 yard field goal to take the lead 11-9 at the half time. But as always and on theme, the second half was different, as Seton Hall Prep would pull away. Early in the 3rd quarter, Seton Hall would score to make it 16-11 on a 2 yard run by Leonard West. Later in the 3rd quarter, Seton Hall would score again from 23 yard out with a short center screen to Leonard West to put the Pirates up 23-11 going into the 4th quarter. The Seton Hall Prep defense clamped down. Seton Hall added another touchdown keeping the ball on the ground this time. Adonis Rabrun would put the nail in the coffin scoring a 29 yard touchdown on the ground to put them up with 3:36 remaining. Chaminade stays at home, welcoming red hot 3-0 Monsignor Farrell to town next.
• St. John the Baptist 48-St. Dominic’s 0; League play opened up officially this weekend as the Bayhawks made their way to play the Cougars in Suffolk County. The Bayhawks, a very young team this year– were outclassed by the Cougars. Devin Michaels would begin the day with a touchdown pass to Mastriano. The next two scores came off of turnovers, with Cusack returning an interception, and Hunter returning a fumble for a touchdown. Percer would run in a 12 yard touchdown, McLaughlin would score from 33 yards out and the benches’ would clear. St. John the Baptist jumped out to a 34-0 lead in the first half, before emptying the bench and winning 48-0. St. John the Baptist, now 2-0 with impressive wins, plays a ‘AA-I’ program next, at home against the Terriers of St. Francis Prep. St. Dominic’s head back to Oyster Bay, where they gear up for their 2nd league game against Nazareth Regional.
• St. Peter’s 24-Hudson Catholic (NJ) 20; By far one of the more intriguing games of the weekend, the Eagles welcomed the Hawks for one of the more competitive games of the weekend. Anthony D’Acunto drove the Eagles down the field with good passes and timely runs before finishing the drive with a 5 yard strike to Victor Baez to go up 7-0 with 7:49 left in the 1st quarter. After forcing a punt, a fumble on an exchange turned the ball over to the Hawks. Hudson Catholic scored on the next play on a 22 yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 7-6 with 4:35 left in the 1st quarter. The Eagles drive on their next possession into the 2nd quarter, but another fumble in the redzone snuffed out a promising drive. The Hawks would drive the field and complete the 80 yard drive with a 1 yard touchdown run by the running back to take a 12-7 lead with 6:07 left in the half. Hudson would end another promising Eagle drive with an interception to force their 3rd turnover of the half. The Eagles defense would hold, and D’Acunto would orchestrate a 2 minute drill to get the field goal into field goal range. The kicker for STP would nail it to go into the half down 12-10. The Hawks would get the ball first and picked up right where they left off. A 58 yard touchdown run by Nelson early in the 3rd quarter extended their lead to 18-10 with 10:45 left in the 3rd quarter. The Eagles would respond, and Napoli would pound the ball into the endzone with 6:38 left in the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to 18-16. After two punts, the Hawks would have the ball going into the 4th quarter on STP’s 36 yard line up 18-16. After a botched play that turned the ball over on downs, the Eagle’s drive stalled near midfield. STP played field position and pinned Hudson back behind their 10 yard line. Backed up, Hudson Catholic punted the ball to Baez who took the ball back for a 46 yard touchdown to go up 24-18 after a 2 point conversion with 7:28 remaining. As the clock runs down, the Eagles punted from their own 41 yard line. The snap though went over the punter’s head out of the endzone for a safety with 2:11 left in the game to cut the lead to 24-20 with Hudson getting the ball back. Drama late, Hudson Catholic WR took a screen from the 48 yard line down to the STP 16 yard line. A game saving tackle by Gavin Wu stopped the Hawks inside the 20. On 4th down with 11 yards to go with 27 second left, the Hudson QB broke a run and trips and turned the ball over on downs. The St. Peter’s would kneel the ball out and win 24-20. St. Peter’s stays at home and welcome Fordham Prep next week in their first game of league play.
• Monsignor Farrell 21-DePaul Catholic (NJ) 18; DePaul learned the hard way that even a double digit lead in the 2nd half is not enough to get out of the Lions Den with a victory. All things seemed to go DePaul’s way in the first half, as the Farrell offense was bottled up for much of the half. Farrell’s defense would hold on the goal line with a 1 handed interception by Lucas Sini to keep the game scoreless in the 1st quarter. It seemed as though DePaul would right the ship in the 2nd quarter. Bryron Stevenson would kick a 31 yard field goal with 4:46 left in the half to go up 3-0. DePaul would get the ball back with around 2 and a half minutes to go in the 1st half. After a big conversion, a reverse pass resulted in a 38 yard touchdown pass from John Dimitrikiou to Kyron Dubose to go up 10-0 going in the half. The Lions would roar in the 3rd quarter. Bryce Moye would start off hot, finding Joseph Augustine-Marino for a 7 yard touchdown with 7:04 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Charles Costanzo, Angelo Stallone, and the Farrell defense would shut down DePaul the next drive, forcing a punt to give them the ball with 5:51 left in the 3rd quarter. Starting off with a 1st down from Moye to Augustine-Marino, the Lions turned to their running back, Jayden Burch, who took over this drive as he took the ball inside the DePaul 40 on the next play. Burch hauled in 2 passes with 1 of them to convert on 4th and 8 to extend the drive and drive the ball to the 24 yard line. Burch would explode through the middle and plunge into the endzone for a touchdown from 14 yards out for Farrell to take their first lead of the day 14-10 with 2:11 left in the 3rd quarter. The suffocating defense would force another punt with 1:03 left in the 3rd quarter at their own 27. They would operate quickly, taking two carries down inside the 20 yard line of DePaul. David Leverock would finish off the drive with a touchdown run as Farrell scored 3 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, stunning DePaul. Frank Morano and the Spartans would not go away though as he hit Kashawn McMillan for a touchdown to make it a 21-18 game in the 4th quarter. Some inspired defense shut down DePaul for the rest of the quarter, and Monsignor Farrell leaves with a 3-0 record. The Lions leave the Lions Den this week, going to Long Island for a 2025 semifinal rematch against Chaminade.
• Iona Prep 63-Paramus Catholic (NJ) 20; Likely the surprise of the weekend, Paramus Catholic came in with all the prospects and the headlines. Iona awaited them after dethroning the New York public league champion. An insane game last year, this year would be different, still insane thought. Iona Prep would send a message– with an opening kickoff returned 94 yards for a touchdown. Chase Reeves, who had 267 yards on 13 carries would score to make it 14-0. Paramus Catholic would respond with a touchdown of their own to cut the lead to 14-7. Tyrone Mushatt would score next to extend the lead back to 14 at 21-7. But Snee at Paramus would run the ball in from 1 yard out to cut the lead to 21-13. Reeves would score again from 10 yards out to make it 28-13, and the Paladins would score on a big pass play before the half expired to make it 28-20. The game was shaking up to be another shootout from last year. But then the curtain fell on the Paladins, as they were shut out in the second half, and the Gaels scored 5 second half touchdowns. Jaydin Jackson ran the ball in from 4 yards out, and after an interception, Reeves runs the ball in from 7 yards out to balloon the lead to 42-10. Reeves would score again to make it 49-20 on a 56 yard touchdown and the game was effectively over at this point. Iona Pre would score twice more to make a point, but the league, and perhaps the region has been put on notice. Iona Prep improves to 2-0, and now go on the road again, this time to Staten Island to play St. Joseph by the Sea.
• St. Joseph by the Sea 35-Long Island Lutheran 7; Out in Long Island, St. Joseph by the Sea came out firing to make up for their loss last weekend. No stream for this weekend, and I did not get much information other than the main contributors. Pete Tronolone continued his excellent season, going 18 for 24 for 348 yards and 2 touchdown passes, as well as one on the ground. Joey Moran continues to be the engine on offense, having 190 total yards and 2 touchdowns. St. Joseph by the Sea’s offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders, and they will need every bit of it next week as they welcome Iona Prep to Staten Island.
• Xavier 38-Cardinal Spellman 6; It is tough for ‘AA-II’ teams to play with programs like Xavier, who churn out rushing yards and play an extremely physical game up front. Xavier did what they needed to do. Out of the Single Wing, the Knights were able to overwhelm and dominate the Pilots in the Bronx. Two quick touchdowns, as well as two quick punt returns put Xavier up early, and they never looked back. Elijah Walker would run a touchdown in late to preserve the shut out. Xavier looks to be midseason form, doing what they need to do on the ground and on defense. They will play Holy Cross next week at home. Cardinal Spellman stays at home for their 3rd straight game, where they welcome Christ the King to town.
• St. Francis Prep 10-Holy Cross 8; This game was a slog for both teams. With Madden Martinez not 100% returning for injury, and St. Francis Prep having back up QB Brian Gleason at QB, both of these programs needed to gut out a win as they go into the season. St. Francis Prep seemed to dominate most of the game on the ground, but mishaps, and inspired defense from Holy Cross kept the Terriers out of the endzone. With it being 3-0 before halftime off the kick of Rory Kenny. The Terriers finally broke through with Gleason hitting Sal Vakili for an 8 yard touchdown with 5:15 left in the game. Madden Martinez would give them a chance, threading the needle through 3 defenders to hit Caleb Rivera for a 31 yard touchdown. The two point conversion was good to cut the lead to 10-8. But the plodding and steady run game was able to keep the Battle of the Boulevard Trophy at St. Francis Prep for another year. League play hits both these teams hard. Holy Cross travels to Aviator to play Xavier. St. Francis Prep is on the road as well, to play St. John the Baptist.

I am going to explain how I do standings, again:

• 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 2:

Here are next week’s matchups:

• Kennedy Catholic vs Mount St. Michael
• Nazareth vs St. Dominic’s
• Cardinal Spellman vs Christ the King
• St. John the Baptist vs St. Francis Prep
• Chaminade vs Monsignor Farrell
• St. Peter’s vs Fordham Prep
• Archbishop Stepinac vs St. Anthony’s
• Kellenberg vs Cardinal Hayes
• St. Joseph by the Sea vs Iona Prep
• Xavier vs Holy Cross

Note: That all games unless otherwise specified are official League Games

My Take on week 2:

In the ‘AAA’:

• Can anyone stop Iona Prep? Over 400 yards on the ground, and two convincing victories over quality teams. This team can just attack you in so many ways, and their defense is as stout as I have seen. League play begins this week so we will find out quickly what the gap is or is not between Iona and the rest of the NYCHSFL.
• Monsignor Farrell has “that dog in them.” Rocco Del Priore keeps this team focused and believing. They face a difficult test now, going into the “black and blue” division schedule. Jayden Burch adds such a different dynamic to this team, and Bryce Moye has improved even more from last year.
• Questions remain for the Friars. Their defense, their special teams, and their offense need to click all at the same time. You can see a strong team, but mistakes on defense as far as scheme, missed tackles on special teams, and a predictable offense makes me have more questions about this team moving forward.
• Chaminade, again, has to finish drives. A close game for much of the afternoon, the Flyers need to get on track quickly. Luckily, they have Trapani back, who will provide an extra dynamic on offense, and will make the defense more stout.
• Archbishop Stepinac has a running game that also accumulated over 400 yards this week between Nahum Pierre and Ronell Chambers. Stepinac seems to have righted the ship on defense, shutting down a talented and explosive Immaculata team. They have their work cut out for this this week– with St. Anthony’s coming to town.
• Cardinal Hayes played inspired against a good Middletown team, but it will be difficult for me to judge them until after next week. They looked good for sure, but I have more questions than answers. Still though, the Cardinals are dangerous.

In the ‘AA-I’:

• St. Joseph by the Sea’s offense is rolling. Their revived passing attack, and the play of Joey Moran has powered this offense. I do question their defense though. They get a tough test the next two weeks with Iona coming to town and then a road trip to Stepinac.
• Kellenberg Memorial has a huge game coming up, but their offense has been rolling and a tough defense makes them a difficult draw for any game. Balance is the name of the game, and they have a stable of running backs and receivers and a quarterback who can get them all the ball. Their homecoming is this week and they chose Cardinal Hayes for this game. This will be a statement game for them.
• Everyone seems to be forgetting that Xavier is the defending champions, and their system is firing on all cylinders. They have revved up their 2026 campaign effectively, playing two tune up games against a PSAL team and a ‘AA-II’ team. Their game against Holy Cross is one they should win, but will tell us a lot about the strength of the Knights.
• St. Francis Prep got out of league play 2-1, though the two wins are against ‘AA-II’ opponents. They face their first ‘AA-I’ opponent this weekend in Suffolk county. I see a lot mouths to feed on offense. Their size, strength, and defense seem to be as strong as any in the ‘AA-I’, but the offense is missing that spark.
• St. John the Baptist did what they were supposed to do this week. Their transfer QB in Michaels seems to be working splendidly with them, and they have a strong running game and defense. A big test coming up now as their first two opponents were teams clearly not up to par with the rest of the ‘AA-I’.
• Xaverian is rolling. I know its 3-0 against teams they should beat, but Coach Aluotto has Jake Price running this spread offense as well as you can. It can march down the field, as well as break huge gains with Christian LaRocca, and Richie Aiken. A strong and stingy defense gives them favorable field position and a lot of chances to score. They are off this week, and return to the field to play Kennedy in week 4.
• St. Peter’s came out with a gutsy win in the 4th quarter to beat Hudson Catholic. Led by Anthony D’Acunto, and Victor Baez, as well as a stingy defense, you can see this team coming together. They begin league play with a familiar opponent, Fordham Prep, who is looking to beat the Eagles for the first time since 2022.
• Fordham Prep took the week off after a tough two weeks. They gear up for a brutal league schedule that has three ‘AAA’ opponents on the docket, as well as a strong ‘AA-I’ line up. Their league journey, and Coach Farrell’s career looks to begin in Staten Island, against Mark DeCristoforo and his Eagles.

In the ‘AA-II’:

• Holy Cross went from scoring 46 points last week to 8 points this week. The Knights’ schedule does not get any easier with a game against Xavier next week. I think Holy Cross needs to find balance on offense through the air and ground. They are capable of doing both.
• Mount has played three very good ‘AA-I’ / Section 1 Class ‘AA’ teams to begin the year. The Mount has had some good offensive performances, but have seemed to be taking a bit longer on defense to figure it out. Well, now it matters as they travel north up to Somers.
• St. Dominic’s got their ‘AA-I’ game out of the way early, and that may be a good thing. The young Bayhawks now know what it is like to play against one of the better teams in the MIFL (Hackley) and a strong ‘AA-I’ team.
• Kennedy was off this past week, but they played one of the best teams in the NYSPHSAA Section 1 in their first game. I think we will see some good games from the Gaels from Somers this year.
• Christ the King played two very strong MIFL teams this season. The new look Royals were overwhelmed in many of their players first varsity action. They go into league play against Spellman. I don’t have much to say.
• Cardinal Spellman as well– they played FDA, a team that they put the beatdown on, and then Xavier, who put the beatdown on them. A tune up and a reach to prepare the Pilots for league play.
• Nazareth begins their season this week as they head to Oyster Bay. I don’t have any information on the Kingmen.

As we go into the real season, what have we learned? Well, I am still not sold on the value of such a long, protracted nonleague season, especially with the opening of camp being so late in the year. Camp should start the first week in August if you are going to have games so soon. But that is just me.

What are your thoughts, and comments? What matchups are you intrigued in?

Pete’s Prognostication 2026: 31-9

Coach X and O’s Picks 2026: 27-13

Coach Redzone Rick’s Picks 2026: 4-0

The Community: 26-14