Jayson Holt, coach Mario Valentini lead way for Bronx/Manhattan All-Stars

Sunday, December 2nd 2007, 4:00 AM

Jayson Holt leads Mount Saint Michael
back to CHSFL 'AAA' title game.

 

Mario Valentini helps young squad
surprise CHSFL foes.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jayson Holt, Mount Saint Michael
Jayson Holt was back for his third straight season as signal-caller for the Mountaineers, but he was lining up behind an all-new offensive line and handing off to a brand new halfback.

The inexperience showed in Mount's season-opening loss to Fordham Prep. It didn't seem like an out-of-nowhere upset, since the Rams were a solid team in their own right.

Still, Holt could have walked off the field thinking that his team lacked the talent to return to the heights it reached last year, when they reached the 'AAA' championship game and nearly knocked off St. Anthony's.

But after the loss and through the rest of the season, Holt showed the unquantifiable characteristics of a leader. He also flashed blazing speed, rushing for 12 touchdowns in the regular season.

The 5-10, 165-pound senior helped pull his young teammates through tough stretches of the regular season, displaying an indomitable work ethic and dispensing an occasional earful of encouragement.

"He knew it was gonna take some time, but he tried to be positive with the kids," Mount coach Mario Valentini said. "He showed them what it took to win with the way he worked."

Bronx / Manhattan Teams

Several squads made it deep into the playoffs, but none ran farther or faster than Xavier, which won the CHSFL 'A' title with a single-wing attack that produced two 1,000-yard rushers. Mount Saint Michael reached the 'AAA' final for a second straight season. Fordham Prep battled its way into the 'AA' semifinals before falling, 19-14, to Stepinac. On the PSAL side, JFK and Wadleigh both made postseason runs before falling. Wadleigh lost to John Adams in the Cup Division final, and JFK lost to Canarsie in the playoff quarterfinals.

PSAL BOWL/CHAMPIONSHIP
JFK 8-3
Lehman 6-4
Truman 7-4
Clinton 2-7
Evander 1-8
Columbus 0-9

PSAL CUP
Wadleigh 10-2
Stuyvesant 6-4
South Bronx 5-5
Stevenson 4-6
Alfred E. Smith 4-6
Lafayette 0-10

CHSFL 'AAA'
Mount Saint Michael 6-6

CHSFL 'AA'
Fordham Prep 8-3
Cardinal Hayes 2-9

CHSFL 'A'
Xavier 10-1*
Cardinal Spellman 5-6
* CHSFL 'A' champion

FIRST TEAM ALL-BOROUGH
QB Jayson Holt, Mount Saint Michael, Sr.
RB Seamus Kelly, Xavier, Jr.
RB Calvin McCoy, Fordham Prep, Sr.
RB Rob McIntosh, Cardinal Spellman, Sr.
WR Marquis Palmer Garcia, Lehman Sr.
WR Kendall Carter, Clinton, Sr.
WR Peter Lamacchia, Fordham Prep, Sr.
DL Kenny Perkins, JFK, Sr.
DL Caraun Reid, Mount Saint Michael, Jr.
LB Ozzie Garcia, JFK, Jr.
DB Raul DeBenedittis, Lehman, Sr.

SECOND TEAM ALL-BOROUGH
QB Jamari Young, Lehman, Sr.
QB Lawrence DeSimone, Fordham Prep, Sr.
RB Shamar Wright, Alfred E. Smith, Sr.
RB Jimmy Kowalski, Xavier, Sr.
RB Ernesto Lafalais, Truman,Sr.
RB Malik Williams, Truman, Sr.
DL Brandon Moore, Cardinal Spellman, Sr.
LB Brian Seminairo, Fordham Prep, Sr.
LB Siriki Diabate, Lehman, Jr.
DB Stephen Obeng-Agyapong, JFK, Sr.
DB Elizear Torres, South Bronx, Sr.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Mario Valentini, Mount Saint Michael
Mount Saint Michael played a 3-4 regular season and showed itself to be a young, often inconsistent club. The Mountaineers played tight games against tough competition all season, gaining experience through an up-and-down campaign.

From his team's season-opening loss to Fordham Prep to its upset of St. Anthony's and tough losses to St. Joseph's-by-the-Sea, Chaminade and Holy Trinity, coach Mario Valentini saw progress.

Valentini's squad entered the CHSFL's 'AAA' playoffs with the seventh seed and needed to pull off back-to-back upsets to reach the championship game. Throughout the week of practice before Mount's playoff opener against second-seeded St. Joseph by-the-Sea, Valentini told his team how good they were, assuring them that they were ready for whatever the league had to offer.