CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL LEAGUE of METROPOLITAN NEW YORK

Player of the Week Nomination

Nominee: Seamus Kelly                                        School: Xavier High School

Position: Running Back & Inside LB                    Opponent: Bishop Ford

Date of Game: 09/27/08   Ht. 5’11”    Wt. 190  Class: Sr.  Hometown: Breezy Point, Queens  

Details of nominees performance:
Xavier defeated Bishop Ford 47-20 to go 3-0 in the CHSFL AA-A Division.  Senior Seamus Kelly was Xavier’s main offensive producer with 27 carries for 236 yards (an 8.7 yards per carry average) and 6 touchdowns including a 71 run for a touchdown.  He also contributed 1 2-point conversion to score 38 of Xavier’s 47 points.  Over the last three weeks Seamus has rushed for 577 yards and scored 90 points!

Class Honors:
Seamus has a 90+ average at Xavier and has achieved honor grades in 9 of 12 marking periods (7x 2^nd Honors and 2x 1^st Honors).

League Honors:  
As a Junior, Seamus was named as Xavier's Best Offensive Player and was a big part of Xavier's "A" Division Championship run gaining 1169 yards rushing while scoring 18 TDs and 132 total points for the Knights.  He was named CHSFL Player of the Week twice, first in week 7 in Xavier's 61-12 win over Cardinal Spellman to clinch the "A" Division Title and second in week 11 in Xavier's 20-14 win over Fordham Prep. in the Annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl Classic.  His performance on Thanksgiving also won him the prestigeous Michael Dunn Trophy which is presented to the Thanksgiving game MVP.

Other Sports & Honors:
Seamus was the Xavier High School Athlete of the Year in both his Freshman and Junior Years.  Last year, he was named to the All-Bronx/Manhattan Team by the New York Daily News.  He was also named to the 2nd Team All-State Team by the Sports Writers of New York.  A starter as a Sophomore on Xavier’s 2007 “B” Division National Championship Rugby Team, he went on in his Junior year to make the United States National Rugby Team's Under 17 Squad and toured Europe playing against the national teams of England, Portugal and Romania, where the Junior Eagles finished with a 2-1 record.  

 Nominations must be received by the Monday Night Meeting.

All winners will be announce on the league website on Tuesday after the Monday Night Meeting.

Bishop Ford Falcons grounded by Xavier's rushing attack

BY ERIC FAYNBERG

Tuesday, September 30th 2008, 12:43 PM

Bishop Ford knew what it would face when it met defending CHSFL 'A' champ Xavier on Saturday night. The Falcons knew the Knights would do what they've done all year: run the ball. Knowledge wasn't enough to win even half the battle.

"No one's stopped them in two years," Bishop Ford coach Jim Esposito said.

The Falcons couldn't stop Xavier's ground game either, falling, 47-20, at the Aviator Sports Complex; Bishop Ford fell to 1-2 overall (0-2 in league play).

"We did a decent job hanging in there," Esposito said. "But we got tired. They stopped our running game, but we couldn't stop Xavier's."

The Falcons struggled to contain tailback Seamus Kelly, who scored six of Xavier's seven rushing touchdowns. He carried the ball 27 times for 236 rushing yards, and Ford never adjusted. The Knights threw just three passes. That kept Ford from getting its own ground game together behind lineman Winston Hill.

"It isn't the football we're used to seeing," Esposito said. "The thing that's really hard to do is simulate it in practice. They do it so precisely that in a week you cannot properly prepare for it."

Ford will face a more traditional offense when it meets Christ the King this Saturday, but the Falcons will do so without sophomore defensive end Andre McNeil, who dislocated his right knee late in the first half when he got tangled up with teammate Alex Cole.

Still, Esposito says the Royals can't be any tougher than the Knights.

"They're a big team, just like us," Esposito said. "It'll be physical, but at least it isn't Xavier."