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Next Up: Holy Trinity

Eight teams met last weekend in the first round of the New York Catholic High School Football League Division AA Playoffs— four from Division AAA and four from Division AA. When the smoke cleared, just one Division AA team was left standing.

Tomorrow afternoon, The Team Formerly Known as the Kaydets... and then the Bruins... continues its island-hopping tour with a visit to Hicksville, Long Island, where they will meet the Titans of Holy Trinity High School in the CHSFL Division AA semi-finals. Kick off is at 1:00 PM.

Here's the deal. The CHSFL has decreed that regular-season Division AA champion Xavier shall be the visiting team in their own division playoffs. I told you mugs there was a good chance that the 16th Street Kidz were going to have to defeat three Division AAA teams on the road to win the AA playoff title this fall and that is exactly what's come to pass.

Both high school football writers at Newsday, the Long Island newspaper, give Coach Chris Stevens' Road Warriors no chance against the Titans tomorrow afternoon.

Holy Trinity, after all, is a longtime football power on Long Island. The Titans have had a disappointing season in Division AAA, but they did beat a good Mount St. Michael squad 28-15 and crushed Fordham Prep 63-39.

And most of Holy Trinity's losses to the leaders in their division have been close: 13-14 to Chaminade, 12-27 to Division AAA regular-season champion Iona Prep, and 14-28 to Farrell's heir to Staten Island supremacy, St. Joseph's-by-the-Sea (known in the New York high school football community as, simply, "Sea").

We read and hear that the Titans will be taking out their frustrations on Xavier Saturday. Disappointed in their quest for the championship of their own division after being picked as a favorite last August, Holy Trinity has decided to console itself with the Division AA title.

The Titans blew away St. Peter's High School 41-14 in last week's quarter-finals, and the home stands will be packed once again tomorrow afternoon when Holy Trinity teaches one more pack of upstart city kids what Long Island football is all about.

The response of Xavier's coaches and players: "If today's Saturday, this must be Hicksville. Have helmets, will travel. It don't mean nuthin."

Where do you come in? We've got to make sure we have our kids' backs tomorrow afternoon like we did last Saturday when the Xavier faithful outnumbered the Farrell crowd in their own house by at least 2-1. In the rain. It was so bad that Farrell's public address announcer was reduced to playing rock music and— I kid you not— recorded crowd noises at obnoxiously high volume to drown us out. (More on all of this in the "official" account of the game coming soon... I promise!)

The stakes are higher tomorrow and we'll have to do even better. From all the e-mails I'm receiving from you mugs this week— even in the absence of any e-newsletter or e-blast— it looks like we will. Good on ye!

The weather report for tomorrow, like last Saturday, is for wind and rain and maybe even a little bit of thunder. Just the way Coach Stevens likes it. Fire up the Amazing Fantastic Gridiron Way Back Machine, lads— we're going up to the top of Bald Mountain one more time!

See you tomorrow afternoon.

Stand by....

Tom O'Hara '69

From FiveBoroSports.com....

CHSFL semifinal predictions

GALLANT COMEBACK FALLS SHORT:

Xavier Falls to Holy Trinity 42-38

After falling behind 35-8 in little more than a half this afternoon, The Team Formerly Known as the Kaydets... and then the Bruins... recovered their footing and came storming back to within just four points of what would have been one of the great comebacks in Xavier Football's 125-year history.

It was not to be, however, and the Titans of Holy Trinity escaped with a 42-38 victory to advance to next week's Division AA title game against the winner of tomorrow's contest between Fordham Prep and Stepinac.

Details to follow. In the meantime, Coach Chris Stevens '83 would like to thank the many Sons of Xavier who made the long trek out to Hicksville, Long Island on another rainy, windswept Saturday afternoon to cheer our kids on as they climbed out of the dark depths of the first half and very nearly made it to the top of the mountain in the second.

I just received this e-mail from John Murray '67, a running back on the great 1966 Xavier team:

"Hey Tom,

"Despite the outcome it was a great way to spend an afternoon...watching an outsized Xavier team battle back to damn near grasp victory from the jaws of defeat, and also to be in the company a great group of former Xavier players who still have a love for their Alma Mater and today's young Men of Xavier!

"Like one of our number said, those Holy Trinity players may not know their own school song (if they even have one) but they are now all too familiar with ours!!!! They also know that they escaped with their lives only because the clock ran out."

John traveled traveled 180 miles round trip from his Jersey Shore home to today's game because, as he put it when he called me this morning, "I have work to do today [John's a dentist.], and I was thinking that Long Island was too far to travel for a football game, especially in lousy weather. But that Farrell game was a blast and it would drive me nuts to be stuck hanging around down here wondering how the kids were making out up there against Trinity."

I would only add that it's easy not to give up on players and coaches who never give up on themselves. I've never been prouder of a bunch of kids— and I've seen and known a lot of them during my 41 years as a Xavier player, coach, father and alum.

And that's why I love Xavier.

Great game. No one should be disappointed. The effort exerted by your guys in the 4th quarter showed that they never stopped believing in themselves. It was clear that HT was a little bigger "up front" on both sides of the line. However, by the end of the game it was evident which team had more heart. There were several individuals wearing green who were glad that "the famous offense" did not get the ball one more time. When you go back and review the scores of HT's prior games in the AAA this year, no one can dispute where Xavier belongs.

Graduate Parent, Bill Holland

P.S. Although I did not attend Xavier, I caught several glimpses of the alums "standing by" with Tom O'Hara and can tell you that they appeared to be very proud today.






	Next Up: Holy Trinity Eight teams met last weekend in the first round of the New York Catholic High School Football League Division AA Playoffs— four from Division AAA and four from Division AA. When the smoke cleared, just one Division AA team was left standing. Tomorrow afternoon, The Team Formerly Known as the Kaydets... and then the Bruins... continues its island-hopping tour with a visit to Hicksville, Long Island, where they will meet the Titans of Holy Trinity High School in the CHSFL Division AA semi-finals. Kick off is at 1:00 PM. (For directions and maps, please visit http://departments.xavierhs.org/athletics/football/2008webpage/Holy%20Trinity/directions.htm.) Here's the deal. The CHSFL has decreed that regular-season Division AA champion Xavier shall be the visiting team in their own division playoffs. I told you mugs there was a good chance that the 16th Street Kidz were going to have to defeat three Division AAA teams on the road to win the AA playoff title this fall and that is exactly what's come to pass. Both high school football writers at Newsday, the Long Island newspaper, give Coach Chris Stevens' Road Warriors no chance against the Titans tomorrow afternoon. None. Holy Trinity, after all, is a longtime football power on Long Island. The Titans have had a disappointing season in Division AAA, but they did beat a good Mount St. Michael squad 28-15 and crushed Fordham Prep 63-39. And most of Holy Trinity's losses to the leaders in their division have been close: 13-14 to Chaminade, 12-27 to Division AAA regular-season champion Iona Prep, and 14-28 to Farrell's heir to Staten Island supremacy, St. Joseph's-by-the-Sea (known in the New York high school football community as, simply, "Sea"). We read and hear that the Titans will be taking out their frustrations on Xavier Saturday. Disappointed in their quest for the championship of their own division after being picked as a favorite last August, Holy Trinity has decided to console itself with the Division AA title. The Titans blew away St. Peter's High School 41-14 in last week's quarter-finals, and the home stands will be packed once again tomorrow afternoon when Holy Trinity teaches one more pack of upstart city kids what Long Island football is all about. The response of Xavier's coaches and players: "If today's Saturday, this must be Hicksville. Have helmets, will travel. It don't mean nuthin." They are ready. Where do you come in? We've got to make sure we have our kids' backs tomorrow afternoon like we did last Saturday when the Xavier faithful outnumbered the Farrell crowd in their own house by at least 2-1. In the rain. It was so bad that Farrell's public address announcer was reduced to playing rock music and— I kid you not— recorded crowd noises at obnoxiously high volume to drown us out. (More on all of this in the "official" account of the game coming soon... I promise!) The stakes are higher tomorrow and we'll have to do even better. From all the e-mails I'm receiving from you mugs this week— even in the absence of any e-newsletter or e-blast— it looks like we will. Good on ye! The weather report for tomorrow, like last Saturday, is for wind and rain and maybe even a little bit of thunder. Just the way Coach Stevens likes it. Fire up the Amazing Fantastic Gridiron Way Back Machine, lads— we're going up to the top of Bald Mountain one more time! See you tomorrow afternoon. Stand by.... Tom O'Hara '69

	Seamus Kelly ran over Staten Island's Monsginor Farrell last week. Long Island's Holy Trinity is next. Photo by Damion Reid

	*From FiveBoroSports.com....* CHSFL semifinal predictions CHSFL AA Saturday No. 6 Xavier (8-1) @ No. 2 Holy Trinity (5-5) 1 p.m. This is what Xavier wanted all season, to test its mettle against the ‘AAA.’ Of course, the Knights probably didn’t want to do it all on the road. They went to Staten Island and beat Monsignor Farrell last week, backed by – who else? – Seamus Kelly and his 356 yards rushing and four touchdowns. This week, they’ll head to another island, Long Island , to challenge Holy Trinity. The Titans had several impressive wins this season: against Fordham Prep, Kellenberg and Mount St. Michael. Xavier went to Staten Island to beat a ‘AAA’ team in the quarterfinals, defeating Monsignor Farrell, 30-27, at the Lions Den. Now the Knights head to the other Island to meet Holy Trinity with the winner playing in the ‘AA’ final. The Titans are tough, but no one has been able to stop Seamus Kelly and that will include Trinity. The one caveat, though, is that Trinity can score a ton of points. Xavier’s defense, which has struggled at times, will need to be on point. Pick: Xavier

	*GALLANT COMEBACK FALLS SHORT:* Xavier Falls to Holy Trinity 42-38 After falling behind 35-8 in little more than a half this afternoon, The Team Formerly Known as the Kaydets... and then the Bruins... recovered their footing and came storming back to within just four points of what would have been one of the great comebacks in Xavier Football's 125-year history. It was not to be, however, and the Titans of Holy Trinity escaped with a 42-38 victory to advance to next week's Division AA title game against the winner of tomorrow's contest between Fordham Prep and Stepinac. Details to follow. In the meantime, Coach Chris Stevens '83 would like to thank the many Sons of Xavier who made the long trek out to Hicksville, Long Island on another rainy, windswept Saturday afternoon to cheer our kids on as they climbed out of the dark depths of the first half and very nearly made it to the top of the mountain in the second. I just received this e-mail from John Murray '67, a running back on the great 1966 Xavier team: "Hey Tom, "Despite the outcome it was a great way to spend an afternoon...watching an outsized Xavier team battle back to damn near grasp victory from the jaws of defeat, and also to be in the company a great group of former Xavier players who still have a love for their Alma Mater and today's young Men of Xavier! "Like one of our number said, those Holy Trinity players may not know their own school song (if they even have one) but they are now all too familiar with ours!!!! They also know that they escaped with their lives only because the clock ran out." John traveled traveled 180 miles round trip from his Jersey Shore home to today's game because, as he put it when he called me this morning, "I have work to do today [John's a dentist.], and I was thinking that Long Island was too far to travel for a football game, especially in lousy weather. But that Farrell game was a blast and it would drive me nuts to be stuck hanging around down here wondering how the kids were making out up there against Trinity." I would only add that it's easy not to give up on players and coaches who never give up on themselves. I've never been prouder of a bunch of kids— and I've seen and known a lot of them during my 41 years as a Xavier player, coach, father and alum. And that's why I love Xavier. Stand by... Tom O'Hara '69















	Coach, Great game. No one should be disappointed. The effort exerted by your guys in the 4th quarter showed that they never stopped believing in themselves. It was clear that HT was a little bigger "up front" on both sides of the line. However, by the end of the game it was evident which team had more heart. There were several individuals wearing green who were glad that "the famous offense" did not get the ball one more time. When you go back and review the scores of HT's prior games in the AAA this year, no one can dispute where Xavier belongs. Graduate Parent, Bill Holland P.S. Although I did not attend Xavier, I caught several glimpses of the alums "standing by" with Tom O'Hara and can tell you that they appeared to be very proud today.