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: St. Peter's Prep.

Date of Game: 09/13/08   Ht. 5’11”  Wt. 190  Class: Sr.  Hometown: Breezy Point, Queens

Details of nominees performance:
Xavier defeated St. Peter’s Prep., S.I. 51-25 in their AA-A Division opener.  Senior Seamus Kelly was Xavier’s main offensive producer with 22 carries for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns including a 62 yard run for a touchdown.  He also contributed 3 2-point conversions to score 24 of Xavier’s 51 points.  Playing inside LB going both ways on a terribly hot and humid day, Seamus also contributed on Defense with 4 solo tackles and 6 Assists.

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.  

Please fax nomination form to Kevin A'Hearn at (516) 292 – 2557 or email to nychsfl@optonline.net

 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.

Xavier Runs Past St. Peter's, 51-25

Stephen Hart, September 13, 2008 6:44 p.m.

Xavier's single-wing offense is a dichotomy. On the surface, it looks fairly simple and one-dimensional. But when the Knights execute their array of traps, reverses and misdirection runs -- with a backfield that's a virtual shell game with the pigskin -- it can make for a frustrating afternoon for opposing defenses.

St. Peter's found that out the hard way Saturday.

Seamus Kelly scored three touchdowns and ran for 203 of Xavier's 445 yards on the ground as the visiting Knights pulled away in the second half for a 51-25 CHSFL win in New Brighton.

"The single wing is easy to teach and tough to defend," said Xavier coach Chris Stevens, who two years ago adopted the old-fashioned offense associated in these parts with New Dorp's legendary Sal Somma. "We went 5-6 that first season then 10-1 last season while leading the state in rushing. It's a running attack where you hit every hole with power."

"It's similar to (St. Joseph by-the-Sea's) offense, with a lot of bodies going up a particular hole and the runner staying behind his blockers and bouncing outside," noted St. Peter's coach Mike Cosentino.

But the Eagles (0-1 CHSFL, 0-2 overall) have now opened the season yielding 99 points in two games. And while Cosentino gives credits to both Xavier and Monsignor Farrell's offense from last week, he says one constant running through the losses has been shoddy tackling by his defense.

"We've got to do a better job wrapping up. We had the right defensive schemes a lot of the time but didn't wrap up," Cosentino said. "The guys have to make the plays."

The teams traded touchdowns on six straight possessions; with Paul Boyd (23-yard run), Anthony Fabrizio (a perfect 48-yard pass from QB John Woodford) and Hakim Rice (46-yard run) scoring for SP. The only difference was the Knights (1-0 CHSFL and overall) were successful on all three two-point conversions and the Eagles failed all three times for a 24-18 Xavier lead.

Kelly then rumbled 62 yards down the right side, sidestepping two Eagles, for another TD and a 30-18 lead midway through the second quarter. But 2:45 before halftime, Fabrizio took a left sweep and ran 48 yards to paydirt. T.J. Bongiorno’s PAT kick cut the deficit to 30-25 at the intermission.

But the Eagles would get no closer.

Kelly’s third TD run made it 36-25 late in the third quarter and, after a three-and-out by SP, the Knights used five straight runs to find the end zone again to take command at 44-25 with 8:03 remaining.

"In the second half, they took the ball and kept our offense off the field," said Cosentino.

*** The reporter neglects to point out that the Knights outscored St. Peter's 21-0 in the second half.  — Tom O'Hara '69