Staten Islanders aplenty on Xavier roster

The Staten Island Advance, October 23, 2008 7:18 p.m.

New Dorp's Sal Somma talks with a player back in his coaching days. - (Staten Island Advance file photo.)

It’s bad enough for both St. Peter’s and Moore Catholic that they lost games to Xavier HS this season, but the Knights turned the trick with seven Staten Islanders on the roster: Seniors Casey Pappalardo, Mike Pugliese and Anthony Volpe; and juniors John Cilmi, Dominic DeFalco, Drew Olsen and Steve Ruta.

"And we have four more Staten Islanders on the JV and two on our Freshman team," said Xavier varsity coach Chris Stevens, whose team improved to 5-1 on the season after last Saturday night’s 37-12 victory over the Mavericks. "Most of the Island kids stay home and go to school, and Poly Prep and Xaverian get their share, but a lot of kids are willing to make the commitment to come here. A lot of it has to do with our academic reputation."

And some of it has to do with the Knights’ highly successful program. Xavier led the state in rushing last season and hasn’t lost a step this year. In a 51-25 win over St. Peter’s, the Knights rushed for 445 yards; against the Mavs, they gained 363.

Pugliese is a starting defensive end for Xavier who can bench press 330 pounds. Pappalardo, a golfer at the school, is a backup free safety. And Volpe is a backup two-back in Xavier’s churning ground attack. And all three seniors are also considering joining the rugby team once the grid season ends.

The juniors, meanwhile, have a collective record at Xavier of 18-4 through two-plus seasons.

Of course, Xavier’s most direct link to Staten Island is the single-wing offense that Stevens took from Sal Somma‘s old New Dorp teams.

"The first year we started using it (2005), we lost 19-6 early on to St. Peter’s. After the game, St. Peter’s coach, Mike Cosentino, told me about Sal Somma ... before then, I didn’t know about him," said Stevens, who eventually got in contact with some of the Centrals’ old guard including former player and coach Paul Barchitta and long-time statistician Charlie Perrino.

"Paul Barchitta then invited me to the Freg Fugazzi Dinner where I got to meet a lot of Sal Somma’s old players, including (Monsignor Farrell coach) Ben Sarullo. They brought me into the cult," chuckled Stevens, who was also given the keys to the kingdom in the form of Somma’s old playbook.

And the rest is history.