Xavier Faces Week Two Test  

Although the new season is barely a week old, Coach Chris Stevens' players are about to learn something about themselves. The Team Formerly Known as the Kaydets... and then the Bruins (Est. 1882)... takes on division arch rival St. John the Baptist this Saturday night at Aviator Field in what will be the league opener for both, and the Long Islanders are on top of the world after upsetting highly-touted Fordham Prep 15-13 in West Islip last weekend.

Although the AAA Division Rams and the AA Division Cougars are both in the Catholic High School Football League, their Week One encounter does not count in the official league standings. But tell that to Baptist, who shut down Fordham Prep's heralded passing attack, intercepting junior phenom James McHale five times. The Cougars could have scheduled anyone they wanted in Week One. The fact that their coach decided to open the season against an AAA Division CHSFL team means that he's pretty confident about his team.

The 16th Street Kids, meanwhile, are coming off a 41-8 pasting of upstate Middletown High School at Stepinac last Saturday afternoon— that following a 56-0 performance against a lineup of Westchester high schools in a round-robin scrimmage the weekend before— and, although the season is very young, The Amazing Fantastic Gridiron Way Back Machine appears to be humming right along. Xavier will present an altogether different challenge than the Rams for the Boys from the Burbs.

As longtime observers of this rivalry know, there is no love lost between either the players or the fans of Xavier and St. John the Baptist, and the Cougars will be looking to avenge their 41-14 defeat at the hands of the Knights in West Islip last year. Unfortunately for them, they won't be at Cougar Field Saturday night. They'll be at Aviator Field— and that's where you mugs (and mugettes!) come in.

The Knights play just four games at Aviator this season— and our opponent is the home team in one of them. Saturday night's meeting with Baptist may well be the most important game we play on the shores of Jamaica Bay all year.

There is no official Xavier Football Alumni homecoming game scheduled as yet, and there may not be one, so if you make one game at Aviator this season, Kids, make it this one. The weather will be good, the action will be fierce, and the chances are better than even that the winner will go on to take the AA Division title.

The Baptist fans travel well and, as noted earlier, they are just a wee bit worked up after knocking off heavily-favored Fordham Prep last weekend. We need all hands on deck Saturday night, Boys and Girls. Kickoff is at 8:00 PM. See you at Aviator!

Stand by...
Tom O'Hara '69