XAVIER 35 - Minisink Valley 7
Friday Night Lights...
It Begins...
"I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one."
— Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), Apocalypse Now
Good evening, Xavier Nation, and welcome to the 2013 Xavier football season.
When we last saw The Team Formerly Known as the Kaydets... and then the Bruins...(Est.1882), it was at Long Island's Mitchel Field late one Saturday night last December and they had just defeated the Cougars of St. John the Baptist, 35-14, to win the New York Catholic High School Football League AA Division Championship.
Hurricane Sandy, the largest storm in recorded American history, had battered the metropolitan area just weeks before, devastating the Rockaways, Breezy Point, Staten Island, Long Beach and the Jersey Shore. A quarter of Xavier's varsity squad were left homeless, along with some of their coaches, and many had lost their equipment to fire and flood. A few had nearly lost their lives on that dark October night when howling winds and the Atlantic Ocean came to call on them in their seaside neighborhoods, followed close behind by fires as terrifying as they were insatiable.
With their distant practice fields in Brooklyn and Manhattan damaged or underwater, and the CHSFL playoffs, in which the Knights were seeded sixth out of eight teams, about to get underway, the theme for this postseason looked to be Mission Impossible. But when head coach Chris Stevens '83 finally located all his players and asked them whether they wanted to keep playing or call it a season, the response was immediate and unanimous: "Hell, yes."
Or at least that's the printable version of their answer.
Their backs to the wall, the embattled players rallied to their coaches and closed ranks. The homeless players moved in with their more fortunate teammates and were issued new equipment. When Xavier reopened the week after Sandy— a week during which most of the players and coaches had reported daily to Breezy and the Rockaways to help their families, friends and neighbors dig out— practice resumed in the cafeteria and the gym.
In the finest tradition of Xavier Football, this team would do the best they could with whatever they had. The 16th Street Kids became men.
And when the long-delayed season resumed, Coach Stevens' gridironmen advanced through the playoffs like Sherman marching through Georgia. With every victory, they only got stronger: 40-36 over AAA Division Mount Saint Michael on the road; 38-21 over The Ancient Foe— in their house— on Thanksgiving Day; and, finally, the title game— and the 35-14 demolition of the team that had shut Xavier out in Week Two of the regular season. Baptist's athletic director had told Newsday in the days leading up to the championship game that the Cougars' victory over Xavier for the title would cement their claim to a place in the CHSFL's top echelon, the AAA Division, in 2013. The 16th Street Road Warriors had taken note. And on that chilly December night at Mitchel Field, they took names.
As I wrote then, "Here's to the players and coaches of the 2012 Knights— arguably the toughest, most resilient and, yes, the best gridironmen ever to wear the Maroon and Blue in the 130-year annals of Xavier Football."
But that was then. This is now.
The 16th Street Kids have been rewarded for their epic championship season with the toughest schedule I can remember seeing in my 46 years around Xavier Football. The (huge) change this year is that the CHSFL, which has added two new schools, has eliminated its three-division structure for the regular season, lumped all 22 teams together in a single conference, assigned each school a "power ranking", and drawn up the regular-season league schedule based on those rankings.
After tonight's season opener in upstate Orange County against defending district champion Minisink Valley High School, Xavier (No. 11) returns home to face, in order, Stepinac (No. 6) to open league play, Farrell (No. 8) away and Iona Prep (No. 2) away. All three schools played in the CHSFL's AAA Division last year.
The next two games are against former AA Division members St. John the Baptist (away) and St. Francis Prep ("home" at SUNY Maritime College), who together handed the Knights their only losses in 2012. Two more old AA Division opponents come next: Cardinal Hayes ("home" at SUNY Maritime) and St. Peter's High School of Staten Island (away). Xavier finishes the regular season back at Aviator against last season's AAA Division champion Chaminade (No. 3).
Then comes the "second season", the CFSFL playoffs, which will see the return of the three-division structure. Based on their regular-season records, the teams finishing in first through eighth place will compete for the AAA Championship. Teams finishing No. 9 through No. 16 will play for the AA title. Teams No. 17 through No. 20 will compete for the A Division crown and, in a move which seems a bit silly and unfair to me, the bottom two teams will be sent home.
The good news for the 16th Street Kids is that, while they may yet defy the oddsmakers and play their way into the AAA postseason tournament, they have, as defending AA champions and by virtue of their ranking in the CHSFL's preseason top 12, automatically qualified for the AA Division playoffs, although their seeding would be determined by their regular-season record.
And then, of course there's the "third season". On Thanksgiving morning, Xavier will, as it has for well over a century, face The Ancient Foe Who Dwells Atop Rose Hill, and this year's edition of New York City's oldest high school gridiron rivalry will take place where the lion sleeps— Aviator Field.
Along with being one of the toughest seasons in Xavier Football's now 131-year history, 2013 may also prove to be the longest. With 10 regular-season contests and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs, the Knights will play a minimum of 11 games this year, which, I believe, ties the record for most games in a single season. If they win that first playoff game, this year's squad will break the record. And should the 16th Street Kids make it all the way to the title game for a second straight year, they will notch 13 appearances on the gridiron this season.
Stand by...
Tom O'Hara '69
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CATHOLIC
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL LEAGUE of METROPOLITAN NEW YORK
Player of the Week Nomination
Nominee:
William Solomon
School: Xavier High School
Position:
Running Back / Free Safety
Opponent: Minisink Valley
Date
of Game: 09/06/13
Ht. 5’11”
Wt. 200
Class: Sr.
Hometown:
Details
of nominees performance:
Building
of off last year’s CHSFL AA Championship, the Xavier Knights went north
to take on Section 9 2012 AA Division Champion Minisink Valley.
The Knights jumped out to a 15-0 lead and never looked back scoring
35 points before Minisink Valley notched their first points of the
evening. The 2012 CHSFL
Offensive Player of the Year William “Trey” Solomon opened the 2013
season with another impressive outing.
In the game, Trey carried the ball 31 times for 253 yards for a 8.1
yard per carry average and all of Xavier’s 4 rushing touchdowns. He
also scored two 2pt. conversions and completed an 18 yard pass to keep
Xavier’s 4th scoring drive alive. Ultimately, he accounted
for 28 of Xavier’s 35 points. Trey
did all this while starting both ways at free safety as well, accounting
for 6 tackles, 4 assists and a fumble recovery.
Class
Honors:
Trey has a 90 average at Xavier and is currently taking A.P. Comparative
Government.
League
Honors:
In his Sophomore year, Trey had 77 tackles from the Free Safety position
and scored 18 Touchdowns helping the Xavier Varsity to an unbeaten
Division Championship Season. He
was also named 1st runner up CHSFL Defensive Player of the
Year. Last season, Trey was
the CHSFL AA Offensive Player of the Year, he rushed for 2339 yards and
scored 31 Touchdowns. He was
also the 2nd leading tackler on the team with 61.
Other
Sports & Honors
Trey
is also a member of the Xavier Track team. In his Freshman year he ran the
55m, 100m, and 200m events for both the Freshman and Varsity Indoor Track
team. He helped the Freshman
Track team to win the Jesuit Invitational held at Fordham Prep.
In his Sophomore year, Trey ran the 200m and 400m events for both
the Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track Seasons, helping Xavier to win the
prestigious Mayor’s Cup and the NYCHSAA Sectional Championship for the 1st
time in school history. He was
also the Anchor Leg on the winning Sophomore 4x400 Relay at the CHSAA
Intersectional Meet. In Junior
year, Trey was invited to represent Xavier at the Penn Relays in the 4 x
400.
