Turkey Bowl MVP

Junior Michael Chiarovano #39 RB/KS

Wins the President's Trophy

38 carries for 223 yards. Scoring 3 Touchdowns.

CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL LEAGUE of METROPOLITAN NEW YORK

Player of the Week Nomination

Nominee: Michael Chiarovano                                                                                                                     School: Xavier High School

Position: Running Back                                                                                                                                Opponent: Fordham Prep.

Date of Game: 11/27/14        Ht. 5’8”        Wt. 175        Class: Jr.                                                           Hometown: Queens, New York

Details of nominees performance:
The 87^th Turkey Bowl at Fordham University was a tale of twists and turns in the snow with Xavier taking a 13-0 lead only to find themselves down 14-13 in the 3^rd quarter.  With 5 minutes left to go, Xavier once again took the lead 28-20, only to be tied with less than 2 minutes left.  A final missed 34 yd field goal attempt by Xavier with 2 seconds left on the clock led to an overtime showdown where Xavier scored first and added an extra point off of the foot of James Tweedy that proved to be the difference when Fordham’s 2pt. conversion attempt was stopped at the 1 yd line.  Running behind Mike Chiarovano, who won the President’s MVP Trophy for the game, the Xavier Offense dominated, running 68 plays and rushing for 337 yds.  Mike scored 20 of Xavier’s 35 points.  He rushed for 223 yards and 3 touchdowns on 38 carries.  Mike also scored a 2pt. conversion and had Xavier’s only pass completion of the day which was a 28 yd completion which set up one of Xavier’s scores.  It was Mike’s 11 yd touchdown run on 4^th and 1 in overtime that propelled the Knights to victory.

Class Honors:
Over the course of 8 marking periods at Xavier, Mike has achieved 2^nd honors grades every marking period.  He has also accumulated a grade average of 91 over his first two years.  Mike is currently taking both A.P. English and A.P. United States History and was accepted at Xavier into the Ignation Scholars Program.

League Honors:
In both his Freshman and Sophomore years, Mike was a two way starter in football playing outside backer and running back.  During his Sophomore Year, the JV team achieved a 9-2 record and went to the AAA semi-finals only losing to Stepinac and St. Anthony’s.  Earlier this year, Mike was name CHSFL Player of the Week v. Mount and he has been named 2014 CHSFL 1^st Team All-League.

Other Sports & Honors
Mike has been a two sport athlete in both his Freshman and Sophomore Year.  In his Freshman Year, he ran track and participated in the 100, 200 & 300 meter dash and he also ran the third leg in the 400 meter relay.  In his Sophomore Year, Mike played Rugby for Xavier’s undefeated JV Rugby Team going 13-0 and was named as the team’s Best Forward.

Xavier captures Turkey Bowl title in OT

by Elio Velez on Thu, Nov 27, 2014 4:02 PM — @eliovelez

Xavier running back Michael Chiarovano could easily get a second or third helping of turkey at the dinner table after his prodigious day on the football field Thursday afternoon.  

Chiarovano was the workhorse for the Knights offense with 40 rushes for 224 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown in overtime as Xavier held on to record a 35-34 victory over Fordham Prep in the 91st annual Turkey Bowl held at Jack Coffey Field.  

“It’s huge man. We had a rough season and got out of here with a win,” Chiarovano said. “This is the best we can do.” 

Xavier has now won the last three games in this series, but this may have arguably been one of the wildest games ever to take place in the longest running Thanksgiving Day high school game in New York City. 

The Knights (5-6) took the lead in overtime on an 11-yard scoring run by Chiavorano as his third score of the day put the visitors up 35-34. Fordham Prep’s Josh Johnson would score from 5-yards out to cut the score to one-point, but the Knights defense stopped the sophomore just a few yards short on the two-point conversion attempt.  

“I felt we could have won 3 or 4 different times. They [Fordham Prep] do a good job over there,” said Xavier coach Chris Stevens. “They just made us use every ounce we had to win it.” 

Chiarovano says winning over their rivals on Thanksgiving Day meant a lot to Xavier, who had fought through injuries and a rough 1-4 start to the campaign to make it all the way to the CHSFL Class AA semifinals before falling to St. John the Baptist.  

“We lost a big game to St. John’s the Baptist in the semis and this is the last game for the seniors,” Chiarovano said. “Last time we will all be together and we came out with a win.” 

Stevens turned to the 5-foot-7, 170-pound junior Chiarovano to be the main back in the single-wing offense after successive broken leg injuries to the top three starters throughout the campaign.  

Chiarovano’s second touchdown of the game came on a 4-yard run through the left side with 9:10 left in the second quarter to put Xavier up 13-0. As the game went on, Chiarovano got stronger and followed the holes the Knights offensive line created for the junior.  

“He’s 170-pound soaking wet but he plays like 205 pounds,” Stevens said of Chiarovano. “He’s got good wheels and great heart.” 

The Fordham Prep (8-3) defense responded. Michael Bronzo scooped up a Chirovano fumble for a 72-yard touchdown return and Michael Wagner completed the two-point conversion run to cut the Xavier lead to 13-8 with three minutes left in the first half.  

The Rams pulled off a great trick play on its first possession of the second half. Matt Valecce completed a 9-yard pass to Will Randell, but the senior would lateral the ball to a moving Josh Johnson down the sideline to complete a 21-yard touchdown run to go up 14-13 with 8:21 left in the third quarter.  

Ian Dopsch would help Xavier regain the lead at 21-14 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter on a 4-yard run.  The Rams cut the lead to one-point early in the fourth quarter when Johnson bowled over a Xavier tackler and eventually completed a 46-yard scoring run.  

It looked as if Xavier would keep the lead when Zach Cilmi scored on a 2-yard touchdown to put Xavier up 28-20 with 5:07 remaining.  

But Fordham Prep stormed back as Valecce found Randell down the left sideline and sidestepped past two defenders for a 76-yard touchdown completion and Wagner made the two-point conversion with 3:52 left in the fourth.  Xavier’s James Tweedy would miss a 34-yard field goal attempt as time expired to send the game into overtime.  

Xavier’s defense had to make one last stop after Chiarovano’s go-ahead touchdown to start the overtime. Frank Masella made an ankle tackle and slowed down Johnson at the 3-yard line as the rest of the Xavier defense gathered to hold Rams sophomore from completing what would have been the game-winning two-point conversion attempt.

It was the perfect way according to Masella to cap off the season.  

“That’s been our thing all year. Bend but don’t break. I know all the guys on the defense that we were one, we fit right and that kid wasn’t scoring,” Masella said. “It’s the last game. Been a good season and a growing process and a winning season.”

Video Highlights: http://www. msgvarsity.com/highlights- xavier-35-fordham-prep-34-ot- 1.1659226

Full Game Replay: http://www.msgvarsity.com/brooklyn-bronx/full-game-xavier-35-fordham-prep-34-ot-1.1660557