Xavier's late score hands St. Joseph by-the-Sea a 10-7 disappointment
By
September 27, 2014 8:16 p.m.
Xavier's Malik Fisher (33) hauls in a 40
yard pass as St. Joseph by-the-Sea's Andrew Cortese (30) tries to break it
up.
The play set up Xavier's winning touchdown (Staten Island Advance/Bill
Lyons)
In a game in which St. Joseph by-the-Sea and Xavier combined for 81 running plays, naturally the game-changer came on a pass.
With Xavier trailing 7-3 late in the fourth quarter and facing second-and-18 on its own 24-yard line, Zach Cilmi heaved a 40-yarder to Malik Fisher, making the grab over a pair of Viking defenders.
Five plays later Cilmi, a Dongan Hills resident, was in the end zone with the winning touchdown as the Knights pulled out a 10-7 victory in Huguenot.
“It’s a great feeling to come back to Staten Island and win,” said Cilmi. “We came out in the first half and didn’t play too well. We had a bunch of turnovers. But in the second half we were all lifted and knew we could do it. We were 0-2 before this game and we had that big drive at the end led us to victory.”
Until the pass to Fisher the only time Xavier had even been in Sea territory had been immediately following Viking turnovers in the first quarter. But the Sea defense had stepped up in both cases.
First the Vikings (0-2) limited the Knights to James Tweedy’s 36-yard field goal after Xavier recovered Mike Maiz’s fumble on the 22-yard line. When Michael Russell fumbled it away two plays later, Xavier took over at the Sea 45. But that drive was thwarted by Dom Anderson’s interception.
Sea limited Xavier to 110 rushing yards on 40 carries, a 2.75 yard per carry average for a team that relies on the ground game with its single win offense. Aside from Fisher’s 40-yard catch, the Knights had just 155 yards of total offense.
“Defense played a hell of a game,” said Sea coach Rich Clark. “Just a couple lapses … that big pass. Even the last touchdown we knew what was coming.”
While the Vikings were able to put together long drives, they couldn’t finish them.
After Anderson’s interception, Sea drove 78 yards before its drive was stuffed at Xavier's 2-yard line. Russell got the call on fourth-and-3 from the 4-yard line and came up a yard short.
Early in the third quarter Sea had moved down to third-and-four from the 5-yard line before Mike Maiz was stopped for no gain. John Marciano’s 22-yard field goal attempt missed.
“In years past no one stops us inside the 5,” said Clark. “What we do, we’re usually a real headaches for teams inside the 5.”
In between those two drives that came up short, the Vikings did find the end zone late in the second quarter. Russell connected with Anderson for a 29-yard touchdown that gave Sea a 7-3 halftime lead.
Another Sea drive into Xavier territory stalled at the 34-yard line late in the fourth quarter before the Vikings punted the ball away. Xavier took over on its own 20. After Cilmi connected with Fisher to the Sea 36-yard line, he had a 13-yard run to give Xavier first-and-goal at the 6-yard line. Two plays later he scored from 3 yards out.
“All the credit to the offensive linemen, the three back and the wingback,” said Cilmi. “They all made huge blocks and let me right in. All I had to do was walk in.”
Staten Islands Zach Cilmi plays huge role in Xavier's football win over Sea
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CATHOLIC
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL LEAGUE of
METROPOLITAN NEW YORK
Player of the Week Nomination
Nominee:
Zachary Cilmi
School: Xavier High School
Position:
Free Safety / Running Back
Opponent: St. Joseph by-the-Sea
Date
of Game: 09/27/14
Ht. 5’9”
Wt. 160
Class: Jr.
Hometown: Staten Island, New York
Details
of nominees performance:
In a
closely fought physical AAA-AA regular season contest, Xavier managed to
hold off St. Joseph by-the Sea by putting together a 76 yard drive late in
the 4th quarter to earn a 10-7 victory out in Huguenot, Staten
Island. Undersized and going
both ways on a hot day where he lost his facemask bent like a pretzel,
Zach Cilmi had a stand out game where he had 6 solo tackles, 9 assists and
a fumble recovery the led to Xavier’s first 3 point field goal.
Through the course of the game he also gained 36 yards rushing,
while going 4 for 6 passing for 82 yards including the 36 yard pass play
that set up Xavier’s final score and the four yard run for Xavier’s
only touchdown. A native of
Staten Island, Xavier nominates Zach for returning home and leading Xavier
to its first win of the season.
Class
Honors:
Over the course 8 marking periods at Xavier, Zach has achieved honors
grades 7 times with 2 1st honors and 5 2nd honors recognitions.
He has also accumulated a grade average of 91 over his first two
years. Zach is taking Honors
Algebra II / Trigonometry this year.
League
Honors:
In his
Freshman Year, Zach was named as the Coach’s Award winner for his team
and in Sophomore Year during a season where the Junior Varsity team
achieved a 9-2 record, he was selected as the team’s Best Defensive
Player for his play at Free Safety.
Other Sports & Honors
Zach has been a three sport
athlete during his first two years at Xavier.
In the Fall, he plays Football, in the Winter he plays Basketball
and in the Spring he plays Rugby. In
his Freshman Year, he was named as the Coach’s Award winner in
Basketball and in Rugby, he was selected at the team’s Best Back.
