Xavier Athletic Director Tony Paolozzi and Head Football Coach Chris Stevens '83 award Freshman Head Coach John Kelly GP '09 & '10 with the Championship Game Ball
 as they invite him to a dinner in his honor for ten years of service to Xavier Football and Rugby.

Abbruzzese's heroics leads Xavier to CHSFL Class AA title

by Patrick McCormack on Sat, Nov 21, 2015 5:57 PM — @pmac1594

Updated Sun, Nov 22, 2015 1:12 AM

Xavier coach Chris Stevens hasn’t worked on blocking punts with his team. But with the championship on the line and no timeouts remaining, the Knights were able to make the big play they needed.

“At the end, I have to be honest,” Stevens said. “We never worked the punt block, ever. We just lined people up, we blocked it, and wow. That’s a crazy way to win.”

Rory Kinsella blocked the Christ the King punt and Jack Abbruzzese scooped up the ball, taking it 44 yards with a minute left in the game to lift the Knights (10-1) to a 28-25 victory over the Royals (10-1) in the CHSFL Class AA title game Saturday at Mitchel Athletic Complex.

“It was amazing. It was like a dream. I didn’t know what was going through my head when I saw the end zone,” Abbruzzese said. “We knew we needed to make a stop and made it happen.”

Prior to the heroics on special teams, Michael Chiarovano ran the ball into the end zone from seven yards out to put Xavier ahead 20-18 with 7:04 left in the game.  

The senior running back, who ran for 127 yards and scored two go-ahead touchdowns in the second half, knew the Knights needed to continue to run the ball to be successful.

“In the second half, we knew we had to pound it,” said Chiarovano, who had 30 carries for 166 yards and three touchdowns. "“We had to get them tired and go downhill all day.”

On its next possession, Christ the King took a 25-20 advantage on a David Navas 20-yard touchdown pass to Tosin OyeKanmi with four minutes left in the contest.

Xavier had a chance to take the lead on their next drive, but Guiseppe Orlando was intercepted by Nicholas Calle with 2:44 remaining.

The Knights defense was able to force a three-and-out without any timeouts remaining to set up the game-winning play.

“The defense has been the straw that stirred the drink all year,” Stevens said.  “They stopped them short, and made them punt and we just made a great play.”

Christ the King had one last chance to win the game, but Navas was intercepted by Orlando in the end zone with 23 seconds left.

For Stevens, the win was extra special because his team had the opportunity to play against the Royans, who handed them their only loss of the season on a last second touchdown.

“Once we lost to Christ the King, we wanted to play our way back to see them again because felt we could play with them,” Stevens said. “It was nice to get an opportunity.”

By Matt Diano: They said “nothing could possibly top the first meeting between the Royals and the Knights as the game of the year”; they said “if it becomes a shootout, Christ the King will take the title”; THEY WERE WRONG!!!

In an NYCHSFL AA finals contest that saw the two combatants, the Royals of the CTK and the Knights of Xavier, take turns trading key scores for the entire 48 minute duration, it would be the most unlikely of plays that proved to be the difference maker in helping the latter [Xavier] to their first Catholic League title since 2012 by a score of 28-25 over their previously unbeaten opponents from Middle Village…Trailing 25-20 in the final 1:14 seconds of regulation, Xavier would go to an all-out punt block, a formation that Coach Chris Stevens and his program had not bothered to drill at all during the course of the year…As it turns out, practice would prove to be unnecessary as the Knights would convert as junior linebacker, Rory Kinsella, would be the one to get a piece of the ball and senior DB, Jack Abbruzzese would reap the benefits, scooping up the pigskin and sprinting 44 yards untouched to rip victory right out of the hands of defeat.

King, who was seeking their third overall AA crown (first since going back-to-back in 2002 and 2003) would have one final opportunity for the steal as senior Quarterback, David Navas would find the team’s leading receiver, junior Tosin Oyekanmi, multiple times during the last ditch effort, as the duo successfully moved the ball inside the Xavier 29-yard line…However, knowing that the clock was his enemy, the 6’0, 185-pound signal-caller would go to the well one too many times as his throw into the end zone [intended for for Oyekanmi] would be picked off by senior cornberback, Guiseppe Orlando, with 23 ticks remaining on the clock…The interception by the Brooklyn native would happily make amends for the touchdown reception he surrendered to Oyekanmi three and a half minutes earlier that gave the top-seeded Royals the aforementioned five point lead.

The action described above would be reminiscent of how the whole game was played, as there would be more than half a dozen lead changes, including four in the final quarter alone.

Breaking the ice on the first series of the game to take a 6-0 lead would be Christ the King who after receiving a big yardage pass play from Navas to Alex Miranda, would hand the ball off to junior, Siddiq Muhammad, who took it the remaining three yards for the touchdown 2:15 into the opening quarter.

With 8:24 remaining in first half, Xavier would capitalize off of a first down they were awarded following an offsides call against CTK on 4^th-and-1…Smelling the end zone, senior Michael Chiarovano, would take the direct snap and plunge it over the goal line to tie the game at six apiece…Xavier would put the extra point through the uprights to seize their first, but hardly their last lead of the afternoon.

The Knights’ advantage would be short lived though as just over two minutes later (approximately 6:00 remaining in the opening half), a Justin Terry fake punt and run on 4^th-and-long would set up the final score of 1^st half…With his team in the red zone thanks to Terry’s explosive dash down the sidelines, Navas would be the recipient of a little good luck, as his pass would get tipped but still find a way to land in the waiting arms of Aron Sanabria to give the Queens based squad the 13-7 edge heading into the locker room.

The second half would pick up where the first left off, as Chiaravano, who aside from his one TD, had been relatively quiet during in the first two quarters, would come out of the break like a man possessed, accumulating more grounds yards on this one drive than he had in all of his team’s 1^st half possessions…The 5’8, 175-pounder would culminate the series by punching in the second of his three TDs from 2-yards out to make the score 14-13 in favor of the second-seeded Knights.

Daring Xavier’s NYCHSFL leading run defense to deny them, Christ the King would march down the field towards the end of the 3^rd quarter, laying the tracks for Ahmad Fernandez’s TD run at the onset of the fourth quarter to once again put his team back in front, 19-14.

On the ensuing drive, it would be the Knights’ turn to answer and answer they answer would, as a 20+ yard pass from Orlando (who doubles as the team’s QB) to Michael D’Onofrio would put Xavier on the 1-yard line…A false start would push the ball back to the six, but on third down, Chiarovano would again rise to the occasion, finding a hole up the middle and cruising seven yards into the end zone for the 27^th and final time in 2015 to make the score 20-19 with 7:04 left to play…Chiaravano ended the game with 166 (127 in the 2^ndhalf) yards on 30 carries, and of course, those three TDs.

In the endless game of “gotcha last”, the AA division’s leading offensive team would record their final touchdown of the season with approximately 4:00 on the clock as Navas went deep to Oyekanmi for the 20-yard Touchdown strike cited above.

The 25-20 lead would look to be enough when senior linebacker, Nicholas Calle intercepted an Orlando pass with 2:44 remaining. But alas, on a Saturday afternoon where no lead was ever safe, the Xavier defense would not break, forcing CTK into a punting situation and acting as the precursor to perhaps the greatest come-from-behind win in Catholic football history.

Offensive MVP of the Game Honors went to RB Michael Chiarovano. Mike was the leading rusher in the game with 166 yards and 3 TD’s, 127 of those yards came in the 2nd Half of the wild see saw battle.

Defensive MVP of the Game Honors went to CB Jack Abbruzzese .  Jack’s scoop and score on the blocked punt late in the 4th Quarter gave the Knights the edge for good. 

Velez's postseason pigskins picks

by Elio Velez on Wed, Nov 18, 2015 8:48 PM — @eliovelez

Updated Wed, Nov 18, 2015 8:56 PM

CHSFL Class AA championship

Xavier vs. Christ the King

When: Saturday at 2 p.m.

Where: Mitchel Athletic Complex 

Breakdown: The top two seeds in the Class AA playoffs will meet once again in the championship game to be held at a different site in Uniondale, Long Island. Christ the King needed a 19-yard touchdown from quarterback David Navas to wide receiver Alex Miranda with 10 seconds left in regulation to earn a 21-15 victory over Xavier October 17 at Lane High School.

Top-seed Christ the King has received contributions from a host of players to rush over 2000 yards this season, yet they only earned 17 yards on the round against a stout Xavier defense. If the Royals can’t run the ball effectively, then the Knights must find ways to stop Miranda and Tosin Oyekanmi from hurting them down the field as both players combined for 10 catches and 282 yards in the last meeting. 

Xavier’s single wing offense guided by head coach Chris Stevens features tough rusher Michael Chiarovano and they must control a majority of the clock to keep the Royals offense on the sidelines as much as possible. Frank Masella is a key defensive lineman that has recorded big playoff performances in the past and Anthony Pugliese, Rory Kinsella and other players on the Xavier defense will need to replicate the performance they made last week in a 14-0 semifinal victory over St. John the Baptist. 

Velez’s Pick: Christ the King 28, Xavier 21- Expect Saturday’s game to replicate the early regular season matchup, but the speed and ability to get the ball downfield gives Christ the King the edge to pick up its first Class AA championship since the 2003 season.

By Matt Diano: After two months of die-hard, blood, sweat, and tears football, “Championship Saturday” is finally here!!!

While some semifinal games were closer than others, when the smoke cleared, it would be all six of our #1 and #2 seeds that find themselves one step closer on their journey to Titletown.

In the A Division, is third time the charm for Cardinal Spellman as they attempt to avenge a pair of losses in 2015 to Xaverian? After two years of watching other teams celebrate at their expense, is it destiny for the Clippers to finally ascend to the top?

Is it possible for the encore between Christ the King and Xavier to outdo the opening number? After defeating the Knights for the first time in nearly two decades during the regular season, can the top-seeded Royals sweep the series? Does defense really win championships?

After 20-straight victories against downstate Catholic opponents, are the Stepinac Crusaders unbeatable? Can Hayes win a shootout against the top-ranked team in NYS? Will the scoreboard break from all of the points that could be put up collectively?

There is no tomorrow!!! Leave it all out on the field and may the best teams enjoy the spoils!!!

AA: #1 Christ the King vs. #2 Xavier (Saturday November 21st @2 p.m—Mitchel Athletic Complex
Widely considered the best game of the season regardless of division, when these two programs met back in Week #6, it was Royals’ senior quarterback, David Navas (1,045 passing yards, 10 TD passes in 2015) connecting with fellow 12th grader, Alex Miranda (17 receptions, 375 yards, 5 TD catches this season) in the last 10 seconds of regulation to give the Queens Village based squad a 21-15 victory, earning them the top-seed in the AA playoffs….Prior to the late heroics from the aforementioned senior leaders, the contest had been as evenly played an affair as you see anywhere in the nation.   If you want proof of just how much of a back-and-forth war the initial showdown was on October 17th, let it be noted that after playing a scoreless opening quarter, the advantage would rotate at the conclusion of each subsequent quarter…King would lead 8-7 at the half, responding to Knights’ senior star running back, Mike Chiarovano’s (1,320 yards, 24 rushing touchdowns this year) 1-yard TD run by hitting a 40-yard TD pass from Navas to junior, Tosin Oyekamni (26 catches, 587 yards, 7 TD receptions)…In the third quarter, the only scoring would come on Chiarovano’s second TD run of the game, as the 5’8, 175-pounder would punch it in from 6-yards out for six and then tack on two more on a successful 2pt conversion…Trailing 15-8 at the start of the 4th, CTK would give the home crowd packed into Franklin K. Lane HS something to cheer about in the end, as it would be the Navas/Miranda show in the final 12 minutes, as they hooked up not only on the previously cited game-winner, but also on the game-tying score, with the former finding the latter on a 67-yard bomb with just under 10 minutes remaining on the clock.

Part of what makes this epic rematch so interesting is that it pits the strengths of both teams against one another…Despite receiving season-highs in passing yards (282) and touchdowns hurled (3) on 10-for-15 passing from Navas, Christ the King at its core is a program that prides itself on a rushing attack that averaged 234.1 yards per game (2,341 total) and scored 41 touchdowns on the ground. In the two playoff victories (60-20 over St. Francis Prep; 41-7 over Fordham Prep), 11 of CTK’s 15 TD would be scored on rushes…One reason why the Royals’ running back has been so lethal in 2015 is because of the plethora of weapons from which to choose.   Similar to the end scene of the movie “The Three Amigos” where the townspeople banded together to defeat El Guapo, King is so diversified in their scheme that by the time you know where the shot is coming from, it is already too late because they have broken for big yardage….Last weekend, when they ran for 363 yards and five touchdowns in the semifinals against the FP Rams, four different student-athletes compiled 40 or more yards on limited touches, highlighted by juniors, Siddiq Muhammad (156 on 11 carries, 2 TDs), Elyjah Campbell (59 yards on 5 carries), and Adrian Velez (56 yards on 5 touches, 2 scores)…Making this predicament all the more frightening for opposing defenses is the notion that the three gentlemen cited above only ranked 3rd-5th on the team in production this season…Holding the baton and leading the parade are seniors, Ahmad Fernandez (526 yards on 62 carries, 8 TDs) and Giovanni Paul-Downie (446 yards on 33 attempts, 10 touchdowns)…The season totals of Velez (414 yards, 7 scores), Muhammad (388 yards, 10 TDs), and Campbell (265 yards, 4 touchdowns) suggest that no matter what happens this weekend, CTK will have to be considered the early favorite in 2016 because of this returning firepower.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage is Xavier’s #1 rated run defense, led by a who’s who of hard hitting, shutdown stoppers…Surrendering less than 10 ppg this season, the Knights are so good defensively that in many cases, their goal is not just to contain you, but to dominate you to such an extent that you finish with negative yards on the ground…In fact, one of the reasons why King elected to go to the air during crunch time in Mid-October is because of the struggles they were enduring when trying to run their normal offense (17 yards on 19 attempts, 0 TDs)…Should Xavier succeed in all but negating the Royals’ run game, then all it may take is a slightly better job in pass coverage to swing the edge into their favor…One big confidence booster that they will bring with them on Saturday is the knowledge that they are fresh off of posting a defensive goose-egg (14-0 semifinal victory) against a St. John the Baptist squad (33 points, 400 yards rushing per game) that very much resembles the Royals…Limiting 2014 All-Catholic honorees, Jerome Brooks III (1,473 yards, 17 TDs) and Nicholas Cipolla (1,369, 14 scores) to 100 yards combined, Xavier knows that if they can negate this tandem, then they can erase anything that CTK tries to hit them with on the ground….Making up what appears to be the best and deepest front-7 in all of the NYCHFL are linebackers, Frank Masella (104 tackles, 7.5 TFL; returning All-Catholic selection from a year ago), Rory Kinsella (66 tackles, 6 TFL), Ian Dopsch (42 tackles, 6 hits for a loss, 3 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries), and Matthew Lydon (32 tackles, 5 TFL)…Joining them are the keepers of the ends, Anthony Pugliese (62 tackles, 13 TFL, team-leading 7.5 sacks), Clayton Kendrick-Holmes (51 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks), and Malik Fisher (44 Tackles, 16 hits for a loss, 3 sacks)…Complementing the big men will be secondary players, Zach Cilmi (80 tackles, 3 INTs), Jack Abbruzzese (46 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 picks), and Guiseppe Orlando (32 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 Interceptions)…Should King opt/be forced to feature their passing game on Saturday, any one of these last three young men could step up and emerge as the difference maker for the Knights.

Ball control and time of possession should be considered paramount to determining who the champions will be when the sun sets on Saturday…King wants the quick-strike, light up the scoreboard type of pace, whereas the Knights will rely on their bread-and-butter pound it out style that chews up clock and wears down opponents…Whomever is better at sticking their game plan will be the ones that enjoy the spoils.

Note: Both program are making their first finals appearances since 2012…That year, Xavier was the AA titlists, defeating John the Baptist, 35-14….Christ the King would settle for runner-up duties in the A division, losing 49-6 to Bishop Ford.

MSG VARSITY QUICK HITS HOST MIKE QUICK PICKING XAVIER TO LOSE TO ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

MSG Varsity Quick Hits 11/02/15
http://www.msgvarsity.com/brooklyn-bronx/quick-hits-chsfl-11-2-2015-1.1744814