By Matt Diano: 
While the rest of us were at home preparing for our respective Thanksgiving feasts, seven of the CHSFL’s finest were out nice and early this morning to take part in annual holiday contests.

Featuring a pair of All-Catholic battles between Fordham Prep/Xavier and Cardinal Hayes/Mount St. Michael Academy, 2016 also witnessed the return of the classic Westchester rivalry between Archbishop Stepinac and White Plains, as well as the commencement of two new traditions as St. Peter’s squared off against Tottenville in a battle for Staten Island bragging rights, and Holy Cross went toe-to-toe with Campus Magnet to determine who the kings of Queens would be.

No doubt working up a nice appetite for their individual “postgame” banquets, when the final whistles blew, it was the [FP] Rams, [HC] Knights, [CH] Cardinals, and [Step] Crusaders all claiming victory….St. Peter’s may have fallen, but did themselves proud as they pushed a very good Pirate opponent to the very brink.

Fordham Prep-21; Xavier-18
In one of the oldest high school rivalries in all of the nation (today marked the 93^rd edition), the host Rams rallied from an 18-13 4^thquarter deficit to take the lead for good when junior quarterback, Matt Valecce hit fellow 11^th grader, Liam McHale (TE) on a touchdown strike with 2:18 remaining in regulation and then ran in the 2pt conversion himself to account for the final tally….A 42-yard hook & lat just prior was essential in setting up the score.

The game-winning toss to McHale was the third of the game for the All-State signal caller as he had previously connected with his favorite target, Will Loffredo, twice in the first quarter to give his school an early 13-0 lead….Valecce, who went 20-for-30 for 305 yards today to conclude 2016 with a 27 TD pass season, will enter his swan song next fall on track to further secure his legacy in the NYS record book.   Currently he sits 9^th all-time in passing yards and 11^th in touchdowns thrown….Per the New York Sportswriters Association, his three TD game today broke a tie with Tony Capozzoli (St. Dom’s; 1972-1975) for top CHSFL honors.  He now has 71 in his career.

Playing in the final game of his high school career, even if the scoreboard did not go in his favor, Ifeany Emeh will have plenty of fond memories to hold onto as he goes out on a personal high note, scoring all three of Xavier’s touchdowns….His first score came on a 25-yard dash with 1:25 remaining in the first quarter to get Coach Chris Stevens’s squad on the board….Right before the halftime break, he cut the deficit to within one point when he was on the back end of a 28-yard TD toss…His longest scoring play of the game came with just over 6:00 to go in the third quarter when it was again his explosive legs taking him 35 yards into the promised land to give the Knights their first advantage of the game….Emeh entered the game having not recorded a TD on the ground all season and only had one in total.

Fordham Prep ends the season with a .500 record (5-5), while surprise AA semifinalist, Xavier, slips to 3-7.