By Matt Diano:

#2 East Holy Trinity (8-1) vs. #4 (East) Xavier (6-3)

When: Sunday November 11th, 2018

Where: Holy Trinity High School

Time: 1:30 pm

Synopsis

The AA equivalent of Iona Prep/Stepinac, much like the anticipated semifinal game in the triple-A division, the first time that the Titans and Knights butted heads (October 13^th), the crowd would have to wait until the final whistle before a victor was determined.

A back-and-forth affair that had four lead changes and two ties, the Knights could have elected to even the score at 29 apiece in the closing moments (:20 remaining in the 4^th) but elected instead to play for the win by attempting a two-point conversion…With the “w” on the line, it would be Titan senior linebacker, Stephen Collica, making a game-saving stop on the 2pt try to clinch the 29-28 win for Holy Trinity.

And while the setting may shift from Brooklyn to Long Island for the rematch on Sunday, one thing we know will remain consistent is the amount of fight and toughness both schools will bring with them to the field…Combining to win 11 straight games (HT-8, Xavier-3), both of these teams are locked, loaded and ready for another instant classic!!!

Ryan Razzano

No strangers to drama, the host Titans would almost see their postseason ended prematurely during the quarterfinal round, as they required a 4-yard TD pass from Ryan Razzano to Chris Porcaro with 8.4 seconds remaining in regulation to emerge with the 27-26 win over Moore Catholic….In fact, of their eight victories in 2018, four have been accompanied by margins of less than five points.  Thus, while some pundits believe that when you play with fire you eventually get burned, we prefer to take the glass half-full approach and say instead that the ability to repeatedly prevail in tight games is a sign that pressure does not phase this Titan cohort and no matter the circumstances in the 4^th quarter this Sunday, they are going to remain patient and poised.

Throwing (literally) a new wrinkle into the offensive scheme during the quarterfinal round (and making us look silly for suggesting that they were one-dimensional), HT would have their greatest success of the season in the air against the Mavericks, with Randazzo setting season-highs for completions (10) and touchdown tosses (3)…Spreading the ball out to four different targets, Jalen Rivers (4 catches for 59 yards), Spencer Nixon (2 grabs for 26 yards), and of course Porcaro (3 snatches for 15 yards) all recorded a TD reception…Sophomore, Jaden Sinclair also added an 8-yard grab during the afternoon…Should the Green & White decide to keep this more balanced strategy intact for another week, it is possible they will be able to catch the Xavier defense a little off guard.  Afterall, having only thrown the ball four times during the initial meeting, it is doubtful that a review of the game film would do the Knights much good.

Now, don’t misunderstand; even though this new-found aerial arsenal is certainly a change of pace option to keep opposing defenses on their toes, we do not by any means expect Holy Trinity to “ditch the girl that took them to the dance”.  Come this weekend, there will still be a healthy dose of hard-nosed, pound-it-out, Big-10 style football where the ground game will be king…In the first meeting, Randazzo would call his own number quite often on keepers, running the ball 18 times for a season-high 158 yards and two touchdowns in the “w” over Xavier…Nixon, who is coming off of a 96-yard, 1 TD performance on the ground against Moore Catholic, also looked quite good back in week #6, as he was second on the team with 83 yards and one score versus the Knights…

On the opposite sideline, Xavier, which we have mentioned countless times is enjoying their most explosive offense season in the past six years, will counter with their own potent running assault…Out-gaining the Titans 305 to 259 on the ground when the two schools faced off during the regular season, a scary notion is that in the subsequent weeks since their loss, the Maroon & Blue juggernaut has actually become even more deadly with their legs, as they have racked up just under 1,200 yards (1,163) and scored 14 touchdowns in the past three weeks.  In their 27-0 blanking of Western Conference regular season champions, Xaverian, Xavier would score all of their points on the ground, running for 265 yards and 4 TDs.

Daniel Vittiburga

Spearheading this never-ending barrage of positive gains has been the breakout star of the 2018 season in the double-A division, Dan Vittiburga….Running for 991 yards and 16 touchdowns (including a 101 and 3 game versus Holy Trinity) during the regular season, the Brooklyn native’s first real taste of postseason football would be a sweat one as he finished the quarterfinal win over the Clippers with a stat line of 150 yards and three more TDs on 31 handles…Junior, Matt Geruso, who has left no doubt that he will be the heir apparent to Vittiburga as the featured member of the backfield next year, just missed his fourth straight 100-yard effort last week, as he “settled’ for 96 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.  In the game against the Titans in Mid-October, it was Geruso and not Vittiburga who led the Knights in yardage, as he gained 125 on 13 attempts…Don’t make the mistake of underestimating Demetrios Demetriades either.  The 6’1, 180-pounder averaged over 11 yards and scored one touchdown on his seven carries (79 yards) against the Titans earlier this year.

With both teams loving to ram the ball down the throats of their opponents, prosperity in the trenches will likely translate into advancement on the bracket…

In the first meeting, Brian Holder (10 tackles), Sinclair (8 stops), Bashiri Clark-Cain (7 tackles, 1 TFL), Collica (6 stops, 1 tackle for a loss), Rivers (5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack), John Stroughn (5 stops, 1 tackle for negative yardage), and Dylan Lewis (4 tackles, 2 hits behind the line of scrimmage) were the most active for Titan Nation.

For the Knights, quarterfinal round POTW selection, Valery Gwardyak (9 tackles, 3 TFL), Langston Williams (10 stops), James Donaldson (9 tackles, 1 stop for negatives yardage), Milton Guzman (7 stops, 1 TFL), Jordan Sosa (5 stops, 1 stop for a minus),Gregory Steffens (5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 pass break-up, 1 forced fumble) and Joseph Maratea (4 stops, 1 INT) would be the headliners…The Xavier defense is riding a streak of two consecutive shutouts.  Therefore, as we have come to expect from a Chris Stevens trained unit, points are going to be at a premium against them down the homestretch.

Player of the Week Nomination

Nominee: Milton Guzman                                                                            School: Xavier High School

Position :  Defensive Tackle / Offensive Tackle                                 Opponent: Holy Trinity
Date of Game: 11/11/18   Ht. 6’0”   Wt . 235   Class: Sr.                 Hometown: Yonkers, NY

Details of nominees performance:

Pardon the pun, but the Xavier Knights had a Titanic defensive battle against Holy Trinity in the CHSFL AA Semi Finals this past weekend, in a much anticipated rematch of one of the most exciting CHSFL contests this season.  In Week 6, these two teams squared off with the #2 Seed in the AA Eastern Division and Home Field Advantage in the First Round of the Playoffs on the line with Xavier sporting a 3-2 record and Holy Trinity sporting a 4-1 record.  In an amazing offensive struggle, Holy Trinity scored and made a 2pt. conversion with 6 minutes left to take the lead from Xavier 29-22, setting up an amazing finish with Xavier marching down the field and scoring with 10 seconds left on the clock.  Down 29-28, Xavier jump and shifted resulting in a Trinity offsides and a 2pt. conversion try from the 1 1/2 yard line which Xavier failed giving Trinity the heartbreaking win. 

What a difference a few weeks can make...coming off of three straight victories including two shutouts, the Knights and Titans prepared to renew their epic struggle in the playoffs.  The Titans were on an 8 game winning streak since losing opening day to Kellenberg Memorial during which they scored an average of 35 pts. per game including a 27-26 come from behind win over Moore Catholic in the first round of the AA Playoffs.

In a game where Xavier held Trinity to under 90 yards rushing and no points and in which Xavier only managed one 92-yard offensive drive for a score, senior defensive lineman Milton Guzman picked a great day to have one of his best games ever.  This big man who tops the Xavier All-Time Bench Press Leader Board with an impressive 360 lb. effort, who made the Honorable Mention Leader Board for the 2018 team in the 40 yard dash and who leads the Xavier defensive line this season with 49 Tackles, 11.5 Tackles For Loss and 3 Fumble Recoveries, put up some amazing numbers in a stalwart defensive effort.  Milton had 10 tackles, including 2 tackles for a loss and a sack while racking up yet another fumble recovery.