By Matt Diano:

#1 (West) Xaverian (5-3) vs. #4 (East) Xavier (5-3)

When: Sunday November 4th, 2018

Where: Aviator Sports Complex

Time: 6:30 pm

Synopsis

A match-up that only came about because of the league’s decision to honor the centuries old Turkey Bowl tradition that prevents Fordham Prep and Xavier from playing prior to Thanksgiving, if you are the top seeds out of the Western Conference, Xaverian, I am sure this news did not necessarily sit well with you.

Advancers to championship weekend in four of the past five years [2016 being the exception] while competing in the Single-A classification, Mike Jioia’s Clippers have not skipped a beat in their first season among the double-A ranks.

4-1 in league games this season, it became evident as early as opening weekend, when they knocked off the defending runners-up, Fordham Prep [12-9] that the talent was present for 2018 to be a memorable one for the boys from the Brooklyn.

Relying on a very balanced attack on offense, the Clippers are not a team that will automatically blow you away by piling up big numbers and scoring a plethora of points (average only 16.3 ppg), but they have developed a formula that works for them and until proven wrong, you have to respect the perennial success they have been able to achieve during the past half-decade.

Roberto Auguste

Incorporating a two-headed monster attack on the ground, Xaverian has split their carries this season between two upperclassmen, senior Roberto Auguste, and junior Shane Greene….The former, who was the recipient of the “A” Offensive Player of the Year award a season ago, has rushed for a team-leading total of 326 yards on 79 carries and has scored a pair of touchdowns….Greene, who is in his first season on the Clipper varsity, has lived up to the hype, running for 319 yards and a team-best six TDs on 80 hand-offs…Growing stronger the deeper into the season we go, the 5’11, 190-pound 11^th grader [Greene] has rushed for 100+ yards in two of his past three games and five of his six scores came during the past three weeks.  Hence, he brings a lot of momentum and positive energy to the field this weekend.

Returning starting signal caller, James Resker, has adjusted quite well to the higher level of competition, as he needs just one more TD pass and approximately 220 yards to equal his strong sophomore season under center.  His stat line heading into the quarterfinals reads as follows: 55-for-97 throwing for 780 yards and six touchdowns…Some of his favorite targets this season have included senior tight end, Jason Perlstein (19 catches for 353 yards and a team-leading 3 touchdowns), as well as Justin Wolf (17 grabs for 203 yards and two TDs) and his younger brother, Thomas Resker (10 grabs for 164 yards and 1 score).

Shutdown defense has also been a huge part of the winning equation for Xaverian, as they have allowed 10 or less points in three of their five victories this season…Excluding the 31 points they surrendered in a loss to an out-of-state opponent, the Blue & Gold platoon has given up 20+ points just twice this season.

As they prepare themselves to face the never relenting land attack from the visiting Knights, it will be essential that leading tackler, Derrin Hansen (46 tackles, 1 sack), Brian Langan (34 stops), Brandon Ramrattan (32 tackles), Christian Appel (30 stops, 1 sack), as well as the already mentioned Greene (34 tackles, 1 sack) all rise to the occasion.

On the opposite sideline, you have a Xavier squad that has made a ritual of pulling first round upsets…Underdogs the past two seasons, the Chris Stevens trained cohort shocked the Catholic football world when they knocked off heavily favored top-seed, Christ the King, two years ago.  Last season, they prevailed in the #4 vs. #5 game, beating Holy Cross….So, suffice to say, the idea of going on the road to play to play a higher seed is not the least bit daunting to them.

The most explosive version of the Knights since the 2012 team that hoisted the AA hardware, Xavier averaged over 28 points per game this season while running for 2,154 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Daniel Vittiburga

Powered by the breakout senior campaign of two-time Player of the Week selection, Dan Vittiburga, the Knights have scored 40+ points in back-to-back games and are playing their best brand of football down the stretch…Second in both yards (991) and touchdowns scored (16) on the ground in double-A, since October commenced, the Brooklynite has been the most unstoppable player in the NYCHSFL, rushing for 100+ yards in four straight appearances and accumulating 13 total touchdowns since week #5.

Also riding a hot streak of his own into the postseason is junior, Matthew Geruso…A player of the week honoree after establishing a new career-high of 157 yards rushing in the regular season finale against St. Francis Prep, the 5’10, 185-pounder who hangs his hat in Hoboken, has reached the “magic 100” in three consecutive contests, gaining 386 and scoring three of the 586 yards and four touchdowns he has compiled in his rookie year on the varsity.

Demetrios Demetriades, who only been asked to carry the ball 25 times this season (255 yards + 2 TDs) could be an X-factor…Two weeks ago in the win over Mount St. Michael, he ran for 127 yards on four carries.  Hence, even if his touches are short on quantity, they are guaranteed to be massive on quality.

At the center of a front-seven that will look to lock down Auguste and Greene will be Valery Gwardyak (51 stops, .5 sacks), John Walsh (35 tackles, 2 sacks), Milton Guzman (32 tackles, 1 sack), Jordan Sosa (31 tackles, 2 sacks), and Frank Bernie (28 stops, 1.5 QB bags)…The no fly zone that will be determined to make life difficult on Resker will be comprised of Evan Murphy (team-leading two interceptions) and Demetriades, who topped all Knight defensive backs with six pass break-ups during the regular season…Langton Williams (50 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD), Kevin Connelly (35 tackles, 3 PDs), and Joseph Maratea (33 tackles, 4 pass defenses) solidify the secondary.

Player of the Week Nomination

Nominee: Valerie Gwardyak                                                                       School: Xavier High School

Position :  Linebacker / Powerback                                                      Opponent: Xaverian
Date of Game: 11/04/18   Ht. 5’10”   Wt . 180   Class: Sr.               Hometown: Staten Island

Details of nominees performance:

Over the course of the last 4 weeks, Xavier has rushed for over 1500 yards and 20 TDs, but the more encouraging story is that the Xavier defense has pitched 3 shutouts this season and has shutout the last two opponents back to back.  Offense fills the seats, but defense wins championships.  Leading this much-improved unit is the interior signal caller at Sam Linebacker Valerie Gwardyak.  Over the course of the last two seasons, Valerie has been the leading tackler for the Knights.  Named Xavier's Best Defensive Player for the 2017 season, he has continued to live up to his billing this leading the Knights with 62 tackles this season.  In the last two shutouts, Valerie has posted double-digit tackle numbers with 10 against St. Francis Prep. in the final game of the regular season and in the Quarter Final Playoff game against Xaverian, he logged 11 tackles, including a sack, a tackle for loss, a pass deflection and a fumble recovery which significantly turned the momentum of the game with Xavier leading only 7-0 in the 3rd quarter.