On October 28th St Anthony’s took on St. Peter’s in Staten Island. The Friars knew they had to win this game in order for them to secure the number one seed in the playoffs, and they did just that.
The Friars dominated St. Peter’s 42-0 and got their sixth straight victory.
The Friars are now ranked number two in New York state and number one on Long Island at the end of the regular season.
Greg Campisi passed for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns, also adding a rushing touchdown. Sean Bryan added 81 yards rushing on six attempts including a long 50 yard rushing touchdown.
On the first drive, St. Peter’s had a lot of success running the ball with their all around superstar Chris Ledlum. The Friars shut it down after the initial drive, however, with some words from head coach Rich Reichert to the players. Coach Passante said, “We had to flip our front, make sure we lined up correctly. They were coming out with different formations because they had some guys hurt, but after we lined up correctly it was pretty easy.”
St. Anthony’s took a commanding 21-0 lead to end the first half. Julian Chung had two receiving touchdowns in the first half, and Kyle Angus also added a first half rushing touchdown.
The Friars’ defense continued to be the highlight of the day as Phil Plantana, Nick Espada, and Makhai Murphy all finished with interceptions. After St. Anthony’s week two loss against Archbishop Stepinac, the Friars’ defense has dominated opposition, only allowing a maximum of 8 points per game.
When asked on what has changed since the Stepinac game, defensive coordinator George Mclaren said “It’s a process as time goes on with the players understanding roles in the defense. We got better, and we are getting better. We are going to the playoffs. Hopefully, we will get healthy and peak at the right time.”
The Friars have now beaten St. Peter’s for a third straight year. When asked about what propelled them to the dominant victory, head coach Rich Reichert said, “Well first of all, [St. Peter’s] was a little depleted. They had some major injuries, their QB was out, and their best receiver was out. They were struggling a little, and we didn’t play very well in the first quarter and then we started to play much better.”
In order for the Friars to get the number one seed for the playoffs, not only did they need to beat St. Peter’s but they also needed for Iona prep to beat Archbishop Stepinac. Thankfully, that was the case. Iona prep beat Stepinac on Saturday night 38-34 giving the Friars the number 1 seed for the second straight year.
The Friars will face off against Christ the King Friday, November 3rd, 7:00 p.m., in the CHSFL AAA Quarter Final.
About The Author:
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Jared Valluzzi Jared is a freshman at St. Anthony’s writing for his first year with Friar Scoreboard. He is also a member of the Friar Media club and attended Hofstra University’s Sports Journalism and Broadcasting Institute for Teens. |
