Basketball Season is HERE

The high school boys basketball season is underway with an interesting matchup on Friday highlighting the first full weekend of the campaign as Cardinal Hayes hosts Christ the King in a non-league game.

Cardinal Hayes features senior Tyrese Williams and junior Joe Toussaint. Both earned second-team all-league honors in 2016-2017.

Christ the King returns 2016-2017 third-team, all-league honorees in senior Tyson Walker and junior Kofi Cockburn.

Click here to see the 2017-2018 high school boys basketball schedule.

 

Baseball Miracles Plans Next Mission Trip for Newburgh in February

Baseball Miracles is planning its next mission trip for Sunday, Feb. 4 at the Armory Unity Center in Newburgh.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

Each registrant will receive a baseball glove, baseball to take home as well as a hot dog, chips and drink as part of the “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” luncheon.

Field director is Philadelphia Phillies Scouting Supervisor Alex Agostino and team captains are Roy Underwood and Trevor Purcell, assistant baseball coach at Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh.

A special guest round table at the clinic will include Ben Cherington, former Boston Red Sox general manager and current Toronto Blue Jays vice president of baseball operations, and Willie Fraser, a Newburgh native who pitched in Major League Baseball and is now a scout for the Miami Marlins.

The Baseball Miracles team just returned from Argentina where 300-plus kids participated over the two days. Baseball Miracles partnered with the Federacion of baseball in Argentina and the Buenos Aires Shankees baseball team.

Baseball Miracles, a non-profit organization, is a team of baseball and softball instructors teaching the game to boys and girls with economic and environmental disadvantages throughout the world. Founder and director John Tumminia, a Major League Baseball scout for the Chicago White Sox, is a parishioner at St. Mary’s in Marlboro.

Contact Caroline Breeden at csbreeden22@gmail.com or visit http://www.baseballmiracles.org for more information about the event in Newburgh.

ABOVE: Courtesy photo from Baseball Miracles showing a group shot of participants in Argentina.

Football Senior Game Coming Sunday

The Senior Bowl Game for the Catholic High School Football League of Metropolitan New York is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale.

No ticket is required to watch the game.

The day begins with a Communion Awards Breakfast, which follows a 9:30 a.m. Mass at Kellenberg. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance. Tickets are not available at the door.

 

Silverio Going to Santa Clara

Omar Silverio, a senior at St. Raymond High School for Boys, signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball with Santa Clara University.

The shooting guard came to the United States at the age of 14 from the Dominican Republic and signing with Santa Clara is another step toward his goal of playing in the NBA.

“I am truly excited about having the opportunity to attend a prestigious university such as Santa Clara. I am also extremely excited about playing for Herb Sendeck and the Broncos,” Silverio said in a press release.

 

Abreu Signs with Manhattan

Keury Abreu, a senior at St. Raymond High School for Boys, signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at Manhattan College.

Abreu has been a starting player at St. Raymond since his sophomore season in 2016 and hit .300 with three doubles and 14 RBI as a junior in 2017. He has played third base, shortstop and pitcher in his two varsity seasons.

“In the end, I chose the school that fit me best and I am excited to become a Jasper,” said Abreu in a press release.

 

Stepinac Wins State Title

Archbishop Stepinac High School scored 26 unanswered points in rallying back from a 14-9 halftime deficit to defeat Canisius, 49-28, for the New York State CHSAA football championship in Buffalo on Saturday.

The Crusaders won their second state title and avenged a 23-10 loss to Canisius in the first state final in 2014.

Trailing 14-9, Trill Williams caught a Michael Nicosia and took it to the end zone to complete a 61-yard play that gave Stepinac a 16-9 lead.

The Crusaders never relinquished their lead and it was the first of three second-half touchdowns for Williams, who will attend Syracuse in 2018.

 

Stepinac Claims Football Crown

Archbishop Stepinac High School scored 33 unanswered points in rallying from a 14-0 deficit to defeat top seed St. Anthony’s, 47-22, for the Catholic High School Football League of Metropolitan New York’s AAA League championship at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale Nov. 18.

The third-seeded Crusaders, who won a third title in four years, took a 33-14 lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter before St. Anthony’s scored to cut its deficit to 33-22 with 7 minutes, 45 seconds remaining.

The Crusaders, playing in a fourth consecutive title game, answered with two touchdowns in the final four minutes.

Stepinac’s Trill Williams ran for 183 yards to earn offensive player of the game honors, and teammate Kevin Gray, a middle linebacker, was named the game’s top defensive player.

The Crusaders play at Msgr. Martin Athletic Association champion Canisius High School in Buffalo for the state title at noon Saturday, Nov. 25.

Cardinal Spellman Wins Thriller

Michael Booth scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 25 seconds left as Cardinal Spellman High School tipped Xaverian, 20-18, to win its first Catholic High School Football League of Metropolitan New York’s A League title since 2008 and third overall at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale on Saturday.

The Pilots, playing in a third consecutive league title game, avenged a pair of regular-season losses to Xaverian.

Xaverian trailed 14-0 before scoring 18 straight points, taking an 18-14 lead on a 94-yard touchdown pass from James Resker to Timothy McCabe with 2:55 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Spellman gained possession and scored the game-winner with help from big plays – including Isaac Yearbook’s 5-yard run to inside the 1-yard line on fourth down to keep the drive going.

“It was an up and down emotional game. The kids deserve a lot of credit,’’ said Cardinal Spellman coach Will Cawley.

“The kids were confident. We felt we had enough time and we had two timeouts. We set up plays, converted some key plays and used the clock well. They refused to lose.’’

Yearwood and Booth were named the offensive and defensive players of the game, respectively.

Fordham Prep Falls Short of Title

Matt Sluka scored six touchdowns as Kellenberg notched the game’s final 33 points in winning its first Catholic High School Football League of Metropolitan New York’s AA title with a 54-19 victory over Fordham Prep at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale Nov. 18.

Matt Valecce, who is heading to Boston College next season, threw touchdown passes to Liam McHale, Will Loffredo and Tommy Walsh for Fordham Prep.

Lourdes Star Signs with Villanova

Maddy Siegrist, a senior at Our Lady of Lourdes High School, signed a National Letter of Intent last week to play basketball next year at Villanova University.

Siegrist averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds in earning all-state honors from the New York State Sportswriters Association as a junior in 2016-2017. She is rated among New York State’s Top 2018 Recruits by Northeast Girls Recruiting.

Siegrist is the daughter of George and Ginna Siegrist. Her dad played basketball at Marist College and later was an assistant coach at the college.