CYO Staten Island will be having its 2019 Coaches Clinic at the CYO-MIV Community Center on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 9:30 a.m.
The guest speakers are Kyle McAlarney and Mike O’Connor. McAlarney is the athletic director and varsity boys basketball coach at Moore Catholic after a playing career that included a collegiate one at the University of Notre Dame and a pro career in Europe.
O’Connor is the former varsity coach at St. Joseph Hill Academy and is currently a CYO coach at St. Clare’s.
Week 4 of the Catholic High School Football League of Metropolitan New York was highlighted with some classic regular-season games including a second consecutive one between two-time defending state champion Archbishop Stepinac and Iona Prep.
Iona Prep won this year’s battle, 36-35. Last year, the Gaels defeated Stepinac in overtime during the regular season before the Crusaders beat Iona Prep in the league playoffs.
Also, St. Anthony’s beat previously unbeaten Christ the King, 18-16, and Moore Catholic was a 28-22 winner over Holy Cross.
Week 5 offers a rematch on Friday night between John F. Kennedy Catholic and Cardinal Spellman. Kennedy Catholic was the Week 1 winner over Cardinal Spellman, 24-6. Cardinal Spellman defeated Kennedy Catholic in the 2018 A League final.
Click here for the scoreboard and upcoming schedule.
The Archbishop Stepinac High School football team is ranked second in this week’s New York State Sportswriters Association Class AA poll.
The Crusaders, winners of three state titles in four years, are one of three Catholic high schools from the archdiocese ranked in the top 11. Cardinal Hayes is sixth and Iona Prep is 11th. Christ the King of Queens, a member of the Catholic High School Football league of Metropolitan New York, is seventh.
Stepinac and Iona Prep, both 3-0, play in White Plains on Saturday.
The CYO New York cross country season is taking a detour the next two weekends as it leaves Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx for the CYO XC Family Day meet at Villa Maria Academy in the Bronx on Sept. 29 and the CYO/Rockland County Invitational at Pearl River Middle School on Oct. 6.
The two meets, the fourth and fifth meets on the eight-meet fall schedule, begin at 1 p.m.
The final three meets are scheduled for Van Cortlandt Park, including the CYO Upstate XC Championships on Oct. 26 and the CYO Archdiocese of New York XC Championships on Nov. 2.
Click here to see the complete schedule.
Cardinal Hayes and Iona Prep had the opportunity to compete in football games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Click here to read what the players and coaches had to say about the experience.
Archbishop Stepinac and Iona Prep will meeting in the Catholic High School Football League AAA League opener in White Plains on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Both teams are 3-0.
Stepinac is the two-time defending state champion and has won three state titles in the last four years. In 2018, Iona Prep defeated Stepinac in overtime during the regular season and Stepinac won a playoff matchup between the two clubs from Westchester County.
In other news, Cardinal Hayes won its league opener, 46-17, over St. Anthony’s. The Cardinals host Fordham Prep in a non-league battle at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Click here for the complete scoreboard and upcoming schedule.
Cameron Holmes of Moore Catholic was one of 10 week two nominees from the Tri-State area for the 2019 USA Football Heart of a Giant Award presented by the Hospital for Special Surgery and the New York Giants.
Voting will be open for 25 days to determine the group’s finalist to go up against finalists from the other five weeks. All six finalists and four honorable mention finalists will receive $1,000 for their high school football program with the overall winner’s school receiving an additional $9,000. Click here to learn more about the program.
This is a summary of Holmes’ nomination:
After losing all of his and his mother’s possessions in an apartment fire, Cameron Holmes is now living with his aunt for the remainder of his senior year. Through this time of hardship, Holmes has never missed a practice or workout. Holmes adds, “the coaches and teams were very supportive and helped us try and get back on our feet.” Head Coach Nick Giannatasio says, “Cameron is an outstanding man and a great athlete.” Cameron is indeed a great athlete, leading his team in receiving touchdowns last year with seven. Cameron Holmes truly displays the purest sense of dedication every single day.
Iona Prep and St. Anthony’s turned up winners in the Battle for the Bridge football event at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday.
Iona Prep defeated Pope John, 41-21, and St. Anthony’s beat Delbarton, 16-14. In the third game of the day, Cardinal Hayes suffered a 33-7 loss to defending New Jersey state champion, St. Joseph’s.
Click here to see the entire scoreboard from Week 2 and what’s ahead this weekend, including Cardinal Hayes hosting St. Anthony’s in the Bronx.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX MALECKI/IONA PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Jalen Smith of Cardinal Hayes High School was one of 10 week one nominees from the Tri-State area for the 2019 USA Football Heart of a Giant Award presented by the Hospital for Special Surgery and the New York Giants.
Voting will be open for 25 days to determine the group’s finalist to go up against finalists from the other five weeks. All six finalists and four honorable mention finalists will receive $1,000 for their high school football program with the overall winner’s school receiving an additional $9,000. Click here to learn more about the program.
This is a summary of Smith’s nomination:
After being faced with the challenge of transforming into a student athlete from being an athletic student due to academic probation, Smith used this as motivation to turn his priorities around. Not only did he turn his academic record around during this trying time, but he also led his JV team to an undefeated season and a championship. He used this platform to advocate for safety around the inner city. Moved by the violence he has witnessed in schools around the inner city, Jalen asks that every touchdown he scores gets a $1 donation that will be used to aid schools in the city with the appropriate safety methods, like more security cameras and metal detectors. Head Coach C.J. O’Neil states, “Jalen’s character far outweighs his efforts as a student-athlete on the field, which makes him the perfect candidate for Heart of a Giant.”
The Notre Dame Club of the Mid-Hudson Valley has a big weekend planned for Oct. 19 and 20.
On Oct. 19, the club will have a 1:30 p.m. tailgate party prior to the rugby match between host Iona College and Notre Dame at 3 p.m. Pat Quinn, co-founder of the Ice Bucket Challenge and a member of the Iona College Rugby Hall of Fame, will be available for a meet and greet.
On Oct. 20, the club will have its 11th annual Hudson Valley ALS Walk on the Walkway Over The Hudson from Highland to Poughkeepsie.
Click here for more information on these events and others.
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