Chris Manhertz caught an 11-yard pass in helping the Jacksonville Jaguars to their first win of the season with a 23-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins in England on Sunday.
The tight end has three catches for 40 yards and a touchdown this season.
Manhertz, 29, is a graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx and played collegiate basketball at Canisius College in Buffalo before turning his focus to football after college.
Cardinal Spellman High School graduate Chris Manhertz and the Jacksonville Jaguars dropped to 0-2 with a 23-13 loss to the unbeaten Denver Broncos on Sunday.
The Jaguars lost their season opener to the Houston Texans, 37-21. In this game, Manhertz, a tight end, caught a 22-yard touchdown pass, the second touchdown reception of his career.
Jacksonville will host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate Malcolm Koonce and the Las Vegas Raiders will open the 2021 season 8 p.m. tonight in ESPN’s Monday Night Football game against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Raiders finished 2-1 in preseason.
Koonce, a defensive end, was a third-round pick, 79th overall, of the Raiders in this year’s NFL Draft out of Buffalo.
At Buffalo, Koonce was a two-time, first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection. In six games as a senior, the defensive end had 30 tackles and a team-high 6.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks. As a junior, he led the MAC with nine sacks.
At Archbishop Stepinac, Koonce had 58 tackles as a senior to earn second-team all-state honors and helped the Crusaders to an undefeated season and the 2015 Catholic school state championship.
Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate Malcolm Koonce earned a spot on the 53-man roster with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Koonce was a third-round pick, 79th overall, of the Raiders in this year’s NFL Draft out of Buffalo.
At Buffalo, Koonce was a two-time, first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection. In six games as a senior, the defensive end had 30 tackles and a team-high 6.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks. As a junior, he led the MAC with nine sacks.
At Archbishop Stepinac, Koonce had 58 tackles as a senior to earn second-team all-state honors and helped the Crusaders to an undefeated season and the 2015 Catholic school state championship.
Cardinal Spellman High School graduate Chris Manhertz is heading further south for his seventh NFL season after signing a two-year, $7.25 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars back in March.
The Jaguars open the 2021 season against the Houston Texans in Houston Sept. 12.In five NFL seasons with the Carolina Panthers, Manhertz has 12 catches for 142 yards and one touchdown in 70 games, 28 being starts. He finished with a career-high six catches and tied his career high with 52 receiving yards in 2020.
Manhertz played basketball at Canisius College in Buffalo and was offered a tryout by the Buffalo Bills following his collegiate career. After the Bills released him, he was on the practice squad for the New Orleans Saints in 2015 and was in uniform for three games in 2016 before being released.
The Panthers claimed him off waivers from the Saints. He had one reception for 10 yards in four games with the Panthers in 2016.
Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate Trill Williams earned a spot out of preseason on the Miami Dolphins 53-man roster.
The Dolphins open the 2021 season with the New England Patriots in Foxboro, Mass., Sept. 12.
In three preseason games with the Dolphins, Williams had six total tackles.
In three seasons at Syracuse University, the defensive back had 93 total tackles, 65 being solo; four interceptions, two coming against Clemson; three forced fumbles; and one fumble recovery. He scored three touchdowns, one each coming on an interception return, a punt return, and one off a blocked punt.
Williams, who was undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft, joined the Dolphins on May 17 after being waived by the New Orleans Saints.
Salesian High School and Fordham University graduate Mike Breen will be honored this weekend at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend.
Breen is the recipient of the 2020 Curt Gowdy Media Award for his work calling basketball games. He currently calls NBA games for ESPN, ABC and the Madison Square Garden Network. Previously, he called NBA and Olympic basketball games on NBC, NFL games NBC and FOX, and delivered sports updates on the Imus in the Morning show on WFAN (660 AM).
Click here to read a Catholic New York story following Breen’s selection to the Hall of Fame.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
Gavin Heslop signed an undrafted rookie free-agent contact with the Seattle Seahawks just moments after the completion of the 2020 NFL Draft on Saturday.
The Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate and Yonkers native was a senior captain and defensive back at Stony Brook in 2019.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Heslop said in a press release from Stony Brook. “All of the hard work over the past five years at Stony Brook has paid off. I could not be more excited for this opportunity.”
As a redshirt senior in 2019, Heslop finished with 52 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two blocked kicks, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in earning third-team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors. He returned one fumble for a touchdown.
Heslop started 37 consecutive games and collected 138 total tackles in his collegiate career.
Cardinal Hayes High School football player Damon Barnes is one of 10 Week 6 Nominees for the 2018 USA Football Heart of a Giant Award presented by the New York Giants and Hospital for Special Surgery.
The winner will be chosen Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. with the winner receiving a gift bag and his high school football program receiving $1,500 equipment grant. Nominees are expected to campaign at home, school and in their communities to have people vote for them as the person with the most votes will win.
If chosen, Barnes will be one of six finalists for the 2018 USA Football Heart of a Giant Award. The winner’s school will receive an additional $3,500 equipment grant. The winner will be honored at MetLife Stadium during a Giants home game in December.
High school football players from the Tri-State Area are nominated by their coaches based on their passion of the game and unparalleled work ethic on and off the field through commitment, character, teamwork, dedication and will.
Click here to vote and learn more about the 10 Week 6 Nominees.
Click here to learn more about the award.
Marist College graduate Jason Myers was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after kicking seven field goals and converting three extra points for the New York Jets in a 42-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Myers, 27, was 7 for 7 on his field goals with the seven conversions being a Jets franchise record. For the season, he’s 16 for 17 with his longest field goal being a 55 yards. He’s 15 for 16 in his extra-point attempts.
The Jets host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Catholic Sports Scene 