Griffin, Hawks Visiting MSG

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate AJ Griffin and the Atlanta Hawks are visiting Madison Square Garden tonight to oppose the New York Knicks.

Tipoff is 7:30.

Griffin, 19, is averaging 5.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in four games this season. The 6 foot-6 guard is shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range.

The Hawks are 4-3 and sit in first place in the Southeast Division. The Knicks are 3-3 overall and 3-0 at Madison Square Garden.

Griffin was drafted 16th overall by the Hawks in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Griffin averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in leading the Duke Blue Devils to the NCAA Division I Final Four during his one season at Durham, N.C. He shot 49.3 percent from the floor and 44.7 percent from three-point range.

Prior to Duke, Griffin helped Stepinac capture the 2018 state high school federation championship.

CHSFL Playoff Pairings Set

St. Anthony’s, Iona Prep and Archbishop Stepinac earned the top three seeds for the Catholic High School Football League AAA Playoffs.

Check out the pairings for playoffs which begin next weekend.

Week 8 Results

St. Anthony’s 27, Archbishop Stepinac 21

St. Joseph by-the-Sea 14, Mount St. Michael 0

Xaverian 37, Cardinal Spellman 0

Kellenberg 28, Msgr. Farrell 6

Iona Prep 35, Chaminade 7

Moore Catholic 25, Cardinal Hayes 22

St. Francis Prep 25, Holy Cross 14

St. Peter’s def. Christ the King

AAA Quarterfinals

Friday, Nov. 4

No. 8 Christ the King at No. 1 St. Anthony’s, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 5

No. 7 Cardinal Hayes at No. 2 Iona Prep, 3 p.m.

No. 6 Msgr. Farrell at No. 3 Archbishop Stepinac 6 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 6

No. 5 Kellenberg at No. 4 Chaminade, 1 p.m.

AA Division 1 Quarterfinals

No. 1 Holy Trinity bye

No. 5 Fordham Prep at No. 4 St. Joseph by-the-Sea

Sunday, Nov. 6

No. 7 St. Francis Prep at No. 2 Moore Catholic, 1 p.m.

No. 6 St. Peter’s at No. 3 St. John the Baptist, 1 p.m.

AA Division II Quarterfinals

No. 1 Xavier bye

No. 2 Mount St. Michael bye

Friday, Nov. 4

No. 5 Holy Cross at No. 4 Kennedy Catholic, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 5

No. 6 Cardinal Spellman at No. 3 Xaverian, 4 p.m.

Davis, UNC Are No. 1

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate RJ Davis will be a junior on this year’s University of North Carolina men’s basketball team that is ranked first in the preseason Associated Press and ESPN poll.

Davis is a second-team preseason All-ACC pick.

Davis helped the Tar Heels reach the 2022 Final Four where it lost to ACC rival Duke, which was led by Stepinac graduate AJ Griffin.

Davis became the first Tar Heel in program history to finish NCAA Tournament games with at least 10 assists and more than 30 points in the next. He finished with 12 assists against Marquette and 30 points against top seed Baylor.

In the NCAA Tournament, Davis played a team-high 37.7 minutes per game and averaged 14.7 point per contest.

As a sophomore, Davis led the Tar Heels with 142 assists, 40 steals and was second in free-throw percentage at 83 percent and three-point field goal percentage at 37 percentage. He was third on the team with 66 three-point field goals and fourth in scoring.

At Stepinac Davis set the Westchster County scoring record with 2,446 career points. As a senior, he was named the 2020 Gatorade High School Player of the Year in New York, New York’s Mr. Basketball by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York and was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTH CAROLINA

Iona Prep, Stepinac Still in Top 5

Iona Prep and Archbishop remain third and fifth, respectively, for another week in the New York State Sportswriters Association’s Class AA football poll.

St. Anthony’s is still No. 1. Stepinac and St. Anthony’s will meet in White Plains on Friday night.

In Class A, Our Lady of Lourdes is 10^th, and Moore Catholic is 25^th.

In Class B, Xavier is 23^rd, and in Class C, John S. Burke Catholic is 25^th.

CHSFL Regular Season Closing Next Weekend, Playoffs Approaching

The Catholic High School Football League will conclude its regular season next weekend with a matchup featuring St. Anthony’s and Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains at 7 p.m. Friday.

Both teams are 7-1 overall. St. Anthony’s is 6-0, and Stepinac is 5-1 in AAA League play. Iona Prep, which hosts Chaminade on Saturday, also is 5-1 in AAA League.

The playoffs are scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 5.

Week 7 Results

St. Anthony’s 44, Christ the King 12

Fordham Prep 27, St. Peter’s 24

Iona Prep 41, Msgr. Farrell 13

Holy Cross 25, Campus Magnet 6

Archbishop Stepinac 34, Kellenberg 30

Chaminade 10, Holy Trinity 7

St. John the Baptist 55, Mount St. Michael 26

Xavier 42, Cardinal Spellman 6

Cardinal Hayes 50, St. Joseph by-the-Sea 12

Moore Catholic 32, St. Francis Prep 10

Xaverian 28, Kennedy Catholic 21

Week 8 Schedule

Friday, Oct. 28

St. Anthony’s at Archbishop Stepinac, 7 p.m.

Mount St. Michael at St. Joseph by-the-Sea, 7 p.m.

Cardinal Spellman at Xaverian, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 29

St. Peter’s at Christ the King, TBA

Msgr. Farrell at Kellenberg, 1 p.m.

Chaminade at Iona Prep, 1:30 p.m.

Cardinal Hayes at Moore Catholic, 1:30 p.m.

St. Francis Prep at Holy Cross, 1:30 p.m.

Xavier at St. Dominic’s, 1:30 p.m.

Iona Prep 3rd in State Poll

The New York State Sportswriters Association released its latest high school football polls and Iona Prep and Archbishop Stepinac are third and fifth in the Class AA poll.

St. Anthony’s is ranked first. Stepinac will host St. Anthony’s on Oct. 28.

In Class A, Our Lady of Lourdes is 13^th, and Moore Catholic is 25^th.

In Class B, Xavier is 25^th.

In Class C, John S. Burke Catholic is 15^th.

Iona Prep, Stepinac Roll to Wins

Iona Prep and Archbishop Stepinac cruised to easy wins in Week 6 to keep their hopes of winning the Catholic High School Football League AAA championship.

St. Anthony’s is unbeaten, and Iona Prep and Stepinac follow in the standings with one loss.

Stepinac will host St. Anthony’s in White Plains on Oct. 26, the final weekend of the regular season.

Week 6 Results

St. Anthony’s 35, Fordham Prep 7

Iona Prep 49, Kellenberg 0

Archbishop Stepinac 56, Cardinal Hayes 20

Chaminade 43, Christ the King 12

St. Peter’s 21, Kennedy Catholic 14

Mount St. Michael 36, Holy Cross 12

Msgr. Farrell 51, St. Joseph by-the-Sea 0

St. Francis Prep 20, Xaverian 0

St. John the Baptist 21, Xavier 7

Cardinal Spellman 8, St. Dominic’s 6

Holy Trinity 21, Moore Catholic 14

Week 7 Schedule

Friday, Oct. 21

Christ the King at St. Anthony’s, 7 p.m.

St. Peter’s at Fordham Prep, 7 p.m.

Iona Prep at Msgr. Farrell, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 22

Holy Cross at Campus Magnet, noon

Archbishop Stepinac at Kellenberg, 1 p.m.

Chaminade at Holy Trinity, 1:30 p.m.

St. John the Baptist at Mount St. Michael, 1:30 p.m.

Cardinal Spellman at Xavier, 4:30 p.m.

Moore Catholic at St. Francis Prep, 7 p.m.

St. Joseph by-the-Sea vs. Cardinal Hayes, at SUNY Maritime, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 23

Kennedy Catholic at Xaverian, 1:30 p.m.

Iona Prep Leads in State Poll

Iona Prep nudged ahead of Archbishop Stepinac in this week’s state football poll after beating the Crusaders, 42-35, in White Plains on Saturday.

Iona Prep moved from fourth to third, and Stepinac dropped from third to fifth.

Iona Prep will play Kellenberg on Saturday. Kellenberg suffered its first loss of the season last weekend against unbeaten Holy Trinity.

Here are how the archdiocesan high school football teams fared in the current state polls compiled by the New York State Sportswriters Association:

CLASS AA: 3-Iona Prep, 5 Archbishop Stepinac.

CLASS A: 13-Our Lady of Lourdes, 18-Moore Catholic

CLASS C: 8-John S. Burke Catholic

Holy Trinity Only Unbeaten Team

And now there is one.

Holy Trinity is the only Catholic High School Football League program with an unbeaten record after beating Kellenberg in a battle of undefeated teams from Long Island.

Archbishop Stepinac also entered the weekend undefeated before suffering a 42-35 loss to rival Iona Prep.

Here is a rundown of Week 5 Results and what’s coming up in Week 6

Week 5 Results

Chaminade 10, Fordham Prep 6

Iona Prep 42, Archbishop Stepinac 35

St. Peter’s 22, Xaverian 9

Holy Cross 44, Cardinal Spellman 6

Mount St. Michael 47, St. Dominic’s 0

Christ the King 44, St. Francis Prep 8

Xavier 35, St. Joseph by-the-Sea 27

St. Anthony’s 35, Cardinal Hayes 29

Moore Catholic 30, Msgr. Farrell 27

Holy Trinity 28, Kellenberg 19

St. John the Baptist 29, Kennedy Catholic 13

Week 6 Schedule

Friday, Oct. 14

Fordham Prep at St. Anthony’s, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 15

Kellenberg at Iona Prep, 1:30 p.m.

Cardinal Hayes at Archbishop Stepinac, 1:30 p.m.

Christ the King at Chaminade, 1:30 p.m.

Kennedy Catholic at St. Peter’s, 1:30 p.m.

Holy Cross at Mount St. Michael, 1:30 p.m.

Cardinal Spellman at St. Dominic’s, 1:30 p.m.

Msgr. Farrell at St. Joseph by-the-Sea, 2 p.m.

Xaverian at St. Francis Prep, 7 p.m.

St. John the Baptist at Xavier, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 16

Moore Catholic at Holy Trinity, 1 p.m.

Koonce Assists Raiders Defense

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate Malcolm Koonce finished with a solo tackle as the Las Vegas Raiders won its first game of the season with a 32-23 victory over the visiting Denver Broncos on Sunday.

It was the second consecutive week the second-year defensive end finished with a solo tackle for the Raiders, who will play Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City on Sunday.

In 2021, Koonce played in five games and finished with three tackles, two being solo tackles, and two sacks.

The Raiders drafted Koonce out of the University of Buffalo in the third round with the 79th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.