Football: No. 1 Iona Prep falls a play short against another state-ranked rival

Josh Thomson, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
·4 min read
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NEW ROCHELLE - With the way the game had unfolded Saturday night, Iona Prep began its last drive with two objectives: Scoring the go-ahead touchdown and making sure St. Anthony's had no chance to counter.

The Friars had just scored (again) but a botched snap gave the Gaels a narrow path to victory.

"And if they got the extra point, we were going for two," Iona Prep coach Joe Spagnolo said. "We wanted this game to end."

It did, although not the way Spagnolo's team had hoped. The Gaels successfully burned over three minutes and drove to the 10, but the game ended when St. Anthony's dragged down Ajani Sheppard on the final play. Iona Prep ran out of time, and the defending Catholic High School Football League champ fell 48-42.

The Gaels entered ranked No. 1 in the state. St. Anthony's was No. 4.

"The mentality was that we had to be the last one to score," Sheppard said. "That's why we tried to pound it a little bit, get the clock down some. But we just couldn't quite pull it off."

The Friars earned the lead on Dante Torres' 1-yard keeper with 3:31 remaining. They had led or were tied all second half, but the lead stayed at 48-42 when the snap on the ensuing extra point preventing them from attempting the kick. The teams had each been 6 for 6 on previous extra points.

However, Iona Prep committed several mistakes -- both penalties and bad snaps -- that stalled the momentum of promising drives.

"I don't know if any of those drives end without mistakes," Spagnolo said. "I don't want to make excuses. They did an awesome job. They're very, very good. But we can't have every series second and 15, second and 20."

"In the second half, we might've just lost focus when we started getting tired," Sheppard said. "Snaps were all over the place, blocking, but it's all right. We're going to get it back."

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What it means

This was Iona Prep's first CHSFL loss since the 2019 semifinals (Cardinal Hayes) and first regular-season league loss since 2018 (St. Anthony's). The Gaels entered the night atop all state rankings and sat at No. 49 in High School Football America's latest national rankings, putting them ahead of all New York and New Jersey teams.

Saint Anthony's Timmy Longo (12) is tackled by Iona's Jaden Codrington (2) and Adande Nartey (4) after a catch and run during CHSAA football action at Iona Prep in New Rochelle Oct. 1, 2022. Saint Anthony's won the game 48-42.
Saint Anthony's Timmy Longo (12) is tackled by Iona's Jaden Codrington (2) and Adande Nartey (4) after a catch and run during CHSAA football action at Iona Prep in New Rochelle Oct. 1, 2022. Saint Anthony's won the game 48-42.

Player of the game

Dante Torres, St. Anthony's. The senior torched the Gael defense, going 27 of 36 for 470 yards and four touchdowns. He threw for over 200 yards in each half and added three short rushing touchdowns.

By the numbers

St. Anthony's (3-1) - Ian Strong, a Rutgers commit and the state's No. 2-ranked senior, had 12 catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Korey Duff Jr., the No. 3-ranked junior in the state, added six catches for 72 yards and a touchdown and had an 80-yarder called back due to a penalty. Timmy Longo had five catches for 113 yards, including a 71-yarder that set up the winning touchdown.

Iona Prep (3-2) - Sheppard went 14 of 23 for 326 yards and five touchdowns and ran 17 times for another 107 yards without committing a turnover. Ethan Acevedo caught five passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns and Michael Senatore had five catches for 78 yards. Colin O'Garro and Dylan Iorgoveanu also caught touchdowns.

They said it

"I'm not taking anything away from St. Anthony's. They are a great football team. I just think internally, for us, we need to lock in a little better and pay attention a little more. We had a lot of sloppy things going on. We have to play better than that," Spagnolo said.

Up next

Iona Prep will travel to rival Stepinac at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Crusaders (5-0) will enter the game unbeaten and have not allowed a touchdown in their last three games.

Josh Thomson is the Sports Editor for The Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Middletown Times Herald-Record. He can be reached by e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com, on Twitter at @lohudinsider, and on Instagram at @lohudinsider.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NYCHSFL football: Top-ranked Iona Prep falls to St. Anthony's