Prime NYCHSFL matchups you must see in the 2020 season

The NYCHSFL is the toughest High School football league in New York and these are some matchups everyone has to watch next season. We got AA and AAA matchups that feature some amazing talent and games that will be great to watch.
***No school appears more than twice and no particular order

Archbishop Stepinac vs Cardinal Hayes- These teams have met in the AAA championship 4 out of the last 5 years. This game will feature 2 of the best teams New York will have to offer. It seems like Stepinac is always one of the deepest teams in New York, led by Jayden Jenkins and a whole bunch of studs playing alongside him, the Crusaders will be legit as usual. Cardinal Hayes who has a bunch of thier own studs will a pose a problem for the Crusaders especially when Stepinac has to deal with Elijah Fuentas up front. Also for Hayes, Kuno Mendez might be the leagues best player and with Henry Belin who now has a ton of D1 offers throwing him the ball it can't get more entertaining than that. This is your classic Hayes-Stepinac game with a ton of talent everywhere on the field and always a very competitive game that has had some great finishes and could be a preview of the 2020 championship game.

St John the Baptist vs Holy Trinity- These are two of the smaller schools in the NYCHSFL but feature some real studs. This game features some of LI's finest as Jaden Sinclair one of the top DB's will have the responsibility to cover Christian Maisel of St John the Baptist who is a big strong receiver who had a great year last season. Jayden Louis of St John's is one of the top players on the island and Kameron Robbins of Holy Trinity is another great running back as well in a game that should see a lot of big runs from the two of them. This game could decide a lot for playoff seeding and of course Long Island bragging rights. Watching Elijah Tobin who is one of the top lineman in the state should be a treat in itself as he could change the game. The matchup of Sinclair and Maisel really highlights this one as a true WR-CB dog fight.

Iona Prep vs St Anthony's- On paper Iona Prep might have the best team in New York and they have a chance to run the tables this year. The Friars on the other hand will have youth and experiance but have the weapons to build a dangerous team. If the Friars are at home we could see an insane friday night crowd that Iona Prep has had trouble dealing with in the past. In 2020 watching the Gales is always gonna be a treat from being well coached to having arugably the most talent in the league next year led by Darius Wilson, Franklin Mcfadden, Alex Williams and other solid recievers along with a mean D line led by Khordae Sydnor the Purdue commit. St Anthony's has a lot of decisons to make on offense but the Friars defense will have a bunch of guys who can ball out led by Dante Antonie, Kieran Mckenna and Gio Silva accompanied by a strong 2022 class. The Friars D going against the loaded Gales offense will be a good one.

St Peter's vs Monsingor Farrell- One of the best rivalries in the NYCHSFL is finally back. The battle of Staten Island will be putting on a show in 2020. The crowds will be crazy the rivlary atomspehere will be alive and the talent won't disappoint. The tale of the running backs is what catches your attention right away when Kaiwan Taylor the definition of a power back for St Peter's and the duo of Aaron Espinet and Ethan Yak of Monsignor Farrell face off. It'll be a very well coached game as ground and pound hard hitting football will take place in Staten Island. This could decide who gets into the AAA playoffs and of course some Staten Island bragging rights. The student sections and the energy of this one will make it into a must see in person along with the great players.

Kellenberg vs Chaminade- A rematch of last years AA title game and one of the best up in coming football rivalries on Long Island. It should be a crazy crowd for this one. Featuring one of the leagues best RB's in Mario Fischetti Jr for Chaminade and one of the leagues top WR's in Maximus Mongelli for Kellenberg. With Liam McCormick now transferring to IMG, the battle up front is now winnable for Kellenberg and can certainly change the game. Will Ligarzewski vs Blaze Takvor is a matchup in the trenches that'll be one to watch. Chaminade will have to find a way to cover Maximus Mongelli but the Firebirds offense has to do it without Jordan DeLucia for the first time since 2016. This game will eventually come down to if Kellenberg can slow down the duo of Mario Fischetti Jr and Christian Alacqua, especially Fischetti who completely owned both matchups vs Kellenberg last season. Fischetti is the kid you have to watch as he's labeled as Chaminade's best running back in 30 years but in this one he’ll have to get help from his O-Linemen like Blaze Takvor, Henry Villa and Scott Macias.

Christ the King vs Cardinal Hayes- These are 2 of NYC's finest teams and could feature some of the best prosepcts in the state for the next level. Elijah Fuentas of Cardinal Hayes and Chris King of Christ the King are two d-lineman who will give offensive coordinators nightmares. Another matchup of the young star Tayvon Nelson and league leading WR Kuno Mendez has potential to be crazy. Noah Bodden and Henry Belin are two highly touted gunslingers with power five offers that will also put on an insane show. Kuno Mendez might be the most productive receiver in the league but Sean Wilson of Christ the King at 6'5 210 Ibs is a real must see in person as some scouts view him as one of the best pure prospects on the east coast. He isn’t the only one in that explosive CTK receiving core as Stanley Oxford is a guy who needs to be seen. The overall star power on both sides is something major college coaches will be watching and probably the most entertaining NYC football matchup of the 2020 season.

Archbishop Stepinac vs Iona Prep- This is one of the best football rivalries in all of New York and the matchup in 2020 will not disappoint. Not only is this a great rivalry but these teams are loaded for next season. At almost every position these teams have legit talent. James McCauley will look to make his mark leading Stepinac into a crazy environment at Iona in his matchup with opposing QB Darius Wilson. Stepinac has been a dynasty the past 6 years but this year Iona Prep enters as the favorite with a ton of experience and roster filled with talent. Your gonna see guys who can sling the ball, running backs who are some of the best in New York with Franklin McFadden and Jayden Jenkins and overall great skill guys everywhere. This has the potential to be game of the year for New York as it always feels like this game has an unbelievable finish. It’s the game that has the mix of a great rivalry and some of the best talent New York has to offer which makes this one special.

St Joesph by the Sea vs Monsignor Farrell- Finally we get to see the Staten Island teams go against each other in 2020 and St Joseph by the Sea will get a chance to showcase itself against Farrell who is known as the top catholic school in Staten Island. In this game you got a traditional hard nosed Farrell team who will be able to run the ball and they have one of the best playmakers in the league within Chris Field at WR/DB. St Joesph by the Sea is 100 precent the underdog here but Jackson Tucker can lead them to an upset victory. He is one of the top QBs in all of NYC and a kid you have too see in person as he’s an electric duel threat QB who can light up almost any defense in this league. Farrell's defense is no stranger to facing great QB's so that matchup should be fantastic. Matthew Cordero another guy on St Joes who has around 7 offers is a guy who is worth seeing. A Staten Island matchup that we are finally getting to see and could be a big statement for St Joes and a game for Farrell they need to win to make the AAA playoffs

St Anthony’s vs Christ the King- A game last year that had one of the best finishes of the year. Christ the King will now get its chance to get another victory in 2020 with star QB Noah Bodden leading the way once again accompanied by offensive weapons Sean Wilson and Stanley Oxford. Christ the King is one of the most heavily recruited teams in New York but St Anthony’s is the most overlooked AAA team with extremely underrated athletes. This upcoming year the Friars have a chance to prove they should have elite college interest when they face a Christ the King team with multiple highly touted prospects. For St Anthony’s, Dante Antoine has a real chance of proving himself to D1 coaches as if he stays as a corner his matchup vs top recruit Sean Wilson will be very fun to watch along with the battle up front featuring 3 star DE Chris King vs Mike Voltaggio. The battle up front on both sides of the ball could determine if St Anthony’s can beat the skilled Royals. This game will also probably decide who gets home field in the 1st round as this is a potential playoff matchup

A matchup the people need but don't have- St Anthony's vs Chaminade, its the best high school rivlary in New York regardless of sport and if these two faced off on a Friday night I promise you it could potentially break records for fan numbers. We need to see these schools collide on the gridiron. The passion in this game would just be different, St Anthony's vs Chaminade is something special.

Note- Matchups like CTK-Iona, Iona-Hayes and Step-CTK, St Ants-Hayes are all matchups you have to see but for this list a school couldn't be mentioned more than twice

25 Catholic High School football players on Long Island to watch

Here are my 25 catholic high school football players on Long Island to watch in the 2020 season. (Alphabetical order)

Christian Alacqua (JR) (Chaminade)- Chaminade doesn't move up any sophomores so Alacqua dominated on JV last season. He'll form a duo with Mario Fischetti giving Chaminade its most explosive backfield they've had in a very long time.

Dante Antoine (SR) (St Anthony's)- The best defensive back on this list. He'll be covering some of the best receivers in the state week in and week out next season. He'll look to continue the great tradition of star defensive backs that have played for St Anthony's.

Andrew Bardak (JR) (St Anthony's)- One of the hardest hitting linebackers in the 2022 class on Long Island. Dominant on JV last season and will be one of the stars of the Friars defense in 2020. He has the potential to be one of the best juniors in New York next season.

Kyle Chase (JR) (St John the Baptist)- Last season he proved to be a solid QB just as a sophomore. Showed great accuracy and the St Johns baseball commit also has some great athleticism

Griffin Chernoff (SR)(Kellenberg)- Most likely will play both ways, the Binghamton lacrosse commit will be the main option at running back in the post Jordan Delucia era.

Anthony D'Agostino (SR)(Chaminade)- Had a great junior year showing versatility, he will be one of the top guys for the Flyers defense next season

Matthew Dahill (SR) (St Anthony's)- Not sure which side of the line he'll play on next season but regardless he'll have a great impact for the Friars. He had a good junior season and is one of the most slept on players in the AAA division

Mario Fischetti jr (SR) (Chaminade)- Labeled as the best running back Chaminade has had in the past 30 years from Coach Dolan. He'll be the face of the Flyers offense once again next season as one of the best running backs on Long Island

Will Ligarezewski (SR) (Kellenberg)- A two-way lineman for Kellenberg last season will be the x factor for a firebird defense that underperformed last season in some games. He'll be paving holes for the run game offensively as well.

Jayden Louis (SR) (St John the Baptist)- He will be the best player for the Cougars next season as he is a playmaker in the open field with great ability to make people miss. He'll be the go to guy for SJB on offense running and catching the ball as well as contributing on defense.

Christian Maisel (SR) (St John the Baptist)- He'll be Kyle Chase's favorite target next season. A strong wide receiver who can go up and get it. The Rutgers lacrosse commit will be a key part of the passing game

Liam McCormick (SR)(Chaminade)-Solid combination with size at 6'3 270 and athleticism. He's gonna be the anchor up front for Chaminade and maybe the team's best defensive player.

Kieran Mckenna (SR) (St Anthony's)- Another hard hitter for the Friars. He can play multiple positions on defense and he'll show why he's one of the most underrated 2021 football players on Long Island

Connor McCreery (SR) (St Anthony's)- Standing At 6'5 the strong arm QB can have a great season for St Anthony's next season. If the O-Line gets it together and along with some great weapons in the 2022 class, McCreery can surprise the AAA division next season.

Maximus Mongelli (SR) (Kellenberg)- He'll be the number one wide receiver in this Kellenberg offense and one of the top receivers on Long Island. A solid route runner with good hands, he'll have to have another big season to help out Kellenberg's new QB.

Matt Moss (JR)(St Anthony's)- A kid who was great on St Anthony's JV along with Andrew Bardak which creates the best linebacker duo on long island for the 2022 class and possibly trio which would involve Michael Maguire. But Moss has the potential to make a big statement his junior year as one of the top 2022's on LI

Christian Oliva (Soph)(St Anthony's)- He played JV last season and he's one of the best linemen in the state for the 2023 class. At 6'2 290, the sky is the limit for Olivia who I would imagine gets the nod to start on the o-line for the Friars getting to go against some of the nation's top d-lineman.

Emilio Ramirez (SR)(Holy Trinity)- At QB for the Titans last season, he made some great plays showcasing his running ability and the shiftiness he has. With a lot of weapons returning Ramirez can have a big year

Gio Silva (SR)(St Anthony's)- One of the best defensive ends on Long Island. At 6'2 225 and great athleticism, Silvia can be a problem next year for offensive lineman being able to rush the passer and stop the run.

Kevin Silva (SR)(St Anthony's)- One of the top linebackers on Long Island, he'll be a key factor for the Friars next season and a leader for that talented defense.

Jaden Sinclair (SR)(Holy Trinity)- One of Long Islands finest at WR and DB. I see Sinclair having a great year on both sides of the ball but he has the potential to be one of the best DB's in all of New York for the 2021 class.

Blaze Takvor (SR)(Chaminade)- He is the top offensive lineman for the flyers he'll be the lead guy paving holes for this Chaminade team that is expected to run more than usual next season.

Elijah Tobin (SR)(Holy Trinty)- The top lineman on this list as he plays both ways and will be the leader for this Titans team. Tobin has the ability to change games on both sides of the ball I see him as already one of the best linemen in the state.

Dante Torres (Soph)(St Anthony's)- Not sure how the Friars QB situation will go but Torres is a stud. Already at 6'3 175, he had a great season on JV, and one of the best pure passers I've seen come through St Anthony's. He's bound to be one of the best QB's in the state when it's all said and done if he performs well against the big teams in the future.

Mike Voltaggio (JR)(St Anthony's)- He is one of the top 2022 linemen on Long Island. He'll anchor the Friars O-line and go to battle against some of the nations top d-lineman and continue to show why he's one of the best this upcoming season


Honorable Mentions- Kameron Robbins, Chris Annitto, Emmanuel Green, Thomas Kemp, Richie Hosein, Vin Fowler, Scott Macias  Thomas Sluka/Ethan Greenwood,

3 special teams guys to look out for- Rino Monteforte, Matthew Galante, Anthony Zaccaro