St. Anthony’s vs. Archbishop Stepinac Top Performers
In this article:
One of the most coveted matchups we will see all season in New York St. Anthony’s and Archbishop Stepinac produced one of the best football games we will see all year. Two of the top three teams in the state…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingOne of the most coveted matchups we will see all season in New York St. Anthony’s and Archbishop Stepinac produced one of the best football games we will see all year. Two of the top three teams in the state called for a mighty occasion as this game closed out the regular season for both squads after an exciting 27-21 win for St. Anthony’s. Both of these teams are on a collision course for a potential NYCHFL Championship matchup in which St. Anthony’s has the simplest road to after their undefeated record in league play. While Stepinac will have to go through the preseason #1 team in the state Iona Prep. As playoff hype continues lets jump into who were the top performers in this matchup of New York powerhouses.
Archbishop Stepinac has relied on the run game as a compliment to their elite quick passing game. However, against St. Anthony’s the game script flipped. An early fumble by Osbourne nearly excluded him from this list but his inclusion is because of how impressive his bounce-back was. Osbourne was the key to the 21-point third quarter from Archbishop Stepinac. He may not have had a touchdown or long run but he was the engine of the Stepinac offense. Osbourne had several impressive runs moving the ball for Stepinac when their passing game could not be found. Osbourne also made one of the most impressive catches on a wheel route along the side line where the defender was in perfect position but Osbourne held on. Simple as this, without the impressive 3rd quarter by Jordan Osbourne Jordan Osbourne 6’1″ | 205 lbs | RB Archbishop Stepinac | 2024 State NY Stepinac would have struggled to get back into the game.
Highlights
Korey Duff Jr Korey Duff Jr 6’6″ | 205 lbs | WR St. Anthony’s | 2024 State NY has had an incredible season that continued during this game’s first half. Duff Jr. made several sideline catches over defensive backs, some of which were out of bounds but still just as impressive. Duff’s highlight came on a 34-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dante Torres Dante Torres 6’3″ | 190 lbs | QB St. Anthony’s | 2023 State NY which put St. Anthony’s up 21-0 in the first half. Duff’s elite athleticism and ball-tracking skills were on display. Duff was so good that look how Archbishop Stepinac adjusted to play him on obvious passing situations in the second half. The entire St. Anthony’s offense struggled in the second half and that is part in due to the way Stepinac played Duff. Overall, Duff may have not had one of his signature statlines but his impact was clear.
Highlights
Thomas Mackell
Thomas Mackell
Thomas Mackell was a huge part of stifling the offense of Archbishop Stepinac. Mackell also had one of the biggest plays of the evening. With 1:08 left in the game, Mackell had a huge tackle for loss on a run by Lorenzo Robinson Lorenzo Robinson 5’10” | 200 lbs | RB Archbishop Stepinac | 2024 State NY for a loss of four yards. This play by Mackell essentially stalled the Stepinac drive, leading to their blocked field goal attempt. Mackell was exceptional all night and routinely was making plays around the line of scrimmage.
Jahi Gary Jahi Gary 6’5″ | 200 lbs | WR Archbishop Stepniac | 2024 State NY was quiet all evening until the final Stepinac drive. The Stepinac offense could not find any rhythm through the air meaning Gary was nearly invisible throughout the first 3.5 quarters. However, on the last drive, Gary made an incredible catch on third down to pick up over twenty yards and get the Stepinac offense in field position. Gary showed elite body control and was able to twist his body in an awkward way to make an extremely impressive grab while falling to the turf. Gary showed on that play alone why he deserves the offer he recently picked up from Old Dominion. A couple of plays later Gary also ran a crisp out a route to pick up some extra yards and stop the clock by getting out of bounds. Gary was by no means dominant in this matchup but when his team needed him he made two impressive plays. If Stepinac won the game, those plays by Gary would have been the most important on Stepinacs last drive.
Highlights
Fairly quiet on the offensive side of the ball Ian Strong Ian Strong 6’4″ | 180 lbs | ATH St. Anthony’s | 2023 State NY had an incredible game otherwise. Strong was one of the main reasons that the Stepinac offense struggle to throw the ball. Their patented short passing game was limited to mostly screens throughout the evening. Strong did not have many opportunities to make plays on the ball because receivers in his area were never open. A really solid defensive performance by Strong was capped off when he blocked the game-winning field goal attempt which was returned by Jaeden Jenkins for an 80-yard game-winning touchdown.
Highlights
Joseph DeChiaro
Joseph DeChiaro
Joseph DeChiaro was everywhere on the field for St. Anthony’s. DeChiaro was a massive reason that outside of solid 3rd quarters from Jordan Osbourne Jordan Osbourne 6’1″ | 205 lbs | RB Archbishop Stepinac | 2024 State NY and Deonté Douglas Deonté Douglas 6’0″ | 185 lbs | DB Archbishop Stepinac | 2024 State NY the Archbishop Stepinac offense struggled to get in any sort of rhythm on offense. DeChiaro had multiple solid plays on 3rd and even 4th downs routinely making Stepinac punt or turnover on downs. The St. Anthony’s defense has talent but it was a surprise to see them starch the offense of Stepinac the way they did. Much of that is due to the man in the middle Joseph DeChiaro. While it is good to mention the guys up front such as Preston Carey taking on blocks DeChiaro was fantastic around the line of scrimmage and stalled multiple Stepinac drives with his play.
Player of the Game
Although Douglas ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard he was essentially singlehandedly responsible for sparking an incredible Stepinac comeback in the 3rd quarter. In the third quarter alone, Douglas had 2 rushing touchdowns, 1 interception, and 1 onside kick recovery. Douglas, usually only a defender, was given the opportunity to run the ball when Stepinac made the call to switch things up and run the triple option. It paid off for Douglas as Stepinac’s offense started moving the ball with him and Jordan Osbourne Jordan Osbourne 6’1″ | 205 lbs | RB Archbishop Stepinac | 2024 State NY and clawing back into the game. Unfortunately, Douglas sustained a shoulder injury in the 4th quarter on a run in the RedZone and would not return to the game. Douglas’ exit would spell trouble as without him the Stepinac offense could not go back to the triple option which gave them so much success. No word on how serious the injury is yet but Stepinac will hope Douglas can return in the playoffs soon because he showed up against St. Anthony’s and gave our scouts and incredible performance to evaluate.