Preview: Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders vs. Chaminade Flyers
Archbishop Stepinac is 9-1 against Chaminade since November of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders will stay at home for another week and welcome the Chaminade Flyers at 7:00 p.m. on November 3rd. One thing working in Archbishop Stepinac's favor is that they have now posted big point totals in their last three games.
Last Friday, Archbishop Stepinac faced St. Anthony's in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Everything went Archbishop Stepinac's way against St. Anthony's as Archbishop Stepinac made off with a 56-35 victory. Considering Archbishop Stepinac has won four contests by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Archbishop Stepinac's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jordan Osbourne, who rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.3 yards per carry, and also caught a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Lorenzo Robinson, who rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries.
Another reason for the win was Archbishop Stepinac's imposing defensive line, which managed to get into the backfield for eight sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Eddie Palumbo iii and Julian Ramos who racked up five sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Chaminade's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight loss. They received a tough blow as they fell 36-18 to Cardinal Hayes. While losing is never fun, Chaminade can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York football rankings (they are ranked 57th, while Cardinal Hayes is ranked fourth).
Chaminade's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Tyler Granito, who threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns, and Brendan Park who picked up 58 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Archbishop Stepinac's victory was their sixth straight at home (dating back to last season), bumping their overall record up to 7-2. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-7 Chaminade and 3-7 Monsignor Farrell (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 38.6% over those games). As for Chaminade, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Archbishop Stepinac has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 277.9 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Chaminade, though, as they've been averaging only 147 per game. How will Chaminade fare against such a dominant passing game?
Everything went Archbishop Stepinac's way against Chaminade when the teams last played two weeks ago as Archbishop Stepinac made off with a 42-21 victory. Does Archbishop Stepinac have another victory up their sleeve, or will Chaminade turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
