After flying high against Holy Cross last Friday, Xavier came back down to earth. The Knights took a 21-14 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders on Saturday. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York football rankings (they are ranked 54th, while the Crusaders are ranked seventh).
Although Xavier took the loss, they still got scores from Elijah Stewart and Liam Averill.
Don't try to pin the team's loss on the defense: they kept the trenches locked down and allowed a mere 1.2 yards per carry. The team can thank Ryan Lavin for the heroic effort on defense: he. Xavier's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 3.2.
Xavier's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Robert Milacci, James Halpin, and Brady Metzger, who each picked up one sack apiece. Xavier got some further help from Lavin: he made nine total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Archbishop Stepinac to victory, but perhaps none more so than Nicholas Harrison, who picked up 41 receiving yards and two TDs.
Xavier's defeat dropped their record down to 5-2. As for Archbishop Stepinac, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record up to 5-2.
Coming up, Xavier will venture away from home to challenge Xaverian at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. As for Archbishop Stepinac, they will host Kellenberg Memorial at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
