The Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders will head out on the road to square off against the Xavier Knights at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Archbishop Stepinac is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New York's top teams: Cardinal Hayes, who was ranked 12th at the time (Archbishop Stepinac was ranked seventh). The Crusaders walked away with a 14-6 win over the Cardinals on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Crusaders.
Richie Demarco
| 09/06/25 vs Central Catholic | 223 |
| 10/03/25 @ Cardinal Hayes | 88 |
| 08/30/25 vs Lincoln | 23 |
| 09/19/25 vs Chaminade | 12 |
| 09/26/25 @ St. Joseph-by-the-Sea | 10 |
Archbishop Stepinac's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Grayer Hong, who threw for 195 yards and two TDs. Richie Demarco did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 88 receiving yards.
Another reason for the win was Archbishop Stepinac's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for eight sacks. Leading the way was Elias Murray with three. Dean Gaughran was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making 11 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Xavier). They breezed past Holy Cross to the tune of 34-6 on Friday. Xavier hasn't had any issues with Holy Cross recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Archbishop Stepinac better keep an eye on Peter Heaney. He was instrumental in Xavier's win, rushing for 163 yards and a pair of scores on only 15 carries. Heaney's rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his fifth straight game with at least 103 rushing yards.
Xavier was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 324 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 220 rushing yards in eight consecutive games dating back to last season.
Archbishop Stepinac's record is now 4-2. As for Xavier, their record now sits at 5-1.
Saturday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Archbishop Stepinac has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 148.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Xavier struggles in that department as they've been averaging 290.3 rushing yards. There's a good chance Saturday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
