On a sunny autumn morning at Cunningham Park in Queens, first-year freshman head coach Kyle Carroll and his Flyers moved to 4-1 on the season, as Chaminade defeated the St. Francis Prep Terriers by a score of 30-0.
The Flyers opened the scoring on the game's second drive, using their ground attack to move down the field. Quarterback Christian Bekiers punctuated the drive with a 22-yard rush up the middle for a touchdown. Receiver Owen Murray then cashed in the two-point conversion to put the Flyers up 8-0 near the end of the first quarter.
After the Flyers defense provided another stop, the offense continued pummeling the Terriers on the ground, with running backs Mario Carone, Alfred Haffner, and Michael Gowen ramming the Flyers down the field, with Gowen ultimately punching it in from the one-yard line for the second Chaminade touchdown of the afternoon. Following the score, Bekiers converted another two-point conversion to give the Flyers a 16-0 lead.
Following that touchdown, the Terriers drove deep into Flyers territory, threatening to put points on the board for the first time. Chaminade defenders Enzo Stergion, Michael Cerone, Jr., Brendan Halpin, and Shaye Sykes all stepped up, however, with the defense ultimately forcing a turnover on downs.
Nearing the end of the half, Gowen broke loose for a 73-yard touchdown, putting the Flyers ahead, 24-0, after the team's third successful two-point conversation of the afternoon.
The Flyers defense continued to hold off the Terriers' attack, with defensive back Shea Owens grabbing an interception before halftime.
The Flyers came out after the intermission with the same momentum they had in the first half. Linebacker Timothy Dochnal recovered a fumble on the Terriers kickoff return, leading to another Gowen touchdown, expanding the Flyers lead to 30-0.
Chaminade's defense continued to hold strong and keep the Terriers attack at bay, highlighted by Sykes snatching his second interception of the day.
The offense ran out the clock with help from Haffner, Cerone Jr., Calvin Sullivan, and Braydon Schnatter to put the game away.
"The kids played great," said head coach Kyle Carroll. "They did a great job blocking and running the ball. Our running backs, Gowen and Carone, and our quarterback, Bekiers, did a great job moving the ball down the field."
"It was a great team effort," Carroll added. "The defense shut them out, which was awesome."
After his standout performance, Gowen, surrounded by his teammates, was humble, stating, "The whole team played great," and that he "couldn't do it without the great blocking."
The Flyers hope to seal a winning record for the season and move to 5-1 next Sunday at Archbishop Stepinac. Kickoff is 1:00. The Terriers, meanwhile, look to pick up their first win of the season on Sunday against Xavier.
