On a crisp October evening in New Rochelle, the Iona Prep Gaels celebrated their seniors with a 28-7 wire-to-wire victory over the Chaminade Flyers. 

It was the second week in a row that the Flyers had to battle one of the top teams in the CHSFL; they fell in a heartbreaker to Cardinal Hayes the week prior, 16-14. The Crimson and Gold entered Friday night's battle with a 6-2 record and a 4-1 mark in league play, tying them with the Cardinals and the St. Anthony's Friars for second place in the CHSFL. It was a huge game for the Flyers in their quest for a top seed - and a home playoff game come November. 

Iona Prep, the number-one ranked team in the state according to MaxPreps, entered with an overall record of 6-2 (5-0 in league play), putting them at the top of the standings. The Gaels were riding a five-game winning streak, with their most recent being a 42-7 romp over Kellenberg. 

Iona Prep had won the last 10 matchups against Chaminade entering Friday's game. The Flyers last defeated the Gaels in 2013, so they were hoping to end that skid as they headed to New Rochelle.  

Chaminade quarterback Tim Murphy's game got off to a frustrating start when his first pass of the game was intercepted off a deflection by defensive back Matthew Davitt, setting the Gaels' offense up in prime position to put points on the board early. 

Iona Prep made quick work of the Chaminade defense after the turnover. On the first play, quarterback Julian Guzman found running back Crew Davis on a play-action pass to the left, and Davis did the rest, pounding his way into the end zone to give the Gaels an early 7-0 lead. 

Davis came into the game ranked fifth in the league with 990 total yards - the top non-quarterback on the list. He added 107 more scrimmage yards during the game to put him over the 1,000 mark for the year. 

After a three-and-out by the offense, the Chaminade defense stepped up with a big play. After forcing Iona Prep into a 3rd-and-20, defensive back Daniel Landrem picked off a long pass from Guzman, giving Chaminade some momentum. 

Unfortunately, Landrem later left the game with an injury. Standout linebacker Will Handley also left the game for Chaminade, leaving them without two key pieces against a strong offense. 

After the interception on the prior possession, the Iona Prep offense looked poised to increase their lead. Davis had another signature play; he took the handoff and galloped his way in and out of defenders and brought would-be tacklers with him for 25 yards. Joe Wolf also added a 15-yard catch on the drive.

The Gaels worked themselves down inside the 10-yard line, but on fourth down Louis D'Agostino added another tremendous play to his stellar 2024 campaign, tackling running back Kadin Huling behind the line of scrimmage to terminate the drive. 

The Chaminade defense continued to stand tall against one of the CHSFL's top offenses as the second quarter began. Defensive backs Benjamin Bekiers and Nicholas Cuomo almost teamed up for what would have been a spectacular interception in the back left corner of the end zone on a long pass from Guzman, but Cuomo was ruled out of bounds. Later on the drive, sophomore linebacker Anthony Trapani was able to tackle the elusive Davis behind the line of scrimmage on third down, forcing a punt.  

After another Flyers three-and-out, the Iona Prep offense executed their next drive to perfection. Davis made himself known on this drive with a key reception on fourth down to keep the series going. Two plays later, at the Chaminade 12-yard line, Guzman found wide receiver Eric Pirrello on a back-foot throw over the middle, and the Gaels receiver motored his way to paydirt, pushing the lead to 14. 

After a solid punt return from Davitt, the Iona Prep offense was set up in Chaminade territory with just under two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half. However, they could not manufacture any more points. After a holding penalty put them behind the sticks, the Chaminade defense was able to force its second turnover on downs. They locked down the Iona Prep receiving corps on 4th-and-5, forcing Guzman to scramble out of bounds way short of the line to gain.

Despite the score being 14-0 at intermission, it felt as if Iona Prep was in complete control. In a sense, they were: Iona Prep had 141 yards of total offense in the first half, while Chaminade only had 12 - and no first downs. 

The Gaels stretched the lead immediately out of halftime. On a third-down play, Guzman hit Wolf on a streak down the left sideline - just out of the reach of defensive back Tristan Lombardo - and he took it all the way for a 60-yard touchdown, giving Iona Prep a three-score lead. 

Wolf was the leading receiver in the game for the Gaels, going for 90 yards on four receptions with that score. 

The Gaels were not done in the third quarter. Another strong drive soaked up six minutes of game time and continued to wear down the Chaminade defense. Davis had another key reception on fourth down, Huling added a strong 13-yard carry, and Guzman finished it off with his legs, keeping the pigskin on a read option for his fourth touchdown of the game to make the score 28-0. 

Guzman was dominant on Friday night. The junior quarterback completed 22 out of his 30 pass attempts for 212 yards and three touchdowns; he also added 14 yards on the ground with that score. 

Chaminade finally moved the chains for the first time with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Murphy was able to break through for a 32-yard run to put Chaminade in opposing territory for the first time. Unfortunately, the drive quickly came to a halt when Jayleel Stewart sacked Murphy, forcing a punt. 

The Flyers tallied a late touchdown in the fourth quarter on their best drive of the day. Murphy found Michael Genovese streaking over the middle for 42 yards to get the Flyers into the red zone, and they cashed in one play later when Murphy fired a pass to Michael Dietrich, who reached over the goal line to secure the six points. 

With the win, Iona Prep wrapped up at least a share of the CHSFL regular season title. 

The Gaels totaled 353 yards of offense, something unheard of for the Chaminade defense, who entered the game as one of the top units in the league. 

"Iona Prep's offense came out strong and executed well, and with our guys playing on a short week after Sunday's game, the wear-and-tear definitely affected us," said Chaminade assistant coach Nicholas Auriemma. "Credit to Iona Prep for showing up and playing hard. They challenged us in ways we're committed to addressing as we move forward."

On the subject of moving forward, Chaminade will finish out its regular season campaign with another Friday night game, this one in Brooklyn against the Xavier Knights at 7:30 p.m. Meanwhile, Iona Prep will look to clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs when they head down to Staten Island to play Monsignor Farrell - also on Friday night.