The Chaminade Flyers defeated the Fordham Prep Rams, 32-20, on a bright and beautiful Sunday afternoon at Cantiague Park in Hicksville. On October 6, the freshman Flyers, led by Coach Kyle Carrol, moved to 3-1 on the season, bouncing back after a tough loss to St Anthony's last Friday.
The Rams proved from the start that Sunday's match would be a competitive one by holding the Flyers offense to a quick three-and-out. Fordham Prep took advantage in their first offensive possession by throwing a 67-yard touchdown pass to take an early 6-0 lead.
The Flyers were quick to bounce back. At the end of the first quarter, Chaminade quarterback Christian Bekiers connected on the sideline to receiver Lucas Dillon, who turned on the jets for a seven-yard touchdown to tie the game at 6.
The Flyers kept the momentum going, with Quinn Fernandez pinning the Rams inside their 15-yard line on the ensuing kickoff. In the resulting series, the defense, led by lineman Enzo Stergion, forced a sack and put Fordham Prep back at their own three-yard line before they were forced to punt the ball back to the Flyers.
Chaminade's offense delivered on this great field position, with Dillon making an amazing one-handed reception to set up Mario Carone for a six-yard touchdown run. A successful two-point conversion resulted in an early 14-6 lead for Chaminade.
After a failed fake punt by the Rams, the Flyers backfield - led by Carone, Alfred Haffner, and Michael Gowen - drove down the field, with Bekiers scoring a touchdown to cap off the drive.
However, the Rams returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown of their own, bringing the score to 20-14 at halftime.
The Rams kept the momentum in the third quarter by tying the game at 20, though the Flyers defense came up with a key stop, stuffing the Rams on their two-point conversion attempt.
With the game still deadlocked entering the fourth quarter, Chaminade's defense repeatedly stifled the Rams, giving the ball back to the offense. The Flyers then drove down the field, with Gowen finishing the drive with a 10-yard score to give the Flyers the lead, 26-20.
With the game on the line late in the fourth quarter, defensive back Shaye Sykes intercepted a deep ball to give the Flyers possession in Rams territory. With time running down, Bekiers added another touchdown on the ground, extending the Chaminade lead to 32-20.
Sykes sealed the victory with his second pick of the game on the final Rams possession.
"It was a team effort," reflected Sykes after the game. "We do what we do in practice, and we come up big in games."
Coach Carroll was pleased with his players' resilience, stating, "We made a lot of mistakes, and it was something we overcame, so I am happy about that."
Looking forward to next week, the Flyers hope to stay hot against St. Francis Prep, whom they will play on Saturday at Cunningham Park at 9:00 a.m., while Rams hope to bounce back in their matchup against Monsignor Farrell.
