In each of Chaminade's first three road games, the final score was decided by no more than three points. On Friday night at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in northern Manhattan, it was another close call.
Just before the two-minute mark in the final frame, Cardinal Hayes regained the lead for the first time since the third quarter on a touchdown reception by Aiden Howard. Now trailing by four, the Flyers needed some magic.
Fortunately, Chaminade's offense was at its best in crunch time, as QB Sean Carnevale hit his receivers left and right for big plays. The drive culminated with a six-yard TD catch by Nicholas Sweeney to put the Crimson and Gold back in front.
The touchdown catch was only the second reception of the season for Sweeney, who has played sparingly in his first year on the varsity squad.
"Honestly, I was just looking at the scoreboard, and I was trying to do whatever I can to help the team win," he said. "I wanted to come up big."
Still, there were some anxious moments remaining for all in attendance at the home of the Columbia Lions. A fantastic return on the ensuing kickoff put the Cardinal Hayes offense at the Chaminade 25-yard line with 30 seconds left. However, just two plays later, Nicholas Fochetta hauled in a game-ending interception at the goal line to lock down a 21-18 Chaminade win.
"I knew we were family, and I knew we were going to stick together," said Fochetta regarding the final drive. "This is a brotherhood; all we do is preach that every day. We are gritty guys, and we got the job done."
"Huge," said Chaminade head coach Tom Claro on the importance of Friday's victory. "This is the time of the year where you have to play well. I want this to be a big springboard. Let's use this great feeling and take it to next week."
The Flyers were on their heels right out of the gate, as the one-win Cardinals blitzed them with 12 quick points. Running back Khalid Hedges had quite the opening quarter, rushing for over 100 yards with two scores - one of which was an 82-yard burst.
The Cardinals nearly scored for a third time in the initial quarter, but Benjamin Bekiers came to the rescue with a goal-line pick. That play ended up being a game-changer, as the Chaminade defense buckled down from there and kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard until late in the contest.
"When you come out flat, that's the outcome you're going to get. Twelve points was really not what we wanted," reflected linebacker Luca Smith. "When we brought the energy back through takeaways and turnovers, that's when we really played our real football."
"Early on, they made some big plays and they were running the football very well. Then, as we do, we tightened up. We changed a few things, and Coach Elder and the D did a great job," said Claro. "They kept us in this game until the very end and gave the offense a lot of chances."
Chaminade's first points of the game were courtesy of the special teams unit, as they blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety to make it 12-2.
Despite struggling mightily in the first quarter, the Chaminade offense came to life in the second with a pair of scoring drives.
At the halfway point of the frame, Sean Powers reeled in his sixth score of the season with a toe-drag grab in the back corner of the end zone. A blocked PAT kept the score 12-8.
To finish off the half, Justin Jones drilled a 31-yard field goal to send the game to intermission with an unconventional score of 12-11.
Chaminade opened the second half with another field goal - this one from 23 yards out - to gain their first lead of the contest, 14-12. The game stayed this way until the final three minutes, as the two defenses continued to dominate.
With the win, Chaminade moved to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in league play. However, they still find themselves in fifth place with one game left on the schedule. As for the Cardinals, they dropped to 1-6 overall and 0-5 in league play, a far cry from 2023's state championship team. They are now officially locked in as the sixth seed for the AAA playoffs.
In other AAA action from this past weekend, St. Anthony's defeated Stepinac on the road, 49-21. This result was not only significant to those two squads, but also to Chaminade and Hayes. The Friars' win enabled them to move into third place, ahead of the Crusaders. As a result, if the standings remain the same after this upcoming week's games, Chaminade would travel to White Plains to play Stepinac, while Hayes would journey to South Huntington to take on St. Anthony's in the first round.
Next weekend, Chaminade will visit Kellenberg, Cardinal Hayes will travel to Monsignor Farrell, Stepinac will take on Iona Prep, and St. Anthony's will battle Fordham Prep.
By next Saturday's end, the playoffs will be set in stone, and the chaos will commence.
