Chaminade QB Tim Murphy overcomes finger injury to lead Flyers past St. Anthony's for first time since 2021
Chaminade quarterback Timothy Murphy throws under pressure from Julian Coscia of St. Anthony's during a CHSFL game on Saturday at St. Anthony's. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Tim Murphy was a game-time decision.
The Chaminade senior quarterback injured the pointer finger on his throwing (right) hand in practice on Thursday and made a trip to the emergency room.
“I dislocated my finger and it was pretty painful,” Murphy said. “But there was no way I was missing the season opener with my guys at St. Anthony’s.”
Guided by an offensive line that afforded superior protection, Murphy, with his finger taped, led Chaminade to its second win in its last 13 meetings over St. Anthony’s. He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Peter Braz and added a 1-yard scoring run to help the Flyers upend the Friars, 31-28, in a non-conference Catholic High School Football League game on Saturday in South Huntington.
“I’m so proud of my guys and the way they pulled it together,” said Tom Claro, who won in his debut as Chaminade coach. “Our senior captains on both sides of the ball came through. I can’t say enough about the toughness of our quarterback Tim Murphy — he’s our QB1. And our offensive line led by Lucas Catoggio got it done against a great rival, great program.”
Chaminade’s last win over St. Anthony’s came in the spring of 2021, a 19-13 overtime barnburner. And the last time the Flyers beat the Friars in a fall regular season was in 1998. St. Anthony’s leads the all-time series, 44-15.
“I give them a lot of credit as they came out and played a very physical game,” St. Anthony’s coach Joe Minucci said. “We have to do a better job in practice moving forward.”
The turning point came with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter. Chaminade middle linebacker Dean Schmitt intercepted a short pass intended for St. Anthony's receiver Anthony Kenner and returned it five yards for a 31-21 lead, the Flyers' second 10-point advantage of the contest.
“I had a good read on the play and eyes on the receiver,” Schmitt said. “As soon as he released the pass I broke on the ball.”
St. Anthony’s answered with a six-play, 54-yard scoring drive capped by a 31-yard touchdown pass from Gary Merrill to James Taylor with 4:09 left. Merrill completed 14 of 19 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.
The Friars had a chance to tie it or take the lead late in the fourth as they drove deep into Chaminade territory. But Flyers' linebacker Kyle Hyland recovered a fumble at his own 24 yard line with 50 seconds left to clinch the victory.
“We gave up big plays on defense,” Claro said. “But we also forced some big turnovers.”
The Flyers opened the scoring in the first quarter on a Justin Jones 28-yard field goal. The kick capped a 15-play, 76-yard drive that lasted eight minutes.
St. Anthony’s answered 40 seconds later. Sophomore Xavier Bala had a 10-yard run for a first down before Merrill threaded a slant to Johnny Russo who turned up the field for a 31-yard touchdown that gave the Friars a 7-3 lead.
Chaminade answered with a nine-play, 76-yard scoring march. Halfback Peter Gerbasi scored on a 10-yard run to make it 10-7 with 11:49 left in the half. Gerbasi totaled 136 yards on 21 carries.
St. Anthony’s then went 76 yards in 12 plays, and on fourth-and-goal from the 20, Merrill rolled left and eluded heavy pressure. He hit Will Hart just inside the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass for a 14-10 advantage.
The Flyers then worked their way down the field — 70 yards in eight plays — before Murphy scored on a 1-yard run for the 17-14 halftime lead.
The Chaminade offensive line of center Christopher Knox, tackles Catoggio and Jack Pawlowski and guards Christos Katrakazis and Declan Miller controlled the line of scrimmage in the early going. The Flyers ran 32 plays in the first half and rushed for 223 yards. The Friars totaled 16 plays and totaled 125 yards over the first two quarters.
“It’s a tough way to open the season on the road at St. Anthony’s,” Claro said. “But look at us now.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
