St. Anthony's reaches CHSAA AAA final with balanced offense, opportunistic defense
Kenyon Miles of St. Anthony's is congratulated after his interception during the CHSFL Class AAA semifinal against Chaminade at St. Anthony's on Saturday, Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Korey Duff Jr. sliced his way through the Chaminade secondary and quarterback Dante Torres delivered a perfect pass. The junior caught the ball in stride, broke two tackles, and spun his way into the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown.
The third scoring pass of the game for Torres came with 1:11 left in the third quarter, and St. Anthony’s went on to beat Chaminade, 41-15, in a Class AAA semifinal playoff of the Catholic High School Football League late Saturday night in South Huntington.
St. Anthony’s (9-1) will meet Iona Prep (10-2) for the Class AAA championship at Mitchel Athletic Complex next Saturday at 5 p.m. The Friars beat Iona Prep, 48-42, earlier this season.
“We didn’t run the ball particularly well against Chaminade the first time we played this season,” Torres said. “We wanted to establish the running game to help open the passing game. Our offensive line did a great job against a very good Chaminade defense.”
The St. Anthony’s offense rolled to 567 yards of total offense. The physical 1-2 punch of backfield mates Darius Morant and Frank Ruta carried the Friars early.
Morant finished with 143 yards on 20 carries, including a 25-yard touchdown run. Ruta had 91 yards on 10 carries, including a 19-yard scoring run.
“We take what the defense gives us,” Morant said. “If they take away the pass, we’ll run. And if they take away the run, we’ll throw it.”
Chaminade kicker Tim Tomlinson gave the Flyers a 3-0 lead when he drilled a 42-yard field goal with 9:16 left in the first quarter.
The Friars went to work on their first possession with a 13-play, 80-yard march, with 73 yards coming by the ground attack. The drive featured Ruta on five runs for 49 yards and Morant's two carries for 22 yards. Ruta scored on a 19-yard run for a 7-3 lead.
Defensive back Kenyon Miles’ interception set up the Friars' next score. Wide receiver Nick Matos caught a 41-yard pass from Torres in the end zone with 7:32 left in the half.
“Nick is a burner and he got behind the defense,” Torres said.
The air show was just getting started. Another defensive gem set up the Friars' next score. Rutgers commit Ian Strong blitzed and chased a scrambling Matt Dieguez, who tried to throw over the 6-4½ defensive back’s outstretched arms.
Strong deflected the pass into the arms of defensive lineman Thomas Mackell. St. Anthony’s capitalized when Torres found a leaping Strong in the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown and a 21-3 halftime lead.
“We made the big plays on defense,” said Strong, who added three catches for 56 yards and made four tackles and two assists.
Torres, who contributed 85 yards rushing on 13 attempts and a score, completed 12 of 19 passes for 248 yards. Duff had five receptions for 114 yards.
Chaminade’s Gavin Creo caught nine passes for 112 yards and Dieguez completed 15 of 29 passes for 195 yards and two interceptions.
But the night belonged to the Friars.
“Our line has it figured out,” Torres said. “Without them we are nowhere. I’m sure Iona will be a great game.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
