St. Anthony's receiver Korey Duff Jr. has eyes set on Friars' state championship repeat
KJ Duff #1 of St. Anthony's returns the opening kick 95 yards for a touchdown during a non-league football game against Delbarton (NJ) at St. Anthony's High School on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023. Credit: James Escher
It was just brutally windy and cold, not the best feeling. Yet that late-November night in the Buffalo suburbs ended with the best feeling in the world for St. Anthony’s.
The Friars rallied from a 20-point deficit to claim the program’s first Catholic Class AAA state title, which paired nicely with their first CHSFL AAA crown in nine years.
That was a special 11-1 football team last season.
And now?
“We’re definitely looking to repeat . . . league and state championship,” said Korey Duff Jr., their exceptional first-team All-Long Island senior receiver.
The trick becomes doing it with some younger guys in the mix and without Duff’s good friend at quarterback. Dante Torres threw for 3,364 yards — second in Long Island history — and 32 TDs. The Gatorade New York Player of the Year ran for 13 more.
Now he’s a Harvard man.
The Friars fell to visiting New Jersey power Delbarton, 34-13, in Saturday’s opener. Sophomore Peyton Robinson started at QB but shared the role with junior Gary Merrill.
“I think we’re confident in the abilities of both of those guys,” coach Joe Minucci said. “They shouldn’t want to be Dante Torres. They just should have to be who they are.”
Minucci said the running back position “is similar to the QB spot; it will be running back by committee.”
The committee is running behind a line that features senior right tackle Christopher Novelli, junior left tackle Matthew McGregor and junior center Billy Dowling.
Then there’s the 6-4 tight end, Stony Brook-bound senior Alex Menghi, who made 22 catches last season.
The 6-5 Duff, who caught 42 passes for 995 yards and 12 touchdowns, said the offense “could be very good.”
He’s in a very good place after committing to Rutgers in June.
“I feel like a weight [is] off the shoulders,” Duff said. “Anyone that was close to me, kind of in my inner circle, knew how stressful it was coming down to making my commitment.”
Preston Carey started as a freshman at defensive tackle. He already has 26 FBS offers, including Georgia, LSU and Ohio State. And he has improved.
“I’ve always had my strength as a gift,” the 6-5, 285-pound sophomore said, “and I think this past offseason I’ve definitely got the technical part down.”
Senior linebackers Sam Cook and Dante Vardaro also are players to watch defensively.
Ultimately, Carey thinks that “we’ll have no problem being just as good as last year on the defensive side.”
