St. John the Baptist football pulls away to emotional win at home

The last few weeks have been incredibly difficult for the entire St. John the Baptist community. The tragic death of Bella Trezza, a senior at SJB, on Sept. 25 after a car accident sent the school into shock and mourning.

The football team was no different. Trezza’s boyfriend, Michael DeCicco, is a senior wide receiver and stepped away from the team following her death.

DeCicco was named an honorary captain and represented the Cougars in the pregame coin toss in their 49-12 non-league win over Holy Cross on Saturday in West Islip.

Maxwell Bowers completed 10 of 15 passes for 158 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 50 yards in the first half. He did not play in the second half after the team built a 42-0 halftime lead.

“We’ve definitely grown closer as a team and as a school community through this tragedy,” Bowers said. “We’ve been open hands with Michael and told him he can come back to the team whenever he wanted. When he came back, we all supported him and loved him. We’ve all been very close with him on and off the field and just been trying to help him through this tough time.”

Coach Philip Alba said he felt this week that the team was truly ready to move forward. Last week, the Cougars were oh-so close to a huge win but suffered a 39-33 loss to Fordham Prep in double overtime.

“I felt last week was probably the most crushing defeat of my career. Not because of me, but because I wanted it so much for the kids,” Alba said. “I felt like they deserved it and they didn’t get it. Today, to see us jump out on top and see the kids jump around and cheer each other on was very gratifying.”

SEE PHOTOSSt. John the Baptist vs. Holy Cross

After the Cougars’ defense forced a three-and-out to start the game, Bowers orchestrated a six-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Mangan. Two drives later, Bowers found Kevin Peters for a 14-yard score.

Facing a third-and-11 on the Cougars’ next drive, Bowers had Peters open underneath but fired a pass over his head to Mangan on a dig route in the middle of the field. Mangan outran the Holy Cross secondary for a 45-yard score to give SJB a 28-0 lead with 5:42 left in the second quarter.

“Peters almost thought is was going to him,” Bowers said. “The second that safety comes down, I’m throwing it over his head. Me and Brayden have that connection that we both knew the ball was going to him and he just turned on the jets and got us six.”

Mangan caught three passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns and Peters had five catches for 105 yards and two TDs. Peters’ second touchdown was thrown by Christopher DiBenedetto. Peters also caught a 36-yard completion from Maurice Scott.

“We have three great quarterbacks,” Mangan said. “All of them throw great balls and see the field so well. It’s easy for us receivers because they just put it right where it needs to be.”

On the Knights’ second drive of the game, Brandon Moloney tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage and Jovan Bonilla intercepted it and ran 30 yards for a touchdown. On the next drive, Bonilla batted two consecutive passes at the line of scrimmage to force Holy Cross (2-5) to punt.

“We were very disruptive to the quarterback in the passing lanes,” Alba said. “We’re known to play an aggressive style of defense. That’s kind of been our trademark and we’ve been needing to find that aggressiveness. I’m proud of the way we attacked the football and tackled today.”

Freshman Jahmad Jackson had a 60-yard TD run and Robert Holder ran for a 44-yard score in the second half. Wesley Osorto made five PATs for SJB (2-4).

The reigning CHSFL AA-I champs finally feel like they’re on the right path as the postseason nears. Regardless of how far the Cougars go, they will have Trezza in their hearts the entire way.

“We’ve just been caring and talking to one another even more,” Bowers said. “And we’ve been playing for her and using that as fuel to play even harder for the people who can’t be out here with us.”