Friars Football Cruises to 2nd Round

When your team scores a touchdown on its very first offensive possession, you have a feeling how the rest of the night will turn out.

A 53-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Charlie Raffa on their first possession set the tone for the Friars, as they crushed visiting St. Joseph's by the Sea Saturday night 42-8 to move on to the next round of the CHFSL Class AAA football playoffs.

Raffa's touchdown was scored just two minutes into the game after the Friars defense stopped St. Josephs on their first possession. The Friars would add another rushing touchdown just four minutes later on a 1-yard score by Mike Schillizzi, which put them ahead 14-0 after the extra point was made.

From there, it was smooth sailing for St. Anthony's. A touchdown pass from Raffa to Dariyan Riley put the gap at 21 with two minutes left in the first.   The Friars then recovered an onside kick at their own 30-yard line after a St. Josephs penalty set them back on the kickoff, and running back Brian Sherlock ran it in the endzone to make it 28-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Two more touchdowns in the second quarter from Sherlock and Raffa would blow the game open at 42-0 and allow the Friars to use their reserves for the rest of the game and move on to the next round with no problem. 

Heroes: Raffa and Sherlock. Raffa set the tone for the game very early, scoring the big rushing touchdown on the Friars very first play. He would finish the game with 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Sherlock was equally impressive, scoring two touchdowns in the win.

Turning Point: It had to be that touchdown by Raffa to kick off the game for the Friars. If you're St. Josephs by the Sea, that was the last thing you'd have want to happen, as a great start for St. Josephs could have really helped them try to pull off an upset. The touchdown really knocked the wind out of them.

Quotable: "We knew we had to come out hard and we got the job done," said Sherlock. "We just have to come out and have a great week in practice, and just did what we did today."

Bottom Line: The Friars moved one step closer to reaching their 12th straight appearance in the CHSFL Class AAA title game with little problem. Raffa and his offense were outstanding, and the defense only had a little trouble in the second half against the pass.

Key Stat: The Friars scored on all six of their first half possessions and outscored the Vikings 42-0 in the first half.

Who's Next: The Friars will play in the CHSFL semifinals next weekend.  The time and opponent are yet to be determined. 

CHSFL Class AAA Quarterfinals

Teams…………...............…..1.....2.....3.....4 – F

St. Anthony's……..............28…14..…0…..0 –42

St. Joseph's by the Sea…….0.....0.....0.....8 – 8

SA - Raffa 53 run (Doktor kick)

SA - Schillizzi 1 run (Doktor kick)

SA - Riley 13 pass from Raffa (Doktor kick)

SA - Sherlock 18 run (Doktor kick)

SA - Sherlock 1 run (Doktor kick)

SA - Raffa 26 run (Yacenda kick)

SJ - Diaz 4 run (Diaz pass from Scacco)