Friar Football Season Recap
The 2016 St. Anthony’s Football Team had a very successful season after many counted them out. After a rough 1-2 start, many wrote the season off as a disappointment. The Friars had lost two of their first three games in heartbreaking fashion, and the season could easily have started 3-0.
The team stormed back, however, winning their next five games en route to a regular season championship. Two weeks after a triumphant win over Archbishop Stepinac, the Friars came back from a 23-point deficit to beat Monsignor Farrell 29-23 with a stunning second half shut-out. With the win against Farrell, the Friars clinched the first seed in the playoffs as well as a first round bye.
Although slated to win, the Friars fell to Cardinal Hayes in a semifinal matchup. After a hard-fought match, the Friars’ season was over with a record of 6-3. Nevertheless, the 2016 season was far from a failure. Senior Quarterback Bo Waters started 3 games with 862 passing yards and 7 TDs despite missing multiple games to injury. Sophomore Gregg Campisi filled in for Waters and went 5-0 while throwing for 930 yards and 12 TDs. Senior Running Back Dion Williams ran for 536 yards and junior Sean Bryan ran for 467. As to the receivers, seniors Andrew Hancock, Terrence Mooney, and Tyler Palminteri led the team with 473, 378, and 371 yards respectively. Likewise, defensive leaders Dan Lord and Charles Barsella led a shutdown defense all year.
Lord, a senior defensive lineman committed to West Point, provided some insight on the season. “Everyone on the team connected throughout the year and became a lot more than just teammates but rather a second family,” said Lord. This camaraderie was evident when the Friars beat Archbishop Stepinac, two-time defending champions, at home in a triumphant victory. Lord said that his “favorite moment from the season would be our game against Stepinac.” Undeniably, the season had no shortage of dramatic moments.
Looking Forward to next year, the Friars will put together a promising squad. The team returns many starters on both offense and defense. The team will retain Campisi at quarterback and Bryan at running back while nearly the entire offensive line returns, while the defense loses only 5 starters. The Friars will become an experienced unit on both sides of the ball. The junior class is reinforced by a talented sophomore team which won the JV A championship. With the last two JV A champions combined, the team is poised to win St. Anthony’s first league championship since 2013.
Article written by: Mahon Walsh
Mahon is a junior at St. Anthony’s and has worked at Scoreboard since last spring. He plays on the varsity Football Team and is member of National Honor Society and Friar Faithful.
