The Bishop Ford Falcons are champions — again!
The gridiron squad won its second straight Catholic High School Football League Class A title on Saturday following a resounding 49–6 victory over the Christ the King Royals in Uniondale.
Falcon quarterback Xaviah Mattocks completed two passes on the day, opening the game with a 48-yard bomb to Malik Warner — who made a diving catch in the end zone — and the running attack of Dante Aiken and Rodney Gonzalez combined for 199 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
The Falcons’s defense added to the excitement by forcing six turnovers, keeping the Royals to just 67 yards, but the players still has some regrets — they wanted a AA title.
Bishop Ford fell a win shy of finishing in the top four of its division, leaving the Falcons in the bottom rung of the Catholic High School Football League’s post season schedule. But the team believes it would have left players in the upper division quaking in their cleats.
“It was a little disappointing not to be in the AA playoffs, but we are where we are and we did a great job,” said Bishop Ford coach Jim Esposito.
His players, most of them juniors, echoed his sentiment, saying they deserved a mid-level playoff spot.
“We should’ve been a AA team, but it probably wasn’t for us,” said Aiken. “Hopefully we’ll be there next year.”
Bishop Ford’s hopes of playing a better caliber team may come sooner than it thinks: the Falcons are scheduled to play Xaverian, a top tier team, on Thanksgiving.
