One team is making its 11th state semifinal appearance in program history but first since 2018 while the other is looking to continue its run to a second straight state championship and third in four years. Aquinas faces Section III’s Christian Brothers Academy in the New York State Class AA semifinals on Saturday, November 30. A 6 p.m. kickoff is scheduled at Vestal High School. Here’s the breakdown:
CHRISTIAN BROTHERS ACADEMY BROTHERS
(12-0 /No. 2 NYSSWA)
vs.
AQUINAS LI’L IRISH
(10-2 / No. 22 NYSSWA)
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JENNIFER LAEMLEIN.
How they arrived here: Aquinas defeated Penfield (35-0) and McQuaid (21-6) to advance to the Section V Class AA title game. The Li’l Irish then beat Rush-Henrietta (48-14) to capture the Section V title before defeating Section VI’s Lancaster (21-19) in the Far West regional. Christian Brothers Academy finished undefeated in the regular season and then beat Rome Free Academy (56-21), Utica Proctor (51-13) and Cicero-North Syracuse (21-13) to take the Section III title. CBA opened the state tournament with a 63-12 win over Elmira.
Players to watch for Aquinas: Trent Buttles So. QB (92 completions, 1,536 yards, 16:2 TD/INT ratio, 44 carries, 259 yards, four touchdowns); Derrion Battle Sr. RB/SS (219 carries, 1,393 yards, 12 touchdowns, 15 catches, 321 yards, four touchdowns); Jeff Logan Jr. RB/LB (53 carries, 460 yards, eight touchdowns); Thomas Levins So. WR/DB (22 catches, 296 yards, five touchdowns); Lucas Leone Sr. LB/OL (113 tackles, 11 TFL, two fumble recoveries, All-Time Section V Tackle leader with 440); Noah Collins-Howard So. WR/DB 20 catches, 472 yards, five touchdowns); CJ Flaherty Jr. OL/LB (83 tackles, seven TFL, one fumble recovery, one interception); Frank Burgess Jr. DL/OL (75 tackles, seven TFL, one fumble recovery, four sacks); Quante Gillians Sr. DE/TE (55 tackles, 11 TFL, 12 sacks).
Christian Brothers Academy: Brayden Smith Sr. QB (92 completions, 1,413 yards, 22 touchdowns, 44 carries, 130 yards, five touchdowns); Quentin Lewis Sr. RB/DB (67 rushes, 691 yards, 14 touchdowns, four receptions, 43 yards, one touchdown); Isiah Coleman Jr. RB/DB (77 rushes, 426 yards, six touchdowns); Austin Ariola So. RB/LB (88 carries, 592 yards, five touchdowns); Daunte Bacheyie Sr. WR/DB (16 receptions, 281 yards, eight touchdowns); Darien Williams Sr. WR/DB (38 receptions, 771 yards, nine touchdowns); Kieghlin Hicks Jr. WR/DB (nine receptions, 197 yards, four touchdowns); Javon Edenfield So. WR/DB (19 receptions, 165 yards, two touchdowns); Mekhi Mike Fr. WR/DB (six receptions, 92 yards, one touchdown).
CBA stats courtesy of HighSchoolSportStats.com.
Coaches: Moe Jackson (Aquinas Institute), Casey Brown (Christian Brothers Academy)
History 101: Aquinas is 9-1 in semifinals in school history (3-0 at Class AA and 6-1 at A). That includes a 37-34 win over Christian Brothers in 2001. The Li’l Irish last final four appearance came in 2018 (a 28-21 win over Cicero-North Syracuse of Section III). Section V is 4-0 over the past decade in NYS Class AA semifinals with other wins coming in 2015 (Aquinas over Liverpool, 17-16), 2016 (Victor over CBA, 42-13) and 2019 (McQuaid over Cicero-North Syracuse, 42-28).
Christian Brothers Academy is the defending Class AA champion and is looking to claim its third title in four years having taken the Class A title in 2021. The Brothers have a 4-7 record in state semifinal games having beaten Caledonia-Mumford (40-20) in 1997 and Webster Thomas (44-14) in 2004. CBA currently has an overall winning streak of 26 games.
What’s next: The winner faces either Christian Brothers Academy (II) or Corning (IV, at-large).
Leave a Reply