Senior Night Victory over Eastchester Has John Jay a Win Away from Playoff Berth

After losing 14-7 last week to Pelham, John Jay stood 1-2 in the league and had no room for error.  However, their Senior Night appointment with Eastchester still had the Wolves in the driver’s seat. So the boys took the wheel and didn’t let their community down. 

Third place at stake, John Jay refused to blink. “It’s the kind of game we could have let down. But we came together, ran it off and got the win,” said Gerard Garofalo after the 34-21 victory.

There was no hangover after last week either, because Michael Mendicino made the introduction immediate. “I just read the route and took it forward,” said the senior of his interception that put John Jay at the 25. Two runs later, Christian Shapiro had his team in the end zone.

So the Eagles took the hint and clipped their own wings. A decision that went far on the heels of quarterback Frankie Provenzale and Dominick Sperandio. A fourth down incomplete from the 15 ended the drive, though.

Even so, Eastchester won the field position game and hemmed John Jay deep. The Eagles then evened the turnover line and the score. 

On first down from their own 35, Craig Galea was sacked and surrendered the ball. Two plays for Eastchester too, a keeper by Provenzale went to the 15 and Sperandio scored.

7-7 at 9:30, Jay responded by also putting the aerials on hiatus. No problem when you have a bullet train, and Christian Shapiro is the conductor.  

The senior took the kickoff to the 35 and then the handoff to the Eastchester 40. Two plays later, Shapiro rumbled 18 yards to the 13, and after a pass interference to the two, the workhorse made it 14-7 at 7:47 of the second.

226 rushing yards, the simplification of Coach Candarelli's job isn’t as obvious as all the ground gobbled up.  “Christian Shapiro is a special leader. The way he leads his teammates off the field is unbelievable,” said Candarelli. “In the classroom, in the community, that’s how he makes my job a lot easier.”

The whistle uncomplicated things on the way back when holding stopped Eastchester’s drive at midfield. John Jay was back there and beyond with the return of Chris DiChiara. No ill effects apparent from injury, the senior took the pass over the middle and scampered 27 yards to the Eastchester 43.

Unfortunately, John Jay stalled and the drive ended with an interception in the end zone. 1:25 left in the half, Eagles refused to let the Wolves pack it in.

A couple of completions and a run by Provenzale got the visitors to the 30 and a pass interference gave Eastchester one more chance from the 15. But the Wolves broke up the pass and escaped to the locker room.

John Jay didn’t let Eastchester have any sense of moral victory out of intermission either. It began on the kickoff when Austin Zaccagnino picked up the bouncing ball at the last second and got his team past midfield. An ineligible receiver seemed to derail the drive, but the John Jay train schedule said otherwise.

On third and 13, Galea hit Shapiro on a screen, and he made a determined sideline run for a first down at the 39. Two plays later, Shapiro burst through the middle for a 25 yard run to the two, and there was no surprise who went the rest of the way.

Four touchdowns for Shapiro, Mathias Baez had as many extra points, and the placekicker’s proficiency proved problematic for Eastchester. Provenzale kept keeping the ball, and the defense had no answer. The QB went in for the score at 5:38. But Cameron Wierl got a paw up, and the block left the score 21-13.

So Shapiro used all fours this time. A screen reception got the Wolves across midfield and runs of 14 and seven yards put John Jay at the 11. Unfortunately, the offense turned the ball over on downs, but there was still a long way to go.

Undeterred, the birds flapped, and Provenzale’s sideline loft to Gavin Mackin Berger landed at midfield. Runs by Provenzale and Sperandio paused the flight plan to the 30. But Aiden Schultz’s reception in the flat engaged the cockpit. The landing gear up, the receiver left John Jay in the dust, and he scooted into the end zone with 28 seconds left in the third. 

Down two, Eastchester went for two. A pass interference call yielded a second try, and Provenzale used his wheels to tie.

Nonetheless, on the next drive, a fourth and three at midfield might have sown some concerning doubt among the home crowd, but the play call probably didn’t. Shapiro ran right to keep the drive alive at the 45, and there couldn’t have been any shame in the breather that came through the air for the back.

DiChiara took a screen to the 32, and Zaccagnino pulled one in to set up a third and four from the 25. No surprise, Shapiro got the call and answered with a first down to the 18. An exhale all he needed, Shapiro ran 14 and four yards to give John Jay a 28-21 lead. 

9:13 remaining, Eastchester seemed to answer back by running the kickoff to the 43 but holding set the Eagles back to their 15.  A Luca Duva backfield tackle set the tone, and when Jacob Jones rang Schultz’s bell on the third down pass, Eastchester had to punt.

Of course, the play calls were still on automatic pilot, and Shapiro’s 24 yard run put John Jay in position for their final descent. Galea, who was 17-20 for 206, put the ball up from the nine and coming back to make the reception was old hat for Zaccagnino.  “We do that all the time in practice,” said the receiver. “Craig trusts me to go up and get it and I go up and get it.”

The playoffs, though, aren’t so up in the air, according to Candarelli.  “We win next week against Mahopac, and we’re in,” he concluded.

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