By Anthony Bosco
Kern Collymore.
The star running back for the Monsignor Farrell Lions torched the St. Francis Prep defense for 262 yards on 35 carries to lead the Staten Island powerhouse to a convincing 26-6 win over the visiting Terriers Saturday night.
Prep, plagued by turnovers, shot itself in the foot time and again and offered little in return, allowing Farrell to run away with the win, literally.
“We had a couple of drives, we started to move the ball and turnovers took the momentum away,” said St. Francis head coach Vince O’Connor.
Prep quarterback Peter Mazzurco threw three interceptions, the first of which set up Farrell’s first score. Mazzurco was picked off by James Andrea near the Prep 40 and brought it back to the 12, setting up Lions’ signal-caller Scott Bacci, who connected with Eddie Pitre for the first of three touchdown passes.
Collymore scored his only touchdown of the day later in the first quarter from three yards out, as Farrell (2-1 overall, 1-1 CHSFL) widened its advantaged to 13-0.
The running back, O’Connor said, was simply too much for his young and inexperienced defense.
“We just weren’t up to the task of his speed,” O’Connor said. “Of the backs I’ve seen, he’s one of the best. He’s got great speed and he sees the field.”
Another St. Francis turnover, this one a fumble near midfield scooped up by Farrell’s Sal Salzarulo, set up the Lions’ third score, a 46-yard pass from Bacci to Pitre, making the score 20-0, which is how it remained until the second half.
The Terriers, now 1-2 overall and 1-1 in league play, finally got on the board in the third quarter when tailback Natale Modica, who has been one of the team’s bright spots this season, capped a drive with a seven-yard scoring jaunt to pull Prep with 14, 20-6. Modica finished with 76 yards on 15 carries.
But that was as close as O’Connor’s club would get, as the Lions finished off the day’s scoring with an 11-play 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter that culminated with a four-yard pass from Bacci to Pitre.
Mazzurco, who was seven-for-18 for 123 yards and three interceptions, also rushed for 20 yards, accounting for more than half of the Terriers’ total offense. And though Mazzurco struggled, O’Connor is confident he will rebound in time for prep’s next game.
“He’s experienced enough to know if we put the ball in the air, the possibility of the interception is there,” the coach said. “I think their execution beat out lack of experience.”
Tight end Mark Burik had five catches for 95 yards.
St. Francis Prep will take on longtime neighborhood rival Holy Cross in one of the season’s marquee match-ups Friday night at 7 p.m. at St. John’s University.
Moore Catholic 28, Holy Cross 6. The Holy Cross Knights fell to 1-2 on the season with a surprisingly lopsided loss to Moore Catholic Sunday. The lone highlight for the Knights was a 22-yard touchdown pass for quarterback Dan Meara to Rich Belot. Meara was 16-for-31 for 194 yards with no interceptions and ran nine times for 50 yards. Cross trailed 14-0 at the half.
Chaminade 30. Christ the King 21. The Royals continue to be competitive, but came up short again, falling to the Chaminade Flyers Saturday. Andre Redd scored twice, one a 97-yard kickoff return and the other a 20-yard touchdown reception from CK quarterback Jamar McCleany. Steve Morrison also scored on a three-yard run as the Royals fell to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in league play. Chaminade stayed undefeated with the win.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
