Third time wasn’t the charm.
The second-seeded Xaverian football team fell 28–20 to Cardinal Spellman in the semifinals of the Catholic High School Football League A playoffs at Aviator Sports Complex on Nov. 11 — even though it took down the Pilots twice during the regular season. It was a bitter loss for the Clippers squad — which also defeated Spellman in last year’s championship game — and a difficult end for a season that exceeded expectations.
“We don’t have a junior varsity team, so these players have to transition from freshman to varsity,” Xaverian coach Mike Jioia said. “These guys performed beyond my wildest dreams. I didn’t know if the sophomores would ever get to this point. There is so much to look forward to for our program.”
Xaverian (5–4, 4–2) did its best to go snap for snap with Spellman’s offense as Clippers senior quarterback Julius Arcaro showed off his broad skill set. The captain did a bit of everything for Xaverian throughout the game, racking up yards on the ground and doing his best to fight the wind in the passing game. He rushed for a touchdown and threw for another — and his only miscue came late in the fourth quarter when a desperation pass resulted in an interception that helped seal Spellman’s victory.
Arcaro did his best to focus on the positives after the final whistle.
“Coming into this game we wanted to pull out the win,” he said. “But after the game coach reminded us that a lot of good things came out of this season and that definitely made it easier.”
Arcaro got a bit of help on the offensive side of the ball from sophomore Roberto Auguste. The running back was a bright spot for the Clippers in an otherwise disappointing loss, keeping his team in the game down the stretch with just under 100 all-purpose yards. Auguste also chipped in a rushing touchdown and hauled in a big-time 47-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Arcaro.
In the end, the Clippers just didn’t have enough in the metaphorical tank to slow down the Pilots — especially on the ground. Cardinal Spellman racked up 252 rushing yards and quarterback Jordi Mota didn’t complete any of his three pass attempts. He didn’t have to. Seven different Spellman players recorded at least one carry, led by Mota’s 52 yards and touchdown as well as Noah Stewart’s two trips to the end zone.
The Pilots noew advance to the Nov. 19 championship game.
Xaverian did its best to take the end of its season in stride. It wasn’t easy — particularly for a group of seniors who came up just short — but the Clippers refused to believe this season wasn’t a success. And the squad knows the future is bright.
“Winning the finals was the greatest night of my life,” Arcaro said. “We came up short this year, we’ve got a young team. We went up against a very tough team. We have a great program here and, I know there is a lot of good still to come for us.”
