NYPost.com high school football beat writer Joseph Staszewski expects Laray Smith to lead Xaverian to the CHSFL Class AAA semifinals again. (Denis Gostev)
Want to know the how the 2012 New York City football season is going to shake out? Below, The Post’s beat writers, Joseph Staszewski and Zach Braziller, look into the crystal ball, giving their “expert” opinions on some of the most important developments over the next three months.
Why wait until December when you can find out right here?
PSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Braziller: I was terrible in 2011. I picked Erasmus Hall to win it all and it lost in the finals. My Coach of the Year pick, Canarsie’s Mike Camardese, led the Chiefs to a solid season, though far from overwhelming. John F. Kennedy, my sleeper, was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
There is good news: My adversary, Joseph Staszewski, is even worse than me at making picks. This is like taking candy from a baby. I may be not get a lot right, but he’ll be even worse.
Jefferson’s Ebenezer Ogundeko is the city’s top prospect without a doubt, but his good friend Augustus Edwards is the league’s best player. The standout running back looks like Adrian Peterson in Tottenville purple and will also be wreaking havoc as a pass-rushing defensive end. Nobody was able to tackle him last year, and he has added speed and muscle to his Herculean frame.
Pick: Augustus Edwards, Tottenville
Staszewski: This will be the first time Braziller and I go head to head and I am glad he is underestimating me right from the get-go. I have no problem being the underdog. I also expect a big season out of Augustus Edwards, but Tottenville is about more than one player. Jefferson came into last season with high expectations and didn’t meet them until season’s end. Games are won with defense so I’m going with the city’s top player on that side of the ball in Ebenezer Ogundeko, New York State’s top prospect. The beastly defensive end will change games for the Orange Wave in the wide-open PSAL.
Pick: Ebenezer Ogundeko, Thomas Jefferson
CHSFL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Staszewski: Now we start to get into my area of expertise. There are a few names that pop out, from Xaverian’s Laray Smith to Iona Prep’s Shaquille Townsend and St. Anthony’s Anthony Anderson, but in my mind one rises above the rest. No one is more important to his team than Holy Trinity quarterback Chris Laviano. The Rutgers-bound signal-caller is one of the area’s top prospects and the Titans return the bulk of a young roster that came on late last year. His ability to raise the level of play of those around him and his cannon for an arm will lead Holy Trinity to a big bounce-back year.
Pick: Chris Laviano, Holy Trinity
Braziller: It’s the year of the Clipper, Joe. Laray Smith is the most gifted player in the league, and the dynamic running back will get Xaverian over the jump this fall, leading the Brooklyn Catholic school all the way to the CHSFL Class AAA championship game for the first time.
Pick: Laray Smith, Xaverian
PSAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Braziller: One of the best coaches in any sport in the city, Lincoln’s Shawn O’Connor has quite a job to do. He returns just five starters off last year’s city championship game, but the even-keeled and determined coach will get the most out of this junior-heavy group, leading the Railsplitters to a solid 6-3 regular season and the city semifinals.
Pick: Shawn O’Connor, Lincoln
Staszewski: Brooklyn Tech is the monkey in the room in the PSAL, the non-traditional power most likely to wreak havoc on the rest of the league with its bevy of Division I prospects. Fourth-year coach Kyle McKenna makes sure his club, which he has brought to this point, lives up to the hype and isn’t swallowed up by it. It will be a big year for another Brooklyn team as McKenna keeps his talented crew hungry and humble throughout the fall.
Pick: Kyle McKenna, Brooklyn Tech
CHSFL COACH OF THE YEAR
Staszewski: Tom Pugh has seen a lot in his time at Holy Cross. Last year he watched his young but talented club falter late in the year because of injuries and inexperience. He won’t let that happen again. Pugh will do a masterful job motivating his club and getting the most out of the array of offensive talent the Knights posses. Armed with the best linebacker core in Pugh’s lengthy tenure, Holy Cross returns to the CHSFL’s elite.
Pick: Tom Pugh, Holy Cross
Braziller: Tyree Allison has already changed the mindset of the football program at Christ the King. The former NFL lineman and Hofstra product is demanding full-out effort and accountability, qualities that will lead to a big season from Jordan Fuchs, James Coleman and Co. The Royals will find their way into the CHSFL Class AA playoffs and even pull off an upset.
Pick: Tyree Allison, Christ the King
PSAL CITY CHAMPION
Braziller: I’m sticking with the Dutchmen. They may be a bit inexperienced, but junior duo Khalil Lewin and Curtis Samuel will be unstoppable, E-Hall’s bigger up front – that’s usually a weakness – and it can actually throw the ball down the field this year. Coach Danny Landberg may not let me cover his team this year after seeing me make this pick, but he’ll be shaking my hand at Yankee Stadium in early December.
Pick: Erasmus Hall
Staszewski: I know I didn’t pick Augustus Edwards for PSAL Player of the Year, but that doesn’t mean I am down on Tottenville. No team in the PSAL has more talent across the board then coach Jim Munson’s Pirates. They also have the biggest chip on their shoulder after falling just shy of titles the last two years. If quarterback Brandon Barnes stays healthy, defenses will be having nightmares thinking of ways to slow down Tottenville’s potent attack. This group is too good not to finally get over the hump.
Pick: Tottenville
CHSFL CLASS AAA CITY CHAMPION
Staszewski: Every year we wonder if anyone can finally beat St. Anthony’s, the unquestioned kings of the CHSFL. This is the year. Iona Prep nearly beat the Friars twice last season and the Diddy distraction is no longer around. The Gaels and coach Vic Quirolo return a ton of explosive talent in quarterback Mario Biaggi, running back Shaquille Townsend and receivers Chris Cooper and Austin Jones. They will end up being too much to handle for the rest of the league.
Pick: Iona Prep
Braziller: I admire your guts, going out on a limb like this. Your pick, however, isn’t smart. St. Anthony’s is winning it all. Again. It’s a boring and unpredictable pick, but it will also be an accurate one. Coach Rich Reichert’s club is better than last year, when it won the CHSFL Class AAA crown anyway. Iona Prep is loaded and it nearly knocked off St. Anthony’s twice last year, yet nearly doesn’t count.
Pick: St. Anthony’s
PSAL SLEEPER
Braziller: The best high school football teams are the best ones at the point of attack. Sure, the skill guys are important, but not nearly as significant as the linemen – that’s why I like Sheepshead Bay so much. Division I prospects Rashaad Coward and Anthony Appleton and defensive end Deandre White will make the Sharks a big surprise, not only leading them to the playoffs for a 16th straight season, but deep into the postseason.
Pick: Sheepshead Bay
Staszewski: I got to watch John F. Kennedy in person last Saturday and there was a lot to like. The Knights have just enough size to compete up front and have some of the more unsung skill kids in the PSAL, starting with quarterback Anthony Cruz and receiver Tim Jones, a Cardinal Hayes transfer. The team has only gotten better each year under coach Andy Lanceberg and this year they take the next step.
Pick: John F. Kennedy
CHSFL SLEEPER
Staszewski: I picked Bishop Ford here last year and easily could have again. But coach Tyree Allison has begun to awake the Christ the King program, a sleeping giant. A lot hinges on the play of quarterback Matthew Gluick, but I’ll take my chances against anyone with James Coleman and Jordan Fuchs on my side. Allison’s discipline and experience in the NFL unlocks this bunch’s potential.
Pick: Christ the King
Braziller: You should’ve stuck with last year’s pick. Could’ve copied and pasted it, in fact. Bishop Ford is ready to do some serious damage after winning the CHSFL Class A title a year ago. Quarterback Xaviah Mattocks and running back Dante Aiken will be a treacherous duo for defenses to slow down as they will guide the Falcons to the ‘AA’ playoffs.
Pick: Bishop Ford
PSAL FINAL FOUR
Braziller: Brooklyn doesn’t just own PSAL hoops; it dominates the gridiron now, too, having won the last two city titles. I expect that trend to not only continue, but three of the four semifinalists will come from Brooklyn, as well. Brooklyn Tech may seem like a surprise of the four, but coach Kyle McKenna’s team is full of seniors – 25 to be exact – and has three Division I recruits in wide receiver Kyvaune Brammer (Buffalo), defensive end Thomas Plonski (Villanova) and wide receiver/running back/defensive back James Gales (undecided) that will lead the Engineers to one of its best seasons in recent memory.
Picks: Erasmus Hall, Lincoln, Brooklyn Tech and Tottenville
Staszewski: Braziller is on the right track here. I fully expect Tottenville and Erasmus Hall to return to the semifinals as arguably the two most talented teams in the PSAL. I am also on the Brooklyn Tech bandwagon, but just worry about how they will fair iin the later rounds of the playoffs. Still, I think they get through. The last spot is tough. I could see Curtis, Fort Hamilton and Jefferson all making run to the final four. I’ll go with the Tigers here because of pedigree and having something to prove after an early playoff exit last season.
Picks: Tottenville, Erasmus Hall, Brooklyn Tech and Fort Hamilton.
CHSFL FINAL FOUR
Staszewski: In my mind, St. Anthony’s and Iona Prep are expected to be here, and they will be again. The other two spots could go a lot of ways, from Xaverian to Stepinac and Chaminade or possibly Holy Cross or Holy Trinity. I’m putting Xaverian back in that mix after breaking through last year and returning Zach Kearney and Laray Smith. I’m torn between going chalk and just putting Chaminde in their or going out a limb. For all who know me, chalk isn’t my thing. Enter Holy Cross and my coach of the year pick, Tom Pugh.
Picks: St. Anthony’s, Iona Prep, Xaverian and Holy Cross.
Braziller: We finally agree, which means one thing: we’ll both be wrong. Iona Prep, St. Anthony’s and Xaverian aren’t surprises. The three are expected to reach the semifinals, if not get further, after getting to this round a year ago. Holy Cross, meanwhile, will rebound from a sub-par season last fall behind a special defense.
Picks: St. Anthony’s, Holy Cross, Iona Prep and Xaverian