Sports

Iona’s dynamic duo decks Christ the King in high-scoring affair

Iona Prep's Cesar Ceja makes a move ahead of Christ the King's John Favara.

Iona Prep’s Cesar Ceja makes a move ahead of Christ the King’s John Favara. (Philip Hall)

Iona Prep's Stephen Elias takes a shot.

Iona Prep’s Stephen Elias takes a shot. (Philip Hall)

Cesar Ceja is the alpha male at Iona Prep, the dynamic striker who led the Gaels to a CHSAA Class AA state title and a city championship the past two years, respectively.

The Marist-bound senior now has a Robin to go with his Batman.

Ceja has taken blue-chip freshman Stephen Elias under his wing, showing him around school, giving him tips in the field. Great results are following.

“Cesar was Stephen,” Iona coach Marcos Monteaguado said. “He was the standout freshman. He walked those shoes. He knows exactly what Stephen is going through. I think that helps a lot.”

Elias had a goal and two assists and the Marist-bound Ceja had two goals to lead Iona Prep to an impressive, 5-3 win over Christ the King in CHSAA Class AA intersectional boys soccer Thursday in New Rochelle. Elias assisted on one of Ceja’s goals and the pair say they clicked almost immediately – on and off the field.

“He made me feel good, that I was welcomed to a new team,” Elias said. “That just made us have a connection and now we’re playing and we’re a problem.”

Added Ceja: “We both just love the game and we love scoring. The first thing on our mind is attacking and we just play that brand of soccer.”

Christ the King (3-3-0) was the victim of the twosome’s barrage Thursday. Ceja scored off an assist from Boston College-bound goalkeeper Alex Kapp in the third minute, Elias booted one past CK keeper Chris Nolasco in the 23rd minute off a Quinn Hefferon assist and Elias returned the favor to Hefferon three minutes later to give Iona (4-0-2) a commanding, 3-1 lead.

The Royals put in an own goal in the 30th minute, but they got one back when Peyton Atteloney converted a penalty kick with no time left on the clock in the firsr half after an Iona handball in the box. Federico Curbelo scored their other first-half goal in the 11th minute.

“Technically, they’re one of the best teams we’ve played all year,” Monteagudo said of Christ the King. “They have three or four tremendous players.”

In the second half, Ceja in the 65th minute, running onto a beautiful ball by Elias to make it 5-2 and Guiseppe Porretta scored for CK in the 78th minute off an assist from J.C. Obregon.

“We scored three goals against Iona Prep and Alex Kapp,” Royals coach Ovid Cusu said. “That shows that our midfield and forwards are going in the right direction. But you can’t give up five. We have to work on fixing ourselves defensively.”

Coming into this season, Monteagudo knew he had Ceja and Kapp, the two best players at their position in the league, returning. But after that there were plenty of question marks. When Elias transferred from Harrison, where he played varsity last year, the Gaels were ecstatic.

“We knew if we added him to our mix, it was gonna do wonders for us,” Monteagudo said.

So far, it certainly has been. A big week is upcoming, though. Iona meets Archbishop Molloy, who won the two previous city titles, on Tuesday, and St. Francis Prep on Friday after a game with Monsignor Farrell on Thursday.

“Any time you have the St. Francis Prep, Molloy week you know you’re in for hell,” Monteagudo said. “We talked about these three points. I can see Christ the King stealing points from some of the teams in our league, so this was crucial.”

mraimondi@nypost.com