High school football: Iona Prep, Stepinac hold first practices of 2024 CHSFL season

It’s officially high school football season.

The Catholic High School Football League opened practice on Wednesday, so there was plenty of activity on and off the field at Iona Prep and Stepinac, who open over Labor Day Weekend.

While the CHSFL got a head start on the 2024 season, Section 1 doesn't open camp until Aug. 24.

Here’s a quick look at where Iona Prep and Stepinac stand coming into the 2024 season:

Iona Prep Gaels

Head coach: Joe Spagnolo (ninth year)

Last year: 8-4

Returning starters: Seven on offense, six on defense.

Mission statement: Restore the standard.

Names to know: Rowan Byrne, Sr., OL; Crew Davis, Jr., RB/WR; Matt Davitt, Sr., DB/WR; Steven Dowdy, Sr., WR/DB/P; Gabe George, Sr., DL/TE; Julian Guzman, Jr., QB; Kadin Huling, Jr., RB; Micah Hunter,  Sr., NG; Terron Johnson, Sr.,       DB/WR/KR; Dalton Lozin, Jr., DL; Jayden Nicolau, Sr., OL; Brennan Pressley, Jr., LB/RB; Nathaniel Shillingford, Sr., TE.

Scouting report: After gaining needed experience and overcoming a string of injuries to impact players, the Gaels went on a postseason run that ended with a wild 30-29 loss to Cardinal Hayes in the CHSFL AAA championship game. That added optimism and motivation ahead of this season.

Graduation took away the likes of Jaylen Hicks, Sam Bisesi, Dylan Iorgoveanu and six others who are now competing at the next level.

Iona Prep has experienced playmakers on both sides of the ball. Joey Gaston has left the building and will be replaced at quarterback by Julian Guzman, who recently committed to play baseball at Maryland. He’s got a solid offensive line, anchored by Rowan Byrne, a Clemson recruit, and multiple weapons in wideout Steven Dowdy and versatile running backs Crew Davis and Kadin Huling.

Guzman has a lively arm, so the offense is likely to overcome some of the inconsistencies that were an issue last season.

There might be some gaps to close on the other side of the ball where defensive back Terron Johnson and defensive end Gabe George are the marquee talents.

Health is again going to be a concern because the schedule is demanding. Getting the newcomers up to speed is going to be critical to having success early on against the likes of Delbarton, Springfield Central and Bergen Catholic in Weeks 1, 2 and 3.

Quotation marks:

“(Our goal is to) win states. Same as every year,” Iona Prep coach Joe Spagnolo said.  “Win states and make a statement on a regional level. We had our minicamp two weeks ago, so we’re kind of hitting the ground running because we had four really good days together. Most of our personnel questions have been answered. Now it’s about putting pads on and seeing them with contact.”

“I think seeing that schedule, it makes you work harder,” Gaels tackle Rowan Byrne said. “You see that and you know what you’ve got coming in a couple weeks. The first game is in a little over two weeks, so every single day has to be a great day.”

“There’s definitely a little bit of dread (on the first day), but the excitement of getting back into the season, we’re another step close to working back to that championship game,” Iona Prep defensive lineman and tight end Gabe George said. “That was a heartbreaker (losing the championship) and it definitely motivated a lot of guys, so getting back to this stage, knowing we’re that much closer to working back there is definitely helpful.”

“I think (Guzman) is really good,” Byrne said of the Gaels new quarterback. “He executes really well. He takes control of the offense. He manages the football. He makes the right reads. He does everything you want a quarterback to do.”

“Our schedule is brutal,” Spagnolo said. “We’re playing six top 300 teams in the country and three top 100 teams in the country so for us it’s really a week-to-week journey. We have to get through all these walking car accidents and try to be healthy by November because that’s been the problem for us. We’ve walked into the championship games with a lot of key guys out.”

- Mike Dougherty

Stepinac Crusaders

Head coach: Michael O'Donnell (37th year)

Last year: 8-3

Returning starters: Three on offense, four on defense

Mission statement: Respect. Respect your opponents, respect your body and respect our school.

Names to know: Kemauri Guinyard, Jr., DE; Garrison Heslop, Sr., DB; Elias Murray, Jr., DT; Jesse Osbourne, Sr., RB; Julian Ramos, Sr., LB; Zaire Spellman, Sr., WR; Anthony Terilli, Sr., LB; Ethan Whitehead, Sr., G; D.J. Williams, Sr., OT

Scouting report: After graduating a massive senior class that included approximately 20 college-committed players , Stepinac has some questions to answer, but numbers won't be one of them. According to coach Michael O'Donnell, the Crusaders have 70 players on their varsity roster and nearly 120 across their freshmen and JV teams.

A lot of players on this Stepinac team had to wait their turn behind deep classes and talented individuals, but many are eager to make a name for themselves and leap into bigger roles. The Crusaders brought up plenty of players from last season's undefeated title-winning JV team, and it will be interesting to see how much that translates to the varsity level.

Others were on the varsity roster last year and are ready to make their mark.

There will be no shortage of speed, though. The Crusaders aim to play fast on both sides of the ball and reportedly have 5-6 players clocking in at 4.4 to 4.5-seconds in the 40-yard dash, and "others close to that range" per O'Donnell.

All four members of Stepinac's 4x200 relay team that won a CHSAA intersectional title and qualified for nationals, Zaire Spellman, Oliver Arius, Josh Genwright and Ian Thomas, are present on this roster.

Running backs Jesse Osbourne and Troy Baker Jr. are primed for a big season as a one-two punch, similar to Lorenzo Robinson and Jordan Osbourne last season, and will be running behind an offensive line powered by Boston College commit D.J. Williams. Spellman, a wide receiver, is a dynamic playmaker and is a big-play threat whenever he gets his hands on the ball.

Quarterback will be a key position to watch for the Crusaders, especially after the graduation of multi-year starter and the program's all-time leading passer, Will Currid. The all-state quarterback is now at Brown. All-state lineman Ryan Diaz and kicker Marco Graci have also graduated.

Defensively, Stepinac has to replace the production of four all-state standouts in Deonte Douglas (Central Connecticut), Sam Madu (Minnesota), Eddie Palumbo (Yale) and Kadear Dembele, who transferred out.

A clearer picture won't emerge until the season is under way. Stepinac will be tested immediately within the first five weeks of the season by Maryland schools McDonough and Archbishop Spaulding, New Jersey power St. Joseph Regional, and CHSFL foes St. Anthony's and rival Iona Prep.

The stage will be there for emerging stars. Until then, the Crusaders are hard at work in camp.

Quotation marks:

"They might not play their sophomore year on varsity or junior year, as much as they would like, so we're excited to see these guys come out and shine," O'Donnell said. "We're going to be young this year, because there were so many good kids ahead of them, but there's some really quality guys that are stepping into those holes. We always just come out here and get ready, and we do everything we can to make sure they're ready to go."

"A lot of people think we're the underdogs, because we lost a lot of guys, but we have a lot of guys ready to fill in their shoes," Osbourne said. "They might not know our skills and stuff, and they think we're not that good, but I feel like as a team, we'll be fine."

"This group is something different, this group has a lot of speed," Spellman said. "A lot of people running 4.4-4.5. It's a difference that separates us from other teams. Even the guys coming off the bench, everybody's fast, so I feel like that's a big thing."

"We have a good group of guys who know what we're doing, and we're just going to play fast, physical and punch them in the mouth," senior linebacker Anthony Terilli said.

-Eugene Rapay

Schedules

Here are the schedules for the local Lower Hudson Valley teams competing in the CHSFL:

Iona Prep

Aug. 31: at Delbarton (N.J.), 1 p.m.

Sept. 7: at Central Catholic (Mass.), 2 p.m.

Sept. 14: Bergen Catholic (N.J.), 7 p.m.

Sept. 21: at Stepinac, 1:30 p.m.

Sept. 28: St. John the Baptist, TBA

Oct. 11: at Cardinal Hayes, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18: Kellenberg Memorial, 7 p.m.

Nov. 1: at Monsignor Farrell, 6 p.m.

Stepinac

Aug. 30: vs. McDonogh (Md.), 4 p.m., at Salesianum HS in Delaware for Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic

Sept. 6: at Archbishop Spaulding (Md.), 7 p.m.

Sept. 14: St. Joseph's Regional (N.J.), 1:30 p.m.

Sept. 21: Iona Prep, 1:30 p.m.

Sept. 27: at St. Anthony's, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6: at Chaminade, 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 11: St. Peter's, 7 p.m.

Oct. 19: Monsignor Farrell, 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 26: Cardinal Hayes, 1:30 p.m.

Nov. 3: at Moore Catholic, 1 p.m.

Kennedy Catholic

Sept. 13: Xavier, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 20: Holy Cross, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 28: at St. Dominic, 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 4: at Mount St. Michael, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 12: at Cardinal Spellman, 1 p.m.

Oct. 18: St. Joseph's by the Sea, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 26: at Christ the King, 1 p.m.

Nov. 2: at Xaverian, 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: High school football: Iona Prep, Stepinac hold first practices of 2024 CHSFL season