9-19-08 HOLY TRINITY 62-13 W

St. Anthony’s quarterback Tom Schreiber runs away from the Titans defense. [PHOTO BY JAMES ESCHER]

BY JASON MOLINET

A throbbing headache forced Atiq Lucas to shut down early. As much of an impact as the senior running back made — is there a better player in the state in open space? — he was just one playmaker in an arsenal full at the fingertips of offensive coordinator Fred Gallagher.

St. Anthony’s was on a roll Friday night at Cy Donnelly Field in South Huntington, and it’s doubtful anything could have stopped the Friars. With MSG, ESPN radio and Newsday on hand, CHSFL rival Holy Trinity showed it wasn’t up to the task.

The result was a lopsided 62-13 Friars win. St. Anthony’s put the hammer down for the second straight week.

Lucas helped the Friars take a 34-13 lead into halftime with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown — his second in as many weeks — and a 50-yard scoring run. But in the end, seven different players reached the end zone for the Friars. Lucas was just one element of a downright scary juggernaut.

One player settling into his role better than anyone could have expected is junior quarterback Tom Schreiber. He had the unenviable task of replacing 2007 CHSFL offensive player of the year James Brady.

And he’s done it. Schreiber completed 6 of 10 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 78 yards on eight carries and two more scores as host St. Anthony’s (2-1, 1-0) overpowered rival Holy Trinity. By the way, those numbers reflect three quarters of work.

But if the Titans (2-1 overall, 0-1 CHSFL) took something from an otherwise forgettable night, it was the performance of first-year starter Robert Morrisey, who completed 9 of 28 passes for 126 yards and touchdown passes of 46 and 12 yards.

Morrisey was also at the center of the play of the night. With St. Anthony’s ahead 28-13 late in the second quarter, Holy Trinity drove 57 yards to the Friars’ 8-yard line. But on fourth-and-4, Morrisey took the snap, rolled right — and got leveled from behind by St. Anthony’s senior defensive end Rafiq Wallace.

So a chance to keep the pressure on disappeared. And when Friars junior quarterback Tom Schreiber tossed a 35-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive, so did all hope of beating the Friars.

MVP
How about the entire defensive front? Wallace gets credit for the most bone-jarring hit, but junior Robert “Bubba” Welsh looked impressive for the second straight week. And what can we say about backup Eric Peccia? The 5-8, 190-pound senior is a second teammer only because of his size, but he’s shown the drive of someone much bigger. Peccia swooped in and picked up a fumbled pitch and rumbled 19 yards for a touchdown. Did we mention that the Friars held one of the league’s most dangerous backs to under 100 yards? Yeah, these guys were MVPs.

KEY PLAY
The game’s first three offensive plays were all Schreiber. He froze the Holy Trinity defense when he rolled left and then took off for an 8-yard gain. Then came a 32-yard strike to Timothy Wine down to the Titans’27. Finally, Schreiber took the snap, dropped back, shook off a would-be tackler in the backfield and jetted through a crack on the right side for a 27-yard touchdown. I doubt Rich Reichert drew it up that way, but it was masterful execution.

SCORING
Team……………..1……2…..3…..4 — F
Holy Trinity………7……6…..0…..0 — 13
St. Anthony’s…..21….13….21…..7 — 62
SA — Schreiber 27 run (Ferrara kick)
SA — Schreiber 16 run (Ferrara kick)
HT – Johnson 46 pass from Morrisey (Dreiss kick)
SA – Lucas 90 kickoff return (Ferrara kick)
SA — Lucas 50 run (Ferrara kick)
HT — Walsh 12 pass from Morrisey (run failed)
SA — Schroeder 35 pass from Schreiber (kick failed)
SA – Carberry 12 run (Ferrara kick)
SA – Fiorvanti 33 pass from Schreiber (Ferrara kick)
SA — Corley-Woods 43 run (Ferrara kick)
SA — Peccia 19 fumble recovery (Ferrara kick)