The Iona Prep football team was stunned by Monsignor Farrell, struggling offensively and suffering its first loss since September 2024.
NEW ROCHELLE - Well, on the bright side, at least Iona Prep will no longer carry the pressure of remaining undefeated.
That was one of the few quasi-positives to extract from an otherwise disappointing and frustrating evening for this football team.
As the Gaels hung their heads while ambling off the field, trying to wrap their minds around their first loss in more than a calendar year, a chorus of horns blared in the adjacent parking lot. That was the gleeful Monsignor Farrell fans celebrating.
After all, their team had just made some noise itself, pulling a 28-21 road upset of the defending CHSFL Class AAA state champions.
“The only thing we take from this is that it’s not the playoffs yet,” Gaels coach Joe Spagnolo said. “We’ve got an opportunity to fix it and improve.”
In a matchup billed as a meeting of the league’s two best teams this season, Staten Island's Farrell made a statement that surely turned heads in this area, and likely raised eyebrows throughout the state.
Bryce Moye threw three touchdown passes as the Lions built a 28-7 lead in the fourth quarter then withstood Iona Prep’s late surge in the waning minutes.
The Gaels lost for the first time since dropping a non-league game to Bergen Catholic last September. What followed was a 16-game win streak, which included a 35-15 rout of Farrell last fall.
The Lions (6-1) now are enjoying a turnaround season, surpassing their win total from last year with this victory. Iona, though, had been rolling and appeared capable of running the table.
The obvious silver lining for this team is that there is an abundance of talent and the dominance shown over the previous six weeks wasn’t a mirage. And, perhaps, a late-season hiccup provides a spark before the playoffs, reminding the group that it’s not infallible and that success isn’t guaranteed to them.
Turning point
Farrell went ahead for good, 14-7, on Bryce Moye’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Braxton Moye in the back corner of the end zone with 3:56 left in the third quarter. That throw followed an eight-second sequence in which the sophomore quarterback rolled to his left then scrambled back to the right while evading the pass rush.
The sophomore was pressured but showed poise throughout, buying time and finding receivers open, or completing passes despite being hit.
The Gaels entered averaging 42.3 points per game but struggled offensively. They had difficulty sustaining drives and, a couple that seemed promising, sputtered in the red zone. The Lions also forced three turnovers on downs and a potential go-ahead field goal was missed as time expired in the second quarter.
“(Farrell) played well, but we didn’t finish drives,” Spagnolo said. “The number of snaps we had and yards we put up in the first half, to only have seven points. We left a lot of points on the table.”
Both teams meandered in the first half and were tied at 7 at intermission, but Farrell struck on big plays and timely conversions in the second half, scoring 21 straight points to pull away.
Braxton Moye’s 33-yard touchdown run made it 21-7 with 32 seconds left in the third. He later had a 44-yard reception on a fourth-and-2, which set up Bryce Moye’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Tait that seemed like a back-breaker with 7:38 remaining.
Crew Davis’ 14-yard touchdown run had tied it at 7 with 5:47 left in the second quarter for Iona Prep. Julian Guzman rushed for two touchdowns in the final five minutes, but the Lions recovered the ensuing onside kick both times.
Guzman wasn’t sacked and consistently used his athleticism to escape pressure, but he wasn’t able to connect with his receivers downfield and the Gaels had few chunk plays.
“They did a great job of dropping guys into coverage and getting pressure,” Spagnolo said. “They had us off-kilter.”
By the numbers
Iona Prep (6-1) – Joshua Simmons had a sack and two tackles for loss… Orion Trujillo had a sack.
Monsignor Farrell (6-1) – Gianni Pasqulone caught a 52-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring in the second quarter.
They said it
“The pressure is off,” Spagnolo said. “We’re not going undefeated. But it doesn’t mean we can’t still accomplish our goals.”
Next up
Iona Prep visits Kellenberg on Long Island on Oct. 25 at 1:30 p.m. Monsignor Farrell hosts St. Joseph by the Sea on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m.
Stephen Haynes covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Iona Prep suffers first loss in a year, falling to Monsignor Farrell
Category: General Sports
