Xavier HS of NY defeated Connecticut-based Aspetuck over the weekend in a well-played clash of two teams with national championship aspirations. 

Both Xavier's 1st and 2nd sides took wins on St. Patrick’s Day. Junior lock Hanoi Nelson, who scored Xavier’s first A-side try, described the victory over Aspetuck best, saying “we came out explosive and we didn’t let up.” 

Xavier dominated the first half against the perennial club team powerhouse from Connecticut, scoring four tries in the first half with senior center Benedetto Loria, sophomore flanker Liam Averill, and senior wing Matthew Verengia each adding to Nelson’s score in the first half. Loria kicked two conversions on a windy day at Aviator Field that played havoc when the ball was in the air. Aspetuck’s defense gave up hard runs and good passing by Xavier.

Strong runs by centers Jason Champagne and Keane Horne, as well as Jaden Seabrook on the wing got Aspetuck intro scoring position, but miscues and Xavier defenses prevented any scoring by the visiting team.

“We came out to this game thinking we wanted a quick energetic first half,” said Xavier's Averill, “and that’s what we did. We spread the ball to reference points on both sides, we let the backs work, and once the forwards punched the holes through.”

The second half opened with senior prop Michael Mioduszewski scoring Xavier’s final try three minutes in. But Aspetuck was not going down without a fight and allowed no further scoring by Xavier in the game. The defense picked up in a big way, led by athletic efforts from hooker Nate Hirsch and flanker Aidan Bethray. Aspetuck kept the ball in Xavier’s red zone for over 25 minutes, scoring three tries in quick succession. The flurry was led by Larell Biggs at flanker and Luke Benway at No. 8 and featured an impressive series of back-and-forth passes between Horne and Seabrook across much of the pitch for a long-distance try.

Junior flyhalf Max Wyckoff noted the difference in Xavier’s play between the two halves. “In the first half, we played fast, smart, and strong. But in the second half, our defense could have been better. We were stuck in our red zone for a long time trying to get the ball out.”

“We are definitely a first-half team right now,” agreed Xavier senior captain and No. 8, Emir Yuksel, noting that learning to deal with changing field conditions was something that needed work. But the Knights' defense regrouped in the final few minutes and put the match away for Xavier 29-17.

Senior vice-captain Benedetto Loria praised his team’s physicality. “When you have guys, like the ones in our forward pack, that are going to come out and hit everyone at 100%, it makes it easy for the backs to thread the needle and be precise. We did that today.”

Head coach Greg Norris was impressed with the team’s play, particularly at the start of the game. “The boys made some good calls in the first half when we were playing with the wind. There was very good play by Michael Mioduszewski, Hanoi Nelson, and Liam Averill in our contact zone and our ruck zone.” 

However, Norris noted that the second half did not go the way the team had hoped. "I was disappointed with the second half. We didn’t realize when we changed sides the wind was going to have that much of an effect; we knew it would have some effect but we didn’t adapt or react properly to it.” Still, Norris said that overall the match was a good one. “We are playing at a pace that is close to what we wanted, we played some good and quick forward ball and there were huge positives in this match.”

For Aspetuck it was still early days as often happens with HS Clubs. They have talent and numbers and have already logged wins over Fairfield and Berks. This was a good learning experience for them.