West Seneca, NY- Canisius’ quest for their first Catholic High School Athletic Association championship since 2019 came to an end on Saturday at Stransky Memorial Complex in West Seneca, where they fell to the Iona Prep Gaels by a 42-26 score.
It’s the Gaels’ second title in the last four years, and despite the loss coach Kraig Kurzanski stood behind his players’ collective effort.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Kurzanski said. “We've been through quite a bit as a team internally, in terms of losing one of our former players (Kevon Walker, who graduated in June and passed away unexpectedly recently). Two of our players lost their dad last week too. It's been a heck of a season, so to watch our guys battle like they did, yeah, that's what the expectation is. They gave us everything they had.”
The first half featured a shootout between the two teams. Following a long kick return a 12-yard pass from Julian Guzman to Matt Davitt on the opening drive of the game allowed the Gaels to strike first, but Elijah Kimble – a Connolly Cup finalist – scored from two yards out after taking the snap out of the Wildcat formation to answer back.
Again, the two teams traded punches. Crew Davis took a handoff 58 yards to the house for Iona Prep and Kimble found the end zone from 34 yards away. Yet again neither team would budge – in the second quarter Guzman found Joe Wolf for a 19-yard touchdown pass and Amir Hernandez found paydirt on a 43-yard run.
The Crusaders had a chance to take the lead late in the first half, when Hernandez broke a long run with less than a minute to go and was caught from behind. While in the red zone, however, a pass on fourth down fell incomplete.
“That was kind of the game right there,” Kurzanski said. “When we had a chance to take the lead at halftime and we missed from the 18-yard line on fourth down, it’s bittersweet.”
The missed opportunity led to the wheels falling off for Canisius in the second half.
Following an interception deep within Crusader territory, Guzman took advantage by throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Mamadee Sangaray to make the score 28-20.
Iona Prep then made it a two-score game. After a big run by Davis on fourth-and-two near midfield, he found the end zone from nine yards out a few plays later and he later iced the game with his third touchdown run of the afternoon on a handoff that went 54 yards.
Josh Kandefer and Jayhden Clark tacked on a short touchdown pass late in the game for Canisius. Kandefer, who had never played quarterback as recently as two weeks ago, had to fill in along with Aidan Falk for injured starter Matteo Brusco, who suffered a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder two weeks ago.
Brusco wasn’t the only member of the Crusaders’ walking wounded. Offensive tackle Mason Alnutt had dislocated his elbow and Kimble also pulled his hamstring in the second quarter.
“We were trying to run some Wildcat stuff because we didn’t have a quarterback, but when Elijah hurt his leg and then Amir had to take more carries when he’s playing every play on defense too, I just think we got worn out in the second half,” Kurzanski said. “That play right before the half, I don't think Hernandez gets caught from behind if he's not playing both sides of the ball, but he did.
“(Iona Prep’s) very good. That's why they're the number one team in the state.”
Despite the season not ending the way the team wanted to, Kurzanski thinks his juniors and underclassmen will take a lot from this season moving forward.
“I hope our guys get in the weight room on January 1, when we start the offseason program and I hope this motivates them in the long run,” Kurzanski said. “But when you put so much into something, that's all conjecture, the stuff about the future.
“Maybe some guys won't be here next year, I don't know. But I'm hurting for our guys today, because they gave us everything they had.”
Photo Gallery by Shawn Turri/WNYAthletics