Dante Torres, Dominic DiPalma lead St. Anthony's to victory over Kellenberg
Dominic DiPalma read his quarterback’s eyes and knew exactly where he wanted him to go in the right corner of the end zone. Once he did, an opportunity to end the game came soaring in his direction.
The senior wide receiver dropped down low, rolled and held onto the football, making St. Anthony’s a winner.
"My route was a post, but when Dante [Torres] gives you the eyes to go out, you’ve got to follow it," said DiPalma, who hauled in a pair of touchdowns, including the winner in overtime to seal a 50-44 home victory for St. Anthony’s over Kellenberg in their CHSFL flag football season finale on Saturday afternoon.
The Friars also won the Varsity B game, featuring the teams’ reserves, by a score of 58-40. St. Anthony’s concluded the season at 3-2, while Kellenberg, which entered the day unbeaten, finished 4-1. It was the final set of games for both sides, as the CHSFL will not feature postseason play.
"My expectations for our program, knowing how young we are, was for a lot of those guys to get better this season," St. Anthony’s coach Joe Minucci said. "It was a chance for them to learn our schemes and I think we accomplished that. And we got to compete which was also important."
Torres, a sophomore, found himself in the starting role in the day’s first game after senior Connor McCreery was ruled out before the contest. Torres completed 21 of 32 passes for 260 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception, and said he had to adjust during the final play after double-coverage forced him to look away from his primary option, Kenyon Miles.
"I was looking backside and Dominic wasn’t supposed to go outside," Torres said. "But I saw it wide open so I gave him a little head nod and he made a good catch for the wide open touchdown."
After an interception by Ralph Tocco and a 40-yard touchdown pass from Ethan-Kiyh Greenwood to Gilbert Rivera late in the second half gave the Firebirds a 44-36 advantage, DiPalma snagged a 9-yard touchdown pass, followed by a 10-yard two-point conversion from Miles to tie the score and force overtime.
The first of Miles’ two touchdowns turned out to be the highlight of the day. Completely covered, Miles snatched down a one-handed reception by the left, near-side pylon late in the first half to extend the St. Anthony’s lead to 24-12.
DiPalma smiled and noted how the play reminded him of former Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s famous one-handed touchdown catch against the Dallas Cowboys back in 2014. He also said, "It could be the greatest catch I’ve ever seen in person."
"I scared myself a little," Miles said with a laugh. "I really surprised myself."
After living up to his expectations, Torres believes the flag football season will benefit St. Anthony’s down the line when traditional tackle football intends on returning in March.
"I think it’s really going to help us out this year in our passing game and making quicker decisions," Torres said. "It’s definitely a great help."
