St. Anthony's football storms back, but falls to Monsignor Farrell in the CHSFL AAA semifinals
St. Anthony’s Sal Ranieri throws a 40-yard touchdown pass on a trick play against Monsignor Farrell in a CHSFL Class AAA semifinal on Nov. 13, 2026. Credit: Libby O'Neill
Three weeks ago, St. Anthony’s allowed 55 points and was run off the field by Monsignor Farrell.
Friday night’s CHSFL AAA semifinal was much different.
This time, Friars running back and Boston College commit Xavier Bala played defensive end. Receivers Luke Maurino and Rory McDermott played defense, giving the unit a spark.
The game came down to the final minute tied at 21, but the Friars came out on the wrong side of a clutch play.
On third-and-18, St. Anthony’s sent six players toward Farrell quarterback Bryce Moye. He just got the pass off, launching the ball to his twin brother, Braxton, in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown with 35 seconds left. Visiting No. 3 St. Anthony’s fell to No. 2 Monsignor Farrell, 28-21.
“I think Brayden Wood was a half a stride away from hitting the QB, and he got it off,” St. Anthony’s coach Joe Minucci said. “That was just two great football players making a great play.”
St. Anthony’s (6-5) trailed 21-7 in the fourth quarter before the Friars mounted a comeback.
Anthony Diieso found Maurino for a 9-yard touchdown with 8:12 remaining to trim the deficit.
The Friars then got the ball back. Facing fourth-and-4, St. Anthony’s dialed up a trick play. Diieso threw a screen pass to backup quarterback Sal Ranieri, who threw a deep pass on the run to McDermott for a 40-yard touchdown to help tie the score at 21 with 2:56 left.
It was Ranieri’s first play of the game, according to Minucci.
“I had full trust in Sal. As a team, we know what he’s capable of,” McDermott said. “I knew when we called that play Sal was going to deliver a great ball and get us tied up.”
“It was coming off of a timeout, so Sal had a couple seconds to just throw the ball around a little bit,” Minucci said. “We thought it was the right time. Fortunately for us, it panned out.”
The Lions then got their opportunity, and the Moye twins delivered the go ahead score. Farrell (10-1) recorded a pick on the Friars final drive to end the game.
The loss marked the final high school game for Bala, who finished with 128 rushing yards and added a sack.
The senior will head to Boston College after breaking Matt Hahn’s career rushing yards record at St. Anthony’s.
“He was a beast on the edge for them, and we were worried about that,” Farrell coach Rocco Del Priore said. “He didn’t want to go down last night. We hit him at the line of scrimmage a lot, and it ended up being a 4-yard gain. We'll be rooting for him at Boston College.”
