Iona Prep has been chasing this game for at least two years.
The Gaels are scheduled to open the season against upstate power CBA-Syracuse, which has won three straight NYSPHSAA football titles. If the logistics can be worked out, the public-private clash would be played Sept. 3 at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Last fall, Iona Prep posted repeat wins in the CHSFL and New York state Catholic school championships.
Christian Brothers Academy has won 41 consecutive games, most in dominant fashion.
“The coaches in our league got an email from Section III saying CBA was looking for games,” Iona Prep coach Joe Spagnolo said. “I responded immediately, still thinking it’s a game that would have a high level of interest and would be for the state and they agreed.”
During an October recruiting visit to Iona Prep, Syracuse University coach Fran Brown agreed that a game of this magnitude should be played in the Dome.
The school is currently pursuing three Gaels – safety Mamadee Sangaray, defensive end Joshua Simmons and tackle Dilen Mulaj – and former standout Zyian Moultrie-Goddard is a redshirt junior linebacker on the Orange roster.
“It’s being put on by the National Football Foundation in Syracuse,” CBA athletic director John Wleklinksi said. “All we know for certain now is that we’ve committed to the game on Sept. 3 and it looks like it’s going to be in the Dome. The other details, right now we are figuring those out.”
Section III schedules do not become official until the football committee votes to approve the slate early next month. Iona Prep dropped its schedule, which also includes a high-profile Week 1 game with Paramus Catholic at Mara Field, two weeks ago.
Here are three big-picture reasons why Iona Prep-CBA is a big deal across the state:
1. Hype
We know from experience there is no better way to open a new season. Getting two destination programs that have made all kinds of noise and collected all kinds of hardware in recent seasons on the same field moves the needle.
It creates debate. It generates excitement. It releases adrenaline.
We experienced the residual impact of a game like this last season when Iona Prep and Somers met in Albany. This is even bigger. You’ve got a controversial upstate public school champion in CBA. You’ve got a brash downstate CHSFL champion in Iona Prep.
Both schools have active fan bases. Both schools have vocal critics.
And while they have no shared history, Iona Prep and CBA long to be celebrated as the undisputed No. 1 program in the Empire state.
That’s a perfect setup.
On a stage like the Dome, this unprecedent game between reigning champions has the potential to bring curious players and fans together for a live-streamed kickoff to remember.
2. Motivation
There are simply too many factions across the state and not enough crossovers. Football schedules typically allow one week to color outside the lines. Fans would travel for Garden City and Somers or Fordham Prep and Rye or Massapequa and Mamaroneck.
Any break from routine is an opportunity to create a lasting memory.
“We’ve never played in the Dome before,” Spagnolo said. “For the kids from CBA it’s probably not a big deal, but for our kids, it is.”
Season openers can be sloppy and rarely impact playoff seeding. Why not schedule a matchup that keeps a team engaged in the offseason and creates the kind of buzz that brings the community together and inspires the next generation?
Anthony DeMatteo has made a Week 0 splash a staple for Somers, which got a lot of mileage from a home-and-home with Ramapo, New Jersey in 2023 and 2024.
The Tuskers spent an entire summer dialing in for last year’s Tunnel to Towers game against Iona Prep. And there will again be plenty of weight room conversation about this year’s Week 0 game against defending Class AA champion Mamaroneck.
3. Perspective
While there is an ongoing conversation, it doesn’t appear that NYSPHSAA will come up with a solution to private schools winning public school championships any time soon. There is statewide pushback each time CBA wins a sectional or state title.
And it’s not just a football issue.
Iona Prep and CBA both attract next level talent. If this game is competitive, perhaps the powers that will be motivated to increase the urgency of addressing the competitive advantages enjoyed by schools without boundaries who are in play for NYSPHSAA titles year after year after year.
Also, please let the game’s outcome break the longstanding New York State Sportswriters Association tradition of ties atop the final rankings. Iona Prep and CBA have shared the No. 1 spot each of the previous two seasons.
This is potentially an opportunity to definitively answer that age-old question, ‘Who’s No. 1?’
Mike Dougherty covers high school football for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Three reasons why Iona Prep vs. Syracuse CBA football is a big NY deal
Reporting by Mike Dougherty, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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