Mount 14
St. Peter’s 6
John Valentini has been going to Mount St. Michael football games for as long as he can remember.
“I grew up by this field and in this locker room,” the senior defensive back said. “I always wanted to play here and I’m so happy it’s turned out the way it has.”
Valentini came to The Mount four years ago largely because his father Mario was the football coach. He’s now the defensive captain for the Mountaineers and yesterday made another big play to help Mount improve to 3-0 in the CHSFL with a 14-6 win over St. Peter’s (0-3) in The Bronx.
The 5-8 Valentini made a key tackle on a bootleg deep in the Mountaineers’ territory to help prevent a St. Peter’s touchdown. Those types of plays have become typical for Valentini, as well as the rest of the Mount’s defense, which has specialized in making timely stops.
The biggest hit came on a St. Peter’s kickoff return, when Richard Passley leveled the Eagles’ returner.
As it turned out, the Mount needed all of those defensive stops yesterday to fight off a scrappy team that made a strong run in the CHSFL AAA playoffs a year ago. The Eagles had a 6-0 lead after a 61-yard TD pass from Dan Woodford to Rob Jenkins.
The Mount didn’t get much done offensively after halftime, but did enough before intermission for the victory. The most important runs came from Jamel Gray, who rushed for two TDs, one for four yards and another for 34.
“He’s been playing on a bad wheel, but he ran strong today,” coach Valentini said. “He gave us what we needed.”
Gray, a junior, has been hampered by a sprained right ankle that he suffered during the preseason. He has been able to score three TDs in the last two weeks.
“It’s been frustrating, but winning makes it easier,” said Gray, who had 64 yards on the day.
And it’s winning that makes the Valentini’s hour-long commute from Brewster to The Bronx school easier.
“I’ve always wanted to play for my Dad here,” said Valentini, who intends to play both football and lacrosse next year at a Division II or III college. “It was definitely a tough decision to come here because I knew how hard it would be, but it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made. This has worked out even better than I had hoped.”
That’s mainly due to John’s talent and work ethic.
“He’s made it easy for me because he gives so much,” said Mario Valentini. “I was worried about how he would be accepted and I knew there would be a lot of pressure on him because of me, but he’s handled it well and the other guys have accepted him as a leader. It’s been good for both of us.”