After being manhandled by Iona Prep over the past three years, Xaverian finally got their revenge as they showed off some impressive defense in a 37-16 victory on Sunday afternoon at Iona Prep.

“I feel like we labeled the Monroe-Woodbury game as the biggest win in school history, but I think this is bigger than that,” said Xaverian head coach Joe DeSiena. “In recent history we have never been successful against a top three team. We feel like this is a major step in the right direction for what we have in mind for the end of the year.”

WHAT IT MEANS: Xaverian is a talented team that has always competed but has had trouble in recent years beating the area's top teams. Sunday’s win over Iona Prep shows that they are one of the elite teams in the city.

“It was a big win, we definitely needed this one,” said Xaverian‘s quarterback Isaiah Kearney. “[Getting beat by them over the past three years] was definitely motivation. Coach told us that the team we had played over the past four years didn't compare to this one and we went out and showed that today.”

HOW IT HAPPENED: Xaverian made a statement early in the game when Kearney ran for an 80-yard touchdown on the very first snap of the game. Offense wouldn't come that easily all day though and they needed plenty of help from the defense which provided them with plenty of opportunities and a few scores of their own.

With a 10-0 lead in the second quarter, Xaverian rattled Iona Prep’s Mario Biaggi when they forced a fumble at Iona’s own two-yard line. Biaggi recovered the fumble, but he was clearly shaken after that as Iona was forced to punt just three plays later. Then Xaverian took advantage of good field position as they pushed the score to 17-0 after a 14-yard touchdown run by Tu Shaun Plummer.

They made it 24-0 after Kearney blocked a punt at the end of the half and returned it for his second touchdown of the game.

TURNING POINT: In the second half Iona Prep replaced Biaggi at quarterback with Justin Combs. The difference was immediate as it made it 24-8 in the third quarter after a 56-yard touchdown pass to Christopher Cooper.

However Xaverian’s defense wasn’t done with their impressive day as Rocky Iannocone intercepted a shuffle pass and returned it for 98-yards and a touchdown that put the game out of Iona Prep’s reach for good.

PUNT BLOCKING: Xaverian managed to block two of Iona Prep’s punts. They returned one for a touchdown. The punt blocking was a huge momentum changer for Xaverian, but more importantly they got into the head of the kicker and forced a few sloppy punts.

“We have defensive playmakers on the field that nobody gets credit for,” Iannocone said. “We are definitely underrated as a defense and punt blocking is something that we work on a lot in practice because it can be such a game changer.”

XAVERIAN HAS ARRIVED: “I definitely feel that more than anything for our seniors who got beat in the playoffs by Iona as freshmen and lived through a couple of beatings over the past couple years -- this is an arrival. It's a major hump that we made it over,” DeSiena said.

UP NEXT: Xaverian will face Holy Trinity at Mitchel Field next Friday while Iona Prep heads to the Bronx to take on Fordham Prep next Saturday night.