STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — It was just another day at the office for Petrides and its defense!

The No. 2-seeded Petrides Panthers posted their seventh shutout of the season as they punched their second ticket to the championship game in three years with a dominant 30-0 win over No. 3 seed William E. Grady in the PSAL 1A Conference semifinals Saturday.

Head coach Dave Olah, whose team dropped the 2023 title game, and his group will look to win its second championship since 2019 next Saturday, when they play the No. 4 seed East Harlem Pride at 10 a.m. at Eagle Academy II in Brooklyn. East Harlem Pride knocked off No. 1 Mott Haven 22-0 Saturday.

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HS Football: PSAL 1A Semi-Final Game: Petrides vs. William E. Grady, at Petrides Complex, on Sat. Nov. 22, 2025

“We haven’t seen them outside of film but they’re going to be a good team,” said Olah. “They’re well-coached and it’s going to be a good championship game.”

Petrides’ defense wasted no time putting its fingerprints on the game as its pressure on the defensive line caused Grady to botch the snap on a punt on the first drive of the game.

“The defense has carried us all year,” said Olah of his defense. We did a really nice job of stuffing the run and made teams have to throw the ball. Our secondary is good and tough so we make it tough on other offenses.”

The Panthers took over inside the 10-yard-line where quarterback David Lee was able to rush it in for a score and take a 7-0 lead.

Senior Michael Giordano did it all as he made plays offensively, defensively and even kicking.

Giordano not only rushed for a touchdown, but had an interception, caught a 40-yard pass and was 4-4 on extra points.

“I was very determined and motivated,” said Giordano of his performance. “Me and my teammates were ready to play and we came and made it happen. I give all the props to my coaches who put me in the right position to make a play.”

Petrides and its defense continued to make timely plays as they forced a fumble on Grady’s 5-yard-line in the third quarter.

The Panthers capitalized as Joshua Okwuabueze, who finished the day with 126 rushing yards, scored his first of two touchdowns on the day.

The defense cemented its dominance with a goal line stand at the start of the fourth quarter followed by a forced fumble.

Okwuabueze rushed in a 10-yard-score after quarterback Lee tossed a 40-yard bomb to Giordano.

“Those two are our seniors and captains so they step up and make big plays when they need to,” said Olah of Okwuabueze and Giordano. “You can count on those guys to make a play when it counts.”

The Panthers capped off the day with a safety to end the game as they held Grady to 135 total yards, a blocked punt by Elias Hardt and recovered by Kaden Manguel, two forced fumbles and two sacks.

“Really good game and that’s a great team over there,” said Olah of Grady. “Nothing came easy. We knew they were going to tackle well, not a lot of big plays so we had to grind it out and it was a great win.”

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