No. 2 Donovan Catholic shows off high-powered offense against St. John Vianney

HOLMDEL – Kahden Davis is talented and intelligent

So, when you surround the Columbia University recruit and Donovan Catholic High School senior quarterback with the personnel the Griffins have, opposing defenses get put in a quandry over who to key on.

"We have weapons all over the field, literally at almost every position,'' Davis said Friday night after Donovan Catholic, ranked No. 2 in the Asbury Park Press Top 20 and No. 13 in the New Jersey Super 25, defeated St. John Vianney 45-13 in a nondivisional game. "We're very dangerous and versatile.''

Davis spread the ball around Friday. He completed passes to seven different receivers and was 15-for-21 for 223 yards with TD passes of 15 yards to junior T.J. Hunter, 57 yards to senior Aiden Kelly and 14 yards to senior Nyron Snerling. He also ran for 46 yards with a 2-yard TD run on six carries.

Complementing Davis was a rushing attack that saw senior Alex Staten run for 121 yards with a 69-yard TD run on 14 carries.

But, there is no doubt Davis, in his second season at Donovan Catholic after he transferred from Seton Hall Prep before the 2025 season, has a very good understanding of where the ball should go.

A perfect example was the two-minute drill at the end of the first half where Davis completed five passes in a 70-yard drive culminated by the TD pass to Snerling.

"He's calm. He's cool. He's collected,'' Donovan Catholic coach Dan Curcione said. "He's everything you want your quarterback to be. He's making the right reads of the defense. The first two games, he has played clean games. His demeanor and his leadership have been the reasons.''

Donovan Catholic has scored 97 points in its first two games in defeating defending NJSIAA South Group 5 champion Kingsway (52-7) in the Battle in the Boro at Rowan University and a St. John Vianney team that was coming off a dramatic 29-28 overtime win over 2025 Group 3 state champion Cedar Creek in the Battle at the Beach at Ocean City.

The only thing that derailed Donovan Catholic Friday night were penalties. It committed 10 for 110 yards, including four 15-yarders and three that called TDs back.

"We can be as good as we make ourselves out to be,'' Davis said. "The only thing beating us is ourselves.''

The game has slowed down for Davis and his teammates.

Last season, Davis and many of the other key players on the Griffins offense were all new to each other and to the offense Curcione and offensive coordinator Jack Nascimento. Davis also missed several games after he was injured against Holmdel in the second game of the season.

Now, the game is not going at 100 miles per hour for Davis.

"That's the biggest thing I definitely noticed with coach Jack (Nascimento) and coach Ellis' (assistant coach and former Freehold Borough head coach Dave Ellis) help with the offense,'' Davis said. "Just like reading the defensive keys, calling protections and hots (hot receivers when a defense gives a certain look), it's definitely slowed down and made it a lot easier to play the game and see the field.''

Davis said the play will come in from the coaching staff, but there are times he has the freedom to change at the line of scrimmage, depending on what he sees.

"I like that the coaches give me some freedom to call the plays,'' Davis said.

Curcione said Davis' intelligence helps everybody.

"He's the whole deal,'' Curcione said. "He's a smart kid and a really good person. He's the type of guy you want at quarterback.''

Davis' ability to read defenses helped out on the Hunter and Kelly TDs.

Hunter was wide-open in the right corner of the end zone to make it 14-0 with 2:58 left in the first quarter.

"He (Hunter) told me they make a defensive call every once in a while where the corner blitzes,'' Davis said. "They made that call. I pumped fake the bubble (the bubble screen) and threw the fade.''

Kelly, who had seven receptions for 103 yards, was wide open in the middle of the field to make it 21-0 with 10:05 left in the first half.

"Their safety got pulled over by a deep over route, so I knew AK was going to beat them with speed,'' Davis said.

Other scoring:

Senior Diondre Foendoe scored the Griffins' first TD on a 1-yard run. Senior Sal Reynosa is also a weapon for Donovan Catholic. He boomed a 47-yard field goal and placed five kickoffs into the end zone.

Jaheim Worthy took a bubble screen from Will Calcagno 80 yards for a TD with six seconds left in the first half Anthony Petracca had an 18-yard TD run for the Lancers, who are ranked No. 9 in the Asbury Park Press Top 20.

Donovan Catholic 45, St. John Vianney 13

Donovan Catholic 14 17 14 0 – 45

St. John Vianney 0 6 0 7 – 13

First Quarter

DC: Diondre Foendoe 1 run (Sal Reynosa kick)

DC: T.J. Hunter 15 pass from Kahden Davis (Reynosa kick).

Second Quarter

DC: Aidan Kelly 57 pass from Davis (Reynosa kick).

DC: Reynosa 47 field goal.

DC: Nyron Snerling 14 pass from Davis (Reynosa kick).

SJV: Jaheim Worthy 80 pass from Will Calcago (kick blocked).

Third Quarter

DC: Davis 2 run (Reynosa kick).

DC: Alex Staten 69 run (Reynosa kick).

Fourth Quarter

SJV: Anthony Petracca 18 run (Justin Campesi kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: DC: Alex Staten 14-121, Kahden Davis 6-46, Aidan Kelly 1-16, Diondre Foendoe 1-1, Ethan Nicolas 1-6, Carmelo Foendoe 3-(-1). SJV: Lucas Farah 3-46, Anthony Petracca 10-36. Corelli Thomas 4-6, Will Calcagno 2-(-3),

Passing: Davis 15-21-0-223. SJV: Calcagno 4-8-1-95, Petracca 5-11-0-51.

Receiving: DC: Aidan Kelly 7-103, T.J. Hunter 3-51, Nicolas 1-22, Tristen Garcia 1-15, Nyron Snerling 1-14, Alex Staten 1-10, Torrence Turner 1-8. SJV: Jaheim Worthy 3-86, Noah Fitzpatrick 3-27, Isaiah Shade 1-21, Kaji Brown 1-6, Ryan Convery 1-6,

Interceptions: DC: Kam McBride.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: No. 2 Donovan Catholic shows off high-powered offense against St. John Vianney