St. Joseph by-the-Sea head football coach Tressor Baptiste remembers what was going through his mind when he saw his team’s CHSFL 2024 schedule — which, after two non-league contests on the road, had the Vikings play four straight league games at home, before closing out the regular season with four consecutive away from Huguenot.

“We needed to win the Island games, for recruiting purposes; and I personally wanted to win the Xavier game, because we hadn’t beaten them since I’ve been here,” said Baptiste, in his third year at the helm of the Vikes.

Sea split with the locals, dropping a 22-19 decision to St. Peter’s in Week 2, but posting the school’s first-ever win last week over Moore Catholic, 14-6. As for Xavier, the Vikings made Baptiste happy by taking a 28-14 decision.

As for the unique league schedule — the road portion of which kicks off Friday night at 7 when Sea faces Xaverian at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn — Baptiste shrugged.

It did, however, raise some eyebrows among some of the players.

“It definitely wasn’t too appealing,” said senior safety/receiver Anthony Lavezzoli, one of the team’s captains. “You want a balance. Hopefully, we’ll be able to adapt to it.”

Sea did well on its homestand, going 3-1, with wins over Christ the King and Xavier before a hiccup against Fordham Prep (a 13-0 loss).

“I definitely don’t think we were looking ahead [to the Moore Catholic game],” said Baptiste. “Up to that point, we were averaging 28 points per game. Our offense performed below average. I felt that way during the week in practice, and the game is decided during the week. I should’ve found a way to reset ourselves during the week.”

Lavezzoli believes the team might’ve been guilty of napping on the Rams.

“I think we were slightly looking past them. We were coming off a big win over Xavier and had Moore coming up,” the senior said. “We had more energy for those games than for Fordham Prep. But that taught us a lesson, 100 percent.”

A great week of practice preceded the upset of Moore, which held a 12-0 all-time mark against Sea prior to the Oct. 4 clash. Despite it being a one-score contest, the Vikings controlled play thanks in large part to a suffocating defense.

“We came together as a team,” said the versatile Joey Moran, who plays tight end and tailback on offense, and outside linebacker and defensive end on the other side of the ball — not bad for one of the four sophomores on the varsity.

Another of the super sophs is QB Christian Carter, a transfer from Tottenville HS, who threw for 158 yards and scored a touchdown against the Mavs. “There’s a lot of pressure playing quarterback, but the whole team has been welcoming to me, they all believe in me.”

“It’s nice to have the young guys on the team,” said senior defensive tackle/guard John Munson. “We’ve taken them under our wing.”

“The younger guys listen to us more,” added Lavezzoli. “They’re doing great. I’m glad we brought them up.”

This mix of Vikings now eyes this four-game road trip beginning Friday.

“Xaverian plays a similar style to ours defensively, and they throw the ball a lot,” said safety Luigi Biondolillo, another of the senior captains along with Lavezzoli, Joe Solla, Dean Coscia and Tommy DiGregorio. “We just have to stay locked in.”

Baptiste stated he doesn’t set any preseason goals for his team. “I don’t want to overwhelm the kids at the beginning. But we have one now, and that’s to get out of the first round of the playoffs, something I haven’t yet.”