Stallone, Chaminade knock out St. Francis Prep for CHSAA state title

A fantastic game deserved a fantastic finish. And that’s just what Jon Stallone delivered midway through the second overtime to lift Chaminade over St. Francis Prep, 1-0, in the CHSAA state championship game Saturday at Belson Stadium.

Stallone hammered home a deep cross from Terence McGovern at the back post in the 95th minute as the Flyers captured their fourth state title, capping a remarkable season that includes the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA championship and a No. 7 national ranking.

“It was an incredible finish. Quite honestly, I thought it was going to PKs,” Chaminade coach Michael Gallagher said. “To win it during the run of play on a play like that, that’s pretty special.”

Special is also the word to describe McGovern’s industrious foray up the field to set up Stallone’s Golden Goal.

“He’s the left back so he went 70 yards,” Gallagher said. “I thought they were going to call a foul and the referee allowed the play-on, Terence got the ball across and Stallone hit a thing of beauty, didn’t he?”

St. Francis Prep coach Franco Purificato, who said it was one of the best high school games he’s seen in years, agreed.

“It was played perfectly and he finished it like a pro,” he said.

McGovern also thought referee Kenny Heller was going to halt play when Nick Codispoti was fouled, but the junior wisely decided to keep playing as the advantage was given.

“I saw the ball pop out and I probably could have let it go and it would have been a foul, but I decided to go for the ball and put it across,” said McGovern, who was already named a co-captain of next year’s team along with Chris Kanaval. “It got past a couple of defenders and Jon was there.”

McGovern didn’t spot Stallone across the goal, but he said the senior forward is a “ball magnet,” so he drove a low cross across the face of goal and Stallone did the rest.

“Words can’t describe it. It’s amazing,” Stallone said. “We’ve been waiting this whole season to finish it off with a state title and we did. It’s absolutely amazing.”

“This is amazing,” McGovern added. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”

The CHSAA state tournament was a chance at redemption for St. Francis Prep (16-3-0), which was the preseason favorite to win the Class A intersectional title, but were upset by Iona Prep in the semifinals. Sure, the Terriers missed out on another championship, but Purificato said he couldn’t have asked more from his team Saturday.

After playing with a more defensive formation in the first half, St. Francis Prep opened things up in the second and had two quality chances, but Chaminade goalkeeper Ricky Berotti made stellar saves against Frank Biordi and Danny Begonja after halftime.

“I think we played as good as we could possible play and we were just a little bit short,” Purificato said.

Meanwhile, Chaminade (18-1-3) won two titles in a seven-day span and answered just about every challenge this year, also defeating Martin Luther King, Beacon and storied St. Benedicts (N.J.). So where do these Flyers stack up among the other great teams in Chaminade history?

“I don’t know,” Stallone said. “But all I know is that we’re going to be remembered.”

dbutler@nypost.com