SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A backup quarterback throwing a halfback option. A first-year receiver running a play that hadn’t worked for him all season. And coverage by the other team’s play-making defensive back.
Not much that could go wrong with that formula, huh?
But somehow North Tonawanda stitched the elements together for a 12-yard touchdown pass and won the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA championship 14-7 over New Rochelle on Sunday at the Carrier Dome.
Senior Darrik Bloomfield made the reception on a throw from junior Joe Montesanti, out-jumping Jonny McGhee in the right front corner of the end zone and gingerly clutching the ball as the defender took a final, futile swipe at it on the way down.
“What was that movie, Angels in the Outfield?” New Rochelle coach Lou DiRienzo asked. “Sometimes you need angels in the Dome and knock that thing down. They didn’t have (any) wind blowing here today.”
The Lumberjacks’ first state championship gave Section VI its fourth championship of the weekend, repeating last season’s unprecedented domination of the tournament. On Saturday, Sweet Home (Class A) and Southwestern (C) defended titles, and Randolph won its first crown since 2005.
For New Rochelle, it was heartbreak for the second time in five years under eerily similar circumstances. In 2004, future Rutgers and NFL star running back Ray Rice -- a two-way starter, punter and return specialist -- was knocked from the game was a broken collarbone, opening the door for Greg Paulus to rally Syracuse CBA to a 41-35 triumph.
This time, senior quarterback Lewis Edney exited with a badly injured left ankle with 3:24 to go in the first quarter and could not return. He emerged from the locker room at halftime on crutches and with the ankle heavily wrapped.
With McGhee, last year’s quarterback, remaining on the field at wide receiver, little-used junior Khaliq Butts overcame a slow start to rally New Rochelle into a 7-7 tie and establish momentum in the second half before North Tonawanda drove 11 plays and 77 yards to Bloomfield’s leaping catch.
“I thought we were going to win the game,” Hugenots senior linebacker Lou DiRienzo Jr. said. “They weren’t moving the ball like they were in the first half and we started move the ball offensively. That was a great sign.
“Unfortunately, it was a great catch by No. 17, probably the greatest catch I’ve even seen. Great catch, great team and a classy program.”
New Rochelle weathered back-to-back hits to limp to halftime trailing by just 7-0.
First, the Lumberjacks drove six plays and 49 yards to a score – Mike Tuzzo’s 21-yard strike over the top to junior Travis Charsley, open at the goal line behind two defenders – on its first possession of the game midway through the first quarter.
Then, New Rochelle lost Edney. He had to be helped off the field by two coaches after a second-down carry and was unable to put weight on his left leg.
New Rochelle punted one down later and North Tonawanda then drove methodically 10 plays and 59 yards before turning the ball over on downs at the 19 when a third-and-10 screen pass to Charsley netted only six yards.
New Rochelle went three-and-out in Butts’ first full series and he missed on all four second-quarter throws, but the offense grew more successful in moving the ball on the ground later in the half, even driving to the North Tonawanda 13 in the closing moments only to have Eric Reid’s 20-yard field-goal attempt nail the right upright and fall harmlessly into the end zone to keep the score 7-0.
“I was sad. That was my best friend who got hurt,” Butts said. “I was nervous but I felt I could do it. I felt comfortable after the first drive.”
After North Tonawanda stalled out on the opening possession of the third quarter and punted, New Rochelle drove six plays and 69 yards to a TD. Diminutive halfback Julian Griffin scored on a 53-yard run down the right sideline after fullback Sir-Tay Jackson opened room on the corner with a blowout block of linebacker Travis Barke.
The game remained tied until Tuzzo directed the 77-yard drive beginning late in the third quarter. Facing third-and-7 at the 12, Tuzzo pitched right to Montesanti, who threw to Bloomfield as McGhee charged hard to make a play.
Bloomfield, listed in the program as two inches than McGhee but realistically holding a four-inch advantage, jumped too soon as the ball descended, but he used the reach advantage to reel in the throw at almost the same instant that McGhee was at his highest point, the ball gingerly resting against finger tips on either side.
“The ball was just hung up in the air,” Bloomfield said. “At first I didn’t think I was going to make a play on it but I gathered myself, went up and got it. It landed right in my hands. It was indescribable.”
And as DiRienzo, the New Rochelle coach alluded to, the grip was so precarious that a gust of wing could have shaken the ball loose.
“I know, I know,” Bloomfield said.
Said DiRienzo: “We were in a rolled-up coverage and the safety didn’t get over the top there, so Jonny had to do double duty there. If you’ve got a guy you want going up for a jump ball it’s him because he’s got tremendous hops.”
Class B: Hornell rallies in second half
Hornell had some success throughout the year with letting sophomore quarterback Dominic Scavo throw the ball enough to keep opposing defenses honest.
And the Red Raiders made a decent living springing star running back Austin Dwyer to the outside for lengthy rambles down the sideline.
But there’s something that Gene Mastin’s team does even better. And returning to it in the second half made the difference in a 16-14 victory over Nanuet for the Class B championship.
Nanuet held Hornell to 48 yards on 28 plays, largely a mix of incompletions or finesse running, to take a 7-0 lead into halftime. But the Red Raiders put up 163 yards in the second half – all but five on the ground – to grind out the win.
“We wanted to throw the ball on them and we couldn’t,” Mastin said. “We wanted to get Austin outside and we couldn’t. It just came down to what we do best and that’s go straight ahead. We haven’t had to do that a lot, but our kids are pretty tough kids.”
A Pat McCormick fumble recovery on the first play of the second half launched an 11-play, 38-yard drive that included nine straight carries by Dwyer and concluded with the senior’s 2-yard TD run. That play and some trickery on the extra point switched the momentum just enough to make a difference.
“We didn’t do that much wrong,” said Nanuet fullback Bret Bonomolo. “They just played a better game than us and they were a better team than us.”
And they had luck on their side to boot. New York rules require playoff football teams to supply opponents with tapes of their last three games. Had they been required to go one game further back, Hornell would have tipped Nanuet off about the “muddle huddle,” a formation on extra points in which all the linemen except the center set up on the line of scrimmage near the left sideline.
It’s up to Scavo to execute based upon how the defense reacts. If the opposition lines up over the ball, he fires to a well-protected Dwyer on the far sideline and he walks in for the two-point conversion. Otherwise, he throws between the hash marks or scrambles. This time he hit junior end Jordan Schwartz straight ahead for the 8-7 lead.
“We used it in the (Section 5) semifinal game,” Mastin said. “But the problem is was a penalty on the two-point conversion and it moved it up by a yard and a half. Our people went like sheep and lined up in their spots and we had everybody off the line.”
The was no such misfortune this time, and Hornell came back in its next possession to drive eight plays for 79 yards as Scavo hit Keegan Piece for a 5-yard TD pass and a 16-7 lead.
Nanuet drove to a TD late in the game and had a final possession at its 20 with 1:58 to play, but Dwyer intercepted a third-down pass to end the threat.
Dwyer was selected the game’s MVP after carrying 35 times for 169 yards, bringing his season total to 2,836 yards. That’s the No. 6 mark in state history.
Curtis earns PSAL championship
Jevon Gardner broke a 48-yard scoring run with just under 4:00 to play, lifting Staten Island Curtis to a 16-10 victory over Tottenville in the PSAL final on Saturday.
"Once I saw that open field, I was like, ‘Yes. Yes. Yes,'" Gardner told The Advance. "I didn't want to get too excited because the game wasn't over. But when I saw that end zone clear? Yes. Let's go."
Gardner, a late-season addition to an injury-depleted lineup, had fumbled in Curtis territory in the first quarter, setting up the Pirates' only touchdown. He was re-inserted into the backfield at the start of the fourth quarter, again as an injury replacement.
Curtis turned a blocked end zone punt into a safety and a 10-10 tie, The Warriors had third-and-6 at the Tottenville 48-yard line following the free kick when Gardner broke loose for his TD.
Quirky play sets up Garden City’s victory
A misplayed quick kick gave Garden City the break it needed for a 9-6 victory over North Babylon in the Long Island Class II championship.
With the score 6-6 and facing a third-and-8 at his own 8, Garden City's Brian Fischer got off a quick kick that took a favorable bounce and roll to the North Babylon 24. There, North Babylon's Ian Perez touched the ball as if to down it, and Garden City recovered to set up the winning field goal.
Sophomore Ryan Norton's 38-yard field goal with 6:50 to go in his first varsity attempt gave Garden City the lead and the victory.
Garden City scored on its first possession when Matt Montgomery threw 20 yards to Kevin Dachille, but the Trojans were held to their fewest points all year.
"It was a tough defense," Montgomery told Newsday. "It's more like a college defense."
Preshod McCoy ran 22 times for 118 yards and a 32-yard TD in the third quarter for North Babylon.
* Freeport earned the Class I crown over William Floyd 38-14.
* In Class III, Half Hollow Hills capped a 12-0 season with a 42-32 win over Lawrence.
* Seaford earned the Class IV crown by topping Amityville 34-20. Mike Gallo's four catches for 35 yards included TDs of 7 yards in the first quarter and 11 in the fourth.