Irondequoit shocks with last-play fake FG

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Sir Winston Churchill famously said that democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others.

Four days before the U.S. elections, Irondequoit (Rochester) discovered that for all its flaws, perhaps democracy isn't a bad way to run a football team. The Eagles parlayed a team vote into the greatest finish in the 33-year history of the Section V football tournament and capped a stunning rally against Webster Schroeder.

Emory Poccia threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Joel Miller off a fake field goal attempt as time expired at Marina Auto Stadium, giving unbeaten Irondequoit a 31-25 triumph in the Class AA championship game.

Irondequoit was going to try kicking a game-tying 30-yard field goal with just more than four seconds left until Schroeder used a timeout to try to ice Poccia, who had converted a 36-yarder in the second quarter.

"We took a team vote in the huddle and decided to change it up," Poccia said. "We went with the trick play to not take it to overtime. It was unanimous. Everyone wanted to put it out of reach."

Bianco gave the one-word order to run "Fresno." That's F as in Fresno, F as in fake. What happened next brought back memories of Michigan State's 34-31 college stunner against Notre Dame earlier this season.

From his position as holder, Miller took the snap and made a blind flip over his head to kicker-turned-quarterback Poccia. As Poccia took a few steps to the right to draw the defense in, Miller slipped around hard-charging Schroeder linebacker Tyler Ocwieja to the left flat.

With Ocwieja suddenly recognizing the fake and retreating 180 degrees, Poccia hit Miller with a floating heave at about the 10. The 6-foot senior crossed the goal line just as Ocwieja latched on to his hips, tumbling in for the score and setting off a raucous celebration as Eagles fans stormed the field.

It was Irondequoit's first sectional championship since 1987 and moved the Eagles into next week's qualifier vs. Rush-Henrietta for a berth in the state Class AA quarterfinals.

Irondequoit had trailed 21-3 until Javonte' Mack scored on runs of 1 and 28 yards in the third quarter. Schroeder drove to a touchdown through the fourth quarter, with Michael Collichio throwing 30 yards to Dylan Difante for a score to get the lead to 28-17.

But Irondequoit drove nine plays and 72 yards to a short touchdown run by quarterback Briele Caples, and Mack carried in the two-point conversion with 3:13 to play.

Schroeder went three-and-out, setting up the winning 10-play, 80-yard drive that began with 1:59 to go.

In the closing moments, Caples hit his brother Loren Caples for consecutive completions to reach the Schroeder 8. Irondequoit tried to spike the ball to stop the clock, but was called for illegal procedure with 4.1 seconds remaining. The Eagles ran their field goal unit onto the field, and Schroeder started swapping out personnel before coach Kali Watkins – who played for Bianco at Irondequoit – called a timeout.

That was Bianco's cue to put the idea of running the fake up for a vote.

"If they didn't call the timeout we were going to kick it because they were playing off the line," Bianco said. "I knew after the timeout they were going to come at us and try to block it. That's when you want to run the fake."

ODDEST LATE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WEEK
There may be safety in numbers, but there are also numbers in safeties — two points, to be exact. And that was the margin for Cazenovia in a 16-14 win against Marcellus in the Section III Class B semifinals.

After Marcellus tied the game with 6:14 left on a 45-yard pass from Kyle Hastings to Chaz Hayes, Cazenovia senior quarterback Jeff Hopsicker drove the Lakers 10 plays only to be picked off at the 2-yard line by Hayes with 1:55 to go.

Marcellus' Hastings handed the ball to tailback Ricky Alfreds on consecutive plays. On the second one, linebacker Nick Petrovich and defensive end Liam Ryan crashed through the Marcellus line and took down the running back in the end zone with 1:31 to play.

The win advances the Lakers to the Carrier Dome for a sectional title game Sunday vs. Oneida, which edged Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 28-27 in overtime.

NEW ROCHELLE DEALING WITH THE WEIGHT OF EXPECTATIONS
It wasn't pretty, but No. 4 New Rochelle beat No. 14 Yorktown 21-16 in a Section I semifinals between state-ranked Class AA clubs. Coach Lou DiRienzo knew immediately how folks would react to a relatively close call heading into the final vs. a quality Mohopac team.

"It's become such a monster," DiRienzo said of expectations on his team, which has won 26 straight games against Section I opponents and 45 of its last 46. New Rochelle is 77-10 overall since 2003.

"In other words, this team is working really, really hard and we're going to play for a section championship, but it's almost as if we're expected to be there, so if you don't get there it's such a disappointment," he told The Journal News. "I should be elated right now and instead it's more of a relief. And, I know Mahopac is good, so how much do you even enjoy this?"

Shaquille Evans returned an interception 30 yards for a 7-0 New Rochelle lead in the first half. With the score 7-6 just before halftime, running back Jovon Ceneus ripped off a 98-yard run for a touchdown on his only carry of the day. Three plays later, Bubby Manns pulled a strip-and-recovery job to score on a fumble return with 1:10 left in the half.

Mahopac advanced after senior James Lenahan blocked a 26-yard field goal attempt with 45 seconds left in a 6-3 victory over Clarkstown North. It will be Mahopac's first sectional final since the state tournament era began in 1993.

ST. ANTHONY'S EARNS TOP CHSFL SEED
Dariyan Riley's 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter put St. Anthony's (Melville) ahead for good in a 28-20 victory over Iona Prep to earn the top seed in the Catholic High School Football League playoffs.

Bryan Rhodes scored on a 15-yard fumble return to make the score 21-14 with 11 minutes to go. Brian Sherlock had 14 carries for 80 yards and the Friars' final touchdown. Quarterback Charlie Raffa was 8-for-8 for 93 yards and one touchdown.

MORE WEEKEND HEROES AND HIGHLIGHTS
* Quarterback Tyler Hamblin ran 22 times for 125 yards and went 9-for-15 for 150 yards through the air in a Christian Brothers Academy (Syracuse) 27-13 win over Utica Proctor.

* Freeport beat Oceanside 41-35 on Dan Olivier's fourth touchdown, a 2-yard run in overtime, to secure the No. 1 seed in the Nassau County Conference I quarterfinals. Freeport's Jere Brown pulled off an 89-yard kickoff return for a score with 1:27 left in regulation. Quarterback Isaiah Barnes passed for 216 yards and ran for 56 to offset Oceanside's Tyler Heuer, who was 21-for-36 for 255 yards and three touchdowns to give him 30 for the year -- matching the Section VIII record by Randy Mills of Freeport in 2003.

* Mike Pellegrino ran for 277 yards on 34 carries with four rushing touchdowns to lift Connetquot (Bohemia) past Commack 28-21. He's up to 17 scores for the season.

* Jimmy Ross ran for five touchdowns to lead Millbrook to a 54-13 victory vs. Liberty in a Section 9 Class C semifinal. The senior finished with 273 yards rushing on just nine carries.

* Ronell Jones rushed 39 times for 289 yards and three touchdowns to lead Floral Park Memorial over Valley Stream North 21-14.

* West Babylon breezed past Half Hollow Hills East 41-0 as Unique Ford ran four times for 156 yards and a touchdown and returned an interception 99 yards for a score.

* Damon Whitfield starred in Long Beach's 32-21 win against Westbury, carrying 27 times for 259 yards and a trio of touchdowns.

* Spring Valley beat Lakeland 26-12 as Shaquille Gould went 16-for-24 for 303 yards and three touchdowns.

* Newburgh Free Academy wide receiver Shelan Baynes set a Section IX record with 268 yards on five catches in a 49-27 win over Minisink Valley. The senior is in his first varsity season, having given up the sport in eighth grade. The state record is 305 yards by Sayville's Derek Smith in 1972.

* Tevion Cappe is still on a rampage. The senior running back carried 36 times for 283 yards and five touchdowns as Watertown beat Indian River 42-22. He also converted three 2-point conversions, scored on runs of 52, 14, 73, 7 and 33 yards and pushed his season totals of 2,080 yards and 35 scores on 190 carries.

John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.