By beating Whitesboro 36-13 over the weekend in Rochester, the Panthers took another step toward defending their state Class A football championship, as senior Jahaan Williams made a 28-yard touchdown catch and picked off two passes, returning the second one 46 yards for the clinching score.
It set up a rematch with Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, which advanced by using Evan Nusbaum (319 yards and three rushing TDs) to batter Cornwall into submission 41-16. The Spartans finished with 532 yards of offense, including 445 on the ground.
"We wanted to make it clear who deserves to be (in the Carrier Dome)," Nusbaum told The Times Union.
Burnt Hills' third possession was a six-play, 86-yard drive capped by Nusbaum's 29-yard run. A 29-yard Keaton Flint catch on third-and-19 on the next series set up a 2-yard TD run by Brandon Beatty to make it 14-3, and then Nusbaum intercepted a pass and followed up by ripping off a 96-yard scoring run in the final minute of the first half.
The result brings about a battle of 12-0 squads in Syracuse. Sweet Home won 35-28 last year for its first state championship.
"They are a first-class team," Burnt Hills coach Matt Shell told the newspaper. "We are excited to play Sweet Home. They are top-notch football. You want to play the best. They are the best."
A slew of opponents would confirm that in duplicate. Sweet Home’s quirky schedule has seen the Panthers beat Amherst, Iroquois and Grand Island in sectionals by a combined 102-33 margin after mowing them down in the regular season by a 137-53 aggregate. And then the opponent in the first round of the state tournament was Section V champion Aquinas – for the third straight year.
"And now it’ll be Burnt Hills in another rematch, so there’s a theme developing," Sweet Home coach John Faller said. "And so far, so good."
Coming off a polished performance to beat Aquinas 33-7, Sweet Home was sloppy at times vs. Whitesboro and gave up three turnovers in the first half despite building a 22-7 lead.
D.J. Nettles then fumbled away the second-half kickoff near midfield, but Williams made his first interception two plays later to get the ball back at the Sweet Home 47 and set up a six-play drive capped by Nettles' 4-yard TD run. Whitesboro regained momentum with a TD and the recovery of an onside kick, but Williams reached over wideout Mike Sullivan to snatch the ball away and blazed down the Whitesboro sideline for the clinching score.
It was clutch, veteran leadership on Williams’ part, similar to that exhibited on offense by Pat McMahon, one of nine new starters on offense this season. McMahon was 7-for-12 for 103 yards and also gained 35 yards on the ground. None of the performances in a 4-0 start were particularly impressive as the slew of new starters got comfortable with the thick playbook and the speed of the game, but coach and quarterback both pointed to the first win over Iroquois as the turning point of the season for Sweet Home, which is riding a 25-game winning streak.
"It was on the road, under the lights and their homecoming game," McMahon said. "And we just beat up them up, scored every time touched the ball. That showed us we were where we needed to be."
Said Faller: "You get that many new kids into our offensive and defensive schemes that fast … it’s not going to happen. It was a first-year quarterback compared to a two-year starting quarterback and you go right down the line with challenges. DeSharano (Morris, injured in an offseason automobile accident) is in a wheelchair, a two-way player who’s special. So it’s been a tough year in lot of ways, but a good year, too."
Class AA finalists set
New Rochelle recovered from a two-TD deficit and edged Saratoga 28-21 in the NYSPHSAA Class AA semifinals. QB Lewis Edney scored on a 1-yard run with 4:05 left in the fourth quarter to break a 14-14 tie, and Johnny McGhee made two interceptions in the final three minutes.
McGhee's first pick set up Julian Griffin’s third TD, a 24-yard run, but Saratoga's Luke Fauler answered with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Joey Moore with :37 to go. Saratoga recovered the onside kick, but McGhee made another interception on the final play.
The Huguenots have been to the Carrier Dome for three finals, winning in 2003. Their opponent next week will be North Tonawanda, which dominated the first half en route to a 28-7 triumph over Baldwinsville that gave Section VI four state finalists for the second straight year.
Joe Montesanti (10 carries, 101 yards) scored first-half touchdowns on a 28-yard pass from Mike Tuzzo and a 71-yard run. Tom Sell added 10 carries for 84 yards, including a 28-yard run in the second quarter for a 21-0 lead.
Baldwinsville all-state running back Malik Burks sat out the first quarter due to a violation of a team rule. He finished with 28 carries for 175 yards.
More NYSPHSAA semifinal results
* Hornell senior Austin Dwyer set a NYSPHSAA playoff record with 399 yards in 35 carries as the Red Raiders piled up 532 on the ground to rout Westhill 49-7 in the Class B semifinals. Dwyer also broke the Section V single-season record with 2,667 yards. Dwyer's four TDs included carries of 73 and 75 yards to give him 33 scores this season. The Red Raiders advance to face Nanuet, a 28-7 victor over Schalmont as Tom Hanney scored on runs of 8 and 1 yards, and Kevin Willison recovered a third-quarter fumble that set up another score for a 28-0 lead.
* Jamestown Southwestern ran its winning streak to 28 with a dominating, 21-0 victory against Chenango Forks in the Class C semifinals as Zack Sopak carried 25 times for 91 yards and also picked up 113 yards through the air. The Trojans limited Forks to four first downs and 121 yards, and the edefnse also registered two sacks.
"They have a great program; any program in the state is going to model itself after Forks," winning coach Jay Sirianni said, "Our defense just stepped up big."
Trailing 20-7 late in the first half, Bronxville rallied past Hoosick Falls 28-27 as John Shkreli scored on a 2-yard run with 2:45 left and Ryan Grunseich kicked the extra point. Brian Murray began the rally with a 2-yard TD run before the half and a 23-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter.
* Ron Schofield rushed 38 times for 295 yards and two touchdowns to spark Moriah's 22-13 victory over Eldred and a return to the Class D final.
The Vikings defense got three sacks from Wally Edwards and two from Nate Gilbo. Kicker Ryan Mascarenas sealed the win with a 21-yarder field goal with 1:59 to play.
In the other semi, Randolph ran 60 times for 601 yards in a 61-8 thumping of Groton in Class D action in Rochester. Alan Lockwood rushed for four TDs, including three on carries of 36 yards or longer, and finished with 220 yards on 16 carries. Matt Hettenbaugh chipped in with 26 carries for for 228 yards.
Long Island action
* Kevin Allen continued an amazing late-season transition while sparking Freeport to a 34-20 win vs. Farmingdale for the Section VIII Conference I championship. Playing just his second game at quarterback following an injury to starter Paul Ketchens, Allen ran 34 times for 244 yards and three scores and also went 4-for-6 for 106 yards and a TD. The rushing TDs gave him 31 this season to break the Nassau County record of Mepham great Amos Zereoue.
* Lawrence rolled past Lynbrook 41-7 for the Nassau Conference III crown as John Kinder scored on a 3-yard run and Kenny Barnett scored on runs of 2 and 47 yards for a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Barnett tacked on two more TDs in the fourth quarter to set up an LI final vs. Half Hollow Hills West.
* HHHW dominated Hauppauge 29-0 in the Suffolk Division III final as JeVahn Cruz scored on runs of 81, 1 and 18 yards and threw a TD pass.
* Amityville won Division IV with a 17-11 triumph against John Glenn as Willie White caught his only two passes, touchdowns of 60 and 39 yards, in the final 4:01 to overcome an 11-2 deficit.
St. Anthony'
s returns to the top of the CHSFL
St. Anthony's broke a scoreless halftime tie to earn the CHSFL Class AAA championship with a 28-21 win over Holy Trinity before an estimated 6,000 fans at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale.
Tim Wine put St. A's ahead with a 49-yard reception and run, and Colby Fielder scored a pair of touchdowns apiece as the Friars' earned their eighth title in nine years.
Holy Trinity senior senior Anthony Brunetti (29 carries, 146 yards) scored two TDs in the loss.
Shocker in PSAL semifinals
Junior QB Tynell Brown ran seven yards for a TD and threw the conversion pass to Jevon Gardner with 31 seconds left to lift Staten Island Curtis to a 20-19 upset of Fort Hamilton in the PSAL semifinals.
Fort Hamilton extended a 7-6 halftime lead with two TDs in the third quarter, but Brown hit receiver Marcus Spann for a 44-yard touchdown to set up the decisive fourth quarter.
Curtis will play Tottenville for the PSAL crown next weekend. Tottenville scored a 33-18 win over Erasmus Hall. Marvin Staten ran 21 times for 173 yards and three touchdowns, and Drew Tair recorded two interceptions and a fumble recovery. The Pirates also blocked a pair of punts.