Top teams find it tough in New York public school playoffs

Yes, top-ranked teams typically have the proverbial target on their back. But this is ridiculous.

Two football teams that had been ranked No. 1 in their respective classes all season long lost New York State Public High School Athletic Association quarterfinals over the weekend, and two more top-ranked teams also tumbled in the first round of the tournament.

Only Class B Hornell escaped the upset bug, beating Alden 21-14 to extend the state's longest active winning streak to 24 games

In Class D, Caledonia-Mumford eliminated No. 1 Silver Creek 20-13. In Class C, General Brown (Dexter) ousted Chenango Forks 21-20. In Class A, Aquinas Institute (Rochester) topped two-time defending state champion Sweet Home 36-6.



And in Class AA, Troy took out Monroe-Woodbury 32-21 in a game that filled out the semifinal pairings of what shapes up as one of the best large-school brackets in the 18-year history of the tournament.

Click here to view MaxPreps' New York football playoff brackets.

The semifinals will pair Rush-Henrietta (Henrietta) vs. Baker (Baldwinsville) in Rochester and Troy vs. New Rochelle, which is in the tournament for the fifth straight year, in Kingston. Regardless of who survives, it will set up an attractive final Thanksgiving weekend at the Carrier Dome.

* Troy came from behind in the final 4:38 to beat Monroe-Woodbury 32-21. One play after the Crusaders had taken a 21-20 lead, senior Jordan Canzeri (23 carries, 172 yards) ran 53 yards to the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown and he tacked on a 33-yard run with 40 seconds to play. Canzeri also scored on a 58-yard punt return in the second quarter.

* Monroe-Woodbury (Central Valley) drove 98 yards for a touchdown on quarterback Ryan Spelman's 16-yard carry with 7:03 to play, then moved ahead when Trevor Officer broke loose on a 56-yard option run to score. Spelman finished with 171 passing yards and Officer rushed for 167. Monroe-Woodbury outgained Troy offensively by 359-349.

"People don't realize what we went up against," Troy coach Jack Burger told The Record. "We went up against a team that was averaging 46 points per game. That was a phenomenal job on the defensive side."



* Baker shined on offense, defense and special teams to beat Corning 49-20. Baker gained 367 of its 393 yards on the ground, forced three turnovers and got an 81-yard kickoff return from Tyler Rouse. The Bees blocked a punt on the fourth play of the game and drove 10 plays to a touchdown. Rouse, who missed the Section III final after suffering a concussion the previous week, rushed 21 times for 213 yards and three touchdowns. Parker Kiff rushed 19 times for 118 yards.

* Rush-Henrietta beat Clarence 42-34 thanks to a breathtaking performance from all-state quarterback Ashton Broyld. The 6-foot-4 senior ran 25 times for 299 yards and two touchdowns, including a tournament-record 95-yard gallop in the first quarter. He also completed 7 of 13 passes for 103 yards, including a 16-yarder to Justin Medley that gave Rush-Henrietta a 35-14 at halftime.

Clarence fought back on the legs of Michael Gelz (33 carries, 213 yards), whose 20-yard touchdown run cut Rush-Henrietta's lead to 35-28 early in the fourth quarter. The Royal Comets responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that Bay Barley finished with a 6-yard run with 7:20 to go.

New Rochelle drew the first-round bye in Class AA.

GENERAL BROWN HANGS ON IN CLASS C THRILLER
General Brown avenged 2009's four-touchdown playoff loss to Chenango Forks with a 21-20 victory powered by senior Nick Frears, who completed 14 of 23 attempts for 136 yards and all three touchdowns.

Jim Miller (29 carries, 199 yards) ran four yards to cut the deficit to 21-14 early in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils got the ball back for the last time at their own 45-yard line with 2:26 remaining and drove to a 20-yard touchdown pass from Zach Jeske to Derek Foster with :15.1 to go.



With a struggling kicking game, Chenango Forks opted for a run on the conversion try, but Miller was taken down short of the end zone by tackle Nick Cobb and middle linebacker Mark Allen.

MORE NYSPHSAA TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS
* Section V quarterbacks were perfect Friday. Aquinas junior Cory Benedetto was 6-for-6 for 81 yards and a touchdown vs. Sweet Home, and Cal-Mum sophomore Madison Suhr went 6-for-6 for 88 yards against Silver Creek as he replaced Matt Hartford (arm injury) for the second week in a row.

* Section I swept four games from Section IX by a combined 147-21 margin. In Class D, Tuckahoe (Eastchester) breezed past Chester 43-8 as Shyheim Nixon returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown and senior Jarett Sommer, once a water boy for the varsity, rushed 11 times for 132 yards to become the school's career leader with 3,375 yards on the ground.

* Whitesboro (Marcy) scored twice in the last 1:19 of the first half to overcome a deficit and beat Maine-Endwell 40-14 in Class A. Mike Sullivan (126 rushing yards) started the key sequence with a 31-yard touchdown run. Whitesboro recovered the ensuing kickoff via a fumble and drove 38 yards to Bradee Holtslag's 25-yard throw to Mike Bunal.

* Saranac Lake rallied from a 12-0 deficit and scored the NYSPHSAA tournament's first OT victory of the year by downing Hoosick Falls 15-12 on Forrest Morgan's 34-yard field goal. Morgan also carried 15 times for 102 yards for the winners.

* Walton's recovery from a 3-3 start to the season continued with a 20-0 win over Onondaga in Class D. Walton took the opening kickoff and drove 64 yards in seven plays to senior fullback Christian Howe's 17-yard touchdown run. Howe finished with 17 carries for 101 yards. Walton has won its last five games by a combined 170-39 margin.

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.