Rye wins with last-minute heroics

Another year, another victory and another plunge in the brook adjacent to the school campus.

But you’d be hard pressed to find a more epic ending to the best rivalry going in Westchester County football. Rye's now on an eight-game winning streak in the series, and none of the earlier victories looked anything close to this.

The Garnets went on a 14-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass from Connor Eck to Brian Pickup, who wrestled the ball away from a defender with 15 seconds to play. Eck then ran in a 2-point conversion for a 21-20 victory that sent the crowd into a frenzy and further jumbled the Section I Class A standings.

"I can't summarize this," Eck told The Journal News after the customary celebratory trek into Rye Brook. "It is nuts."

Harrison, ranked fifth in Class A by the New York State Sportswriters Association, had taken a 14-7 lead on two Tanner Knox touchdowns. No. 12 Rye drove 13 plays and 77 yards on its first possession after halftime to cut it to 14-13 on Eck's 1-yard run, but the extra point was blocked.

Harrison scored on a 37-yard halfback option throw by Charlie Drago to James Tirella midway through the fourth quarter to set the stage for Rye's winning drive to cut the Harrison lead in the all-time series to 41-36-3.

After the TD to cut the deficit to 20-19, Rye coach Dino Garr barely hesitated to put the ball in the hands of Eck – a risky choice since the quarterback had 10 stitches removed from his throwing hand on Wednesday and couldn’t even attempt to throw until the following night.

"I don't think he threw as well as he could, but he's a winner," Garr told the paper. "He's just a great leader. That's why we went with him."

Because of Eck’s work, and as sure as Rye athletic director Robert Castagna is to issue an annual plea (that always goes unheeded) to people to not celebrate by jumping into the brook, Section I’s second-largest class is completely unpredictable entering the playoff quarterfinals.

Rye will take on Somers and John Jay (Cross River) gets Harrison in the top half of the bracket. In the bottom half, it’ll be Roosevelt vs. Poughkeepsie and Nyack vs. Horace Greeley.

Poughkeepsie and Roosevelt will be looking to avoid a horrific ending to the season since both will be coming off an unexpected loss.

Hime Rrace threw a scoring strike to Jake Weil with less than a minute to go in John Jay Cross River’s 24-22 victory over Poughkeepsie. Eastchester prevailed over Roosevelt 33-25 as Rob Carinci (152 rushing yards) scored three touchdowns, including a 55-yard carry in the fourth quarter, and Tom Cirillo picked off a pass in the final minute.

TRAGEDY ON THE SIDELINES IN NEWARK
Geneva assistant football coach and teacher Mike Cooper died after collapsing with about two minutes left in the the Panthers' game Friday night at Newark. He was 52.

Cooper was attended to on the sideline and transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Cooper, a father of four as well as a grandfather, was the defensive coordinator for the JV team in addition to assisting with the varsity. One of his son, Colin Cooper, is a highly regarded tight end prospect who has attracted interest from several college programs.

THEY COULD HAVE PLAYED ALL DAY
Statisticians and historians haven’t been able to confirm that Peru and Plattsburgh played the longest game in state history Saturday, but it’s safe to say the scoreboard contained more zeroes than a "Saved by the Bell" fan club convention.

The teams played four scoreless quarters and then endured six rounds of additional offensive futility before host Peru crossed the goal line in the seventh overtime for a 6-0 victory in the Northern Football Conference.

Junior running back Alex Cederstrom's 8-yard run accounted for the only points as Peru extended to 33 years its unbeaten streak vs. Plattsburgh. Cederstrom led all rushers with 52 yards on 14 carries on a day in which Peru totaled just 131 yards of offense and Plattsburgh had 100.

Peru was stymied on a fake field goal attempt in the second overtime and fumbled the ball away in the third OT. The Indians also threw an interception and missed a field goal in overtime.

Plattsburgh turned the ball over on downs after reaching the 1-yard line in the third OT and also missed a field goal, threw two interceptions and surrendered a fumble.

CLOSE CALL IN SECTION III
General Brown (Dexter) will not have to forfeit any games, but the school came very close to fouling up the Section III playoffs by unknowingly using an ineligible player for two games leading up to Friday’s 22-12 victory in a showdown with Immaculate Heart Central.

After school administrators learned Wednesday via an anonymous tip that one of the players on the unbeaten team had lied about his address, they self-reported to Section III. Although forfeits are normally in order when ineligible players are involved, state administrators said they were inclined to invoke Standard 19 (a)(f), which allows latitude for situations deemed outside the school's control, because the player misled everyone about his address after moving to the area from out of state.

It’s just a matter of time before one of these situations comes to light in the middle of sectional or state playoffs and completely fouls up the postseason.

TOP WEEKEND PERFORMANCES
* Niskayuna's Kyle Bayly passed for 426 yards and four touchdowns on 21-for-37 accuracy in a 42-17 win at Ballston Spa. Nikhon Schuler counted three scores among his eight receptions for 256 yards.

* Watertown senior Tevion Cappe ran for a school-record 391 yards on 30 carries and scored five touchdowns — one on a 90-yard carry — as the Cyclones beat Camden 44-7.

* Troy rolled past Shaker 34-0 for its fifth shutout, as senior Jordan Canzeri rushed for 283 yards and three touchdowns.

* Quarterback Dakota Peel rushed for 303 yards and four first-half scores as Alden beat Maryvale 49-21.

* Shakier Nesbit returned a fumble 53 yards for a touchdown and made two interceptions, a fumble recovery and eight tackles for Burgard (Buffalo) in a 40-20 win vs. Cheektowaga.

* Eddie Soto ran 22 times for 298 yards and touchdowns of 21, 30, 57 and 80 yards as Liberty beat Sullivan West 26-16.

* Terrance Rodway opened the game with a 92-yard kickoff return, brought back a first-quarter punt 38 yards for another touchdown and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass in Uniondale's 39-0 win over Port Washington.

* Derelle Hunter tormented St. Peter's with 297 rushing yards and four touchdowns as St. John the Baptist (West Islip) earned a 25-13 victory.

* Colin Flaherty made 10 catches for 282 yards and four touchdowns for Eastport-South Manor, but Huntington held on for a 34-31 victory. E-SM quarterback Luke Combs was 13-for-25 for 325 yards.

* Junior Patrick Stepnoski rushed 31 times for 259 yards and four touchdowns and caught four passes for 73 yards for Mercy (Riverhead) in a 40-20 triumph vs. Stony Brook.

* James Magee piled up 141 yards and three touchdowns in the first six minutes before getting the rest of the day off for Pawling in a 52-0 rout over Riverside. Rocco Esposito — who hadn't carried yet this season — rushed 17 times for 127 yards and a touchdown.

* Chad Kelly was 16 of 31 passing for 331 yards and three touchdowns as St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute's (Buffalo) beat Cardinal O’Hara 43-26 in the Monsignor Martin Association.

MILESTONES AND BIG NUMBERS
* Letchworth (Gainesville) posted its seventh straight shutout with a 28-0 triumph vs. Livonia. The Indians enter the Section V playoffs having outscored opponents 275-0 this season. Also in Class C, Bronxville’s scoring margin is 287-20.

* Monroe-Woodbury (Central Valley) has won 56 straight games vs. Section IX opponents entering sectionals.

* Cory McNamara made his seventh interception of the season as Wayne (Ontario Center) won the Finger Lake East title for the first time by edging East Rochester/Gananda 10-7.

* Thirteen Bethpage players rushed for 352 yards to beat Valley Stream South 28-0.

* Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake routed South Glens Falls 70-13 behind 564 yards on the ground, led by Brandon Beatty (158 yards), Evan Nusbaum (136) and Mark Fialkowski (111).

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.