ROCHESTER, N.Y. – If Hornell senior running back Austin Dwyer isn’t in a class by himself, then he is at least on the verge of stepping into one that has a mighty short roll call.
With 167 rushing yards on Sunday in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B championship game vs. Nanuet, he will post the fifth-highest single-season total in state history behind Michael Hart (twice for Onondaga), Sammy Maldonado (Harrison) and Jason Gwaltney (North Babylon).
Austin Dwyer just likes to win.
Photo by Mike Janes
That’s what happens when you bull your way to 399 on 35 carries in the semifinals against Westhill. The effort gave him 2,667 yards through 12 games.
“Ask him, though, and he’ll tell you all he wants to do is win,” veteran Hornell coach Gene Mastin said. “That’s what makes him special. He just wants to win.”
And that’s all the 5-foot-8, 165-pounder knows so far this season. The Red Raiders are 12-0 and have run up a 495-131 scoring margin en route to the final at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. Dwyer has accounted for nearly 40 percent of the scoring, rolling up 32 touchdowns with the help of a seasoned and beefy offensive line, long a trademark at Hornell.
“The line did a great job and gave me a chance to get thru the holes,” Dwyer said after the 49-7 victory against Westhill. “If I see an open space, I run to it,’’ he said. "We challenged ourselves all week to run the ball well. We knew if we could run, things would go well for us.’’
History bears that out. Hornell is 48-8 over three seasons of David Zapata (now at the U.S. Naval Academy) and two years of Dwyer as the featured back. Tack Zapata’s 6,101 career yards onto Dwyer’s 4,222 since the start of the ’08 season and it’s a wonder that opposing offenses ever touch the ball.
“David had such a great burst, not that (Dwyer’s) is bad,” Mastin said. “But Austin is a tough kid who plays running back and has better speed than he gets credit for. And he’s not afraid to put a shoulder into a defender.”
Dwyer was at his finest in breaking the state playoff record for yardage vs. Westhill. Two of his scoring runs were jaunts of 75 yards late in the first quarter and 73 yards midway through the third. In between he was carving out a steady six or eight yards per attempt.
It added up to the record-setting total.
“I didn’t even know about it until everyone told me on the sideline,” said Austin, who qualified for the state wrestling tournament last March as a 145-pound junior. “I credit the line. Nothing happens without them. It all starts up front.”
And now the Red Raiders get to squeeze in one more game before practice for winter sports begins.
Said Mastin: “I’ve always wanted to have practice on Thanksgiving morning. I never had a chance to do it before now.
Southwestern one victory away from repeating
Tucked away in a corner of the state far closer to Ohio than Syracuse, Southwestern used to be a bit of a secret in Class B. but the Trojans made the leap into prominence with an 8-2 debut seasin in Class C in 2007 and a 25-0 mark in the two seasons since.
“You’d be hard pressed to find a better program than Southwestern anywhere in this state,” Hornell’s Mastin said.
It has a lot to do with the diverse offense. The Trojans can pound away with 5-foot-8, 195-pound fullback John Mistretta (825 rushing yards, 13 TDs) or go wide and/or long with Levi Bursch (830 rushing yards and 34 receptions for another 500-plus).
And Coach Jay Sirianni has unlimited confidence in quarterback Zack Sopak, the reigning state New York State Sportswriters Association Class C player of the year. Sopak has throws for 1,628 yards and 17 TDs, but he’s also run for 776 yards and another 11 scores.
“The biggest thing is that he and I are on the same page and he makes good decisions,” Sirianni said. “He knows what I expect and when he makes a mistake I at least know what he was trying to do. I can’t fault him for trying to make plays. He’s a leader out there.”
He’s also a role model of sorts. Sopak was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 8 and is insulin-dependent. A pump delivers the insulin into his system through his stomach, but he refuses to be slowed down.
“It’s second-nature now,” Sopak said. “I just know that I have to control my sugar. I can’t let it stop me. You’ve got to live life to the fullest and keep plugging away.”
Experience could be a factor when Southwestern lines up against Bronville on Saturday in Syracuse as the Broncos are the only team left in the NYSPHSAA Tournament field that had a losing record (4-5) a year ago and the only finalist with two losing seasons in the last four.
But even Sirianni points out that the past and the future are irrelevant. You play for today.
“Playing football in November in New York with the goal of getting to the Carrier Dome is such a special thing,” he said as he watched the celebration following a 21-0 win against Chenango Forks in the semifinals. “They weren’t thinking about it until there were maybe three minutes left in the game, and I think that’s the one thing we learned last year. We had an 18-point lead against LeRoy in the Western Region final and nearly lost it. We were sensing the Carrier Dome and that was too early. It’s about staying focused, staying loose and proving it on the field.”
NYSPHSAA Championships schedule
Class AA: New Rochelle (11-0) vs. North Tonawanda (12-0) at Carrier Dome, Sunday, 1 p.m.
Class A: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (12-0) vs. Sweet Home (12-0) at Carrier Dome, Saturday, 6 p.m.
Class B: Nanuet (11-0) vs. Hornell (12-0) at Carrier Dome, Sunday, 4 p.m.
Class C: Bronxville (11-0) vs. Southwestern (12-0) at Carrier Dome, Saturday, 3 p.m.
Class D: Moriah (9-2) vs. Randolph (11-1) at Carrier Dome, Saturday, noon.
Long Island Championships
Class I: Freeport (9-2) vs. William Floyd (10-1) at Stony Brook University, Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
Class II: Garden City (11-0) vs. North Babylon (11-0) at Hofstra University, Friday, 4:30 p.m.
Class III: Lawrence (9-2) vs. Half Hollow Hills West (11-0) at Stony Brook University, Saturday, noon.
Class IV: Seaford (11-0) vs. Amityville (9-2) at Hofstra University, Friday, noon.
PSAL Championship
Championship Bracket: Curtis (10-2) vs. Tottenville (10-2) at Midwood HS, Saturday, noon..
