Video: Tyree Brown highlightsSouth Park quarterback was MVP of state title game.Five New York State Public High School Athletic Association football champions were crowned over Thanksgiving weekend at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
Here's a look at some highlights from an eventful two days of action, with three games played Friday and two on Sunday.
Aquinas Institute defeated Saratoga Springs to win the Class AA final.
File photo by Chris Cecere
The five title games ended with an air show late Sunday afternoon as the
Aquinas Institute (Rochester) overwhelmed
Saratoga Springs 44-19.
Penn State-bound quarterback
Jake Zembiec threw for 465 yards on 18-of-23 accuracy, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to
Earnest Edwards on the second play of the game. It was the first of four TD passes from Zembiec to Edwards — all of them coming in the first half as the Little Irish built a 34-0 lead at intermission.
It was the seventh state title for Aquinas (13-0). Saratoga (11-1) also entered the game unbeaten.
Class A - South Park's win a boon for Buffalo: South Park became the first Buffalo Public Schools football program to ever win a state football title and did so with a bang.
In a game in which the Sparks and their opponent from the Poughkeepsie area, Section 1's
Our Lady of Lourdes, combined for nearly 100 points scored, South Park pulled out a 49-46 win in the Class A title game on Friday. The outstanding play of both teams' quarterbacks sparked the scoring spree.
Tyree Brown, the game's MVP, threw for 132 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 220 yards on four touchdowns (on runs of 63, 27, 38 and 44 yards). For Lourdes,
Dean Rotger completed 28-of-48 passes for 410 yards.
It was Lourdes' first appearance in a state football final.
Class B – Cazenovia captures first-ever title: Cazenovia capped a perfect 13-0 season by prevailing 22-19 over
Schuylerville, when
Jake Shaffner completed a touchdown pass to
Paul McLaughlin on the opening drive of the second half. It proved to be the only score of the second half.
Schuylerville had taken a 19-15 lead at the half when
Will Griffen completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to
Tanner Dunkel.
Schuylerville, which also entered the game unbeaten, ends the season 12-1. Both teams were playing for a first-year state title.
Class C – Chenango Forks gets one for the thumb: One of the premier football powers in the state,
Chenango Forks (Binghamton), came away with its fifth NYSPHSAA title, and third straight, as the Blue Devils rolled to a 42-7 win over
Greenwich in Friday's Class C final.
Most Valuable Player
Tony Silvanic rushed for 127 yards in a balanced ground attack that also featured
L.J. Watson (84 yards rushing, two touchdowns),
Cody Lamond (172 yards and three touchdowns).
The Blue Devils (12-1) had more than 500 yards on offense with 485 coming from rushes. Previously unbeaten Greenwich (12-1) set a school record for wins in a season.
Class D – Fantastic finish as Tioga triumphs: Jesse Manuel perfectly played the role of super hero for
Tioga in its dramatic, come-from-behind 33-26 win over
Ticonderoga in Friday's Class D title game.
Manuel scored the winning touchdown with 16 seconds to go after giving his team possession by coming away with a huge interception 28 seconds earlier as the Tigers (12-1) won their first-ever state crown.
After tying it at 28-28 on quarterback
Brody Rocque's 1-yard sneak, Ticonderoga's subsequent two-point conversion attempt — on a run — failed.
Manuel's interception came at about Tioga's own 20 with Ticonderoga threatening to get the go-ahead score. Manuel then returned the interception 50 yards to the Ticonderoga 35.
The winning TD run came from 33 yards out.
Manuel, a 5-foot-8, 155-pound senior, ended the season with a Section 4 record 2,866 yards rushing.
Multimedia news and sports editor and producer Joe Lombardi is director of media initiatives and managing editor of DailyVoice.com, as well as Media Director/Co-Partner of LaxLessons.com.Follow Joe on Twitter @Joe_Lombardi.
