Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012: Lockport pulls off rally from 27-0 deficit

   Well, not really. But a couple of high school football teams did help drive home the point Saturday.

   Lockport trailed Clarence 27-0 in the second quarter but came all the way back and then some, edging Clarence 42-35 in the Section 6 Class AA quarterfinals. James Chambers (35 carries, 133 yards) scored four touchdowns, including the game-winning run in overtime.

   “I tried to say a few things (after the game), and nothing intelligible came out, and it just dawned on me that there was nothing that I could say that could do justice to what they just saw and were a part of,” Lockport coach Greg Bronson told The Buffalo News. “That’s the beauty of high school football, it’s the beauty of kids working together, believing what they are taught to do, coaches seeing those things come to fruition.”

   Lockport got the job started with two TDs before the half but still trailed 27-14 to start the fourth quarter. Lockport scored two touchdowns to go ahead, with a 90-yard punt return by Chambers giving the Lions a 28-27 lead. Clarence came right back with Emaure Williams (23 carries, 238 yards) producing a 43-yard scoring run.

   Lockport answered when Dan Bronson threw his second TD pass of the game, a 37-yarder to Tevye Maslowski with 1:56 left.

   The Lions scored first in OT, then quickly held Clarence on downs to end the game.

   New Rochelle, ranked fourth in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association, was on the wrong end of a rally. New Ro squandered a 20-0 lead by allowing three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to fall at North Bergen (N.J.) 21-20.

   The turning point may have come in the third quarter when the Huguenots were stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1. “The wheels started coming off the cart,” coach Lou DiRienzo told The Journal News. “We didn’t respond.”

   North Bergen (4-2) won the New Jersey North 1 Group 4 championship last season, but was later stripped of the title for recruiting violations.

   Not quite D-cisive: No. 4 Cambridge beat No. 5 Rensselaer 27-21 in the final week of the Section 2 Class D regular season but couldn't quite make a definitive statement to set a tone for the presumed rematch in two weeks.

   Rensselaer, playing its finale without QB Steven Harwood and three other starters, picked up some late-game confidence by posting three scores in the fourth quarter, needing only to recover an onside kick with :51 to go to have a chance to win. Instead, Cambridge came up with the ball and ran out the clock.

   "We definitely encouraged them a little," Cambridge coach Doug Luke told The Times Union. "We had them down and we let them back into it. But this game is experience. We'll need to be ready to do better if we have to play them again in two weeks."

   Still, Cambridge has won six straight in the series.

   Something to build on: Albany ended the state's longest active losing streak -- 44 games -- by beating South Glens Falls 24-0 at Schenectady in a contest delayed 75 minutes by fierce storms.

   Albany coach Jon McClement credited dedication by the team and leadership by his seniors.

   "These boys have stuck it out for four years and even as the losses mounted their resolved continued," McClement said. "I told these gentlemen that football will teach you lessons that will last a lifetime. High school football is special and this group of Albany High players are special."

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   Albany recovered an early fumble and drove 70 yards in 17 plays for the only TD it would need in the Section 2 pool-play game.

   When heavyweights collide: It was a regular-season clash between two teams that won't be facing each other in the Section 4 playoffs, but it sure attracted a lot of attention.

   Nick Sorrenti and Justin Jacoby ran for two touchdowns apiece as Maine-Endwell, ranked No. 1 in Class B, defeated Class A No. 6 Union-Endicott 28-7 before an estimated 4,500 spectators.

   The Spartans, who won the 20011 NYSPHSAA Class A championship, forced three turnovers en route to their 20th consecutive victory and survived the loss of standout running back Luis Uceta to a sprained ankle in the first quarter.

   “We were waiting to play a team like this all season, and especially that it’s Union-Endicott, our rivals, it just feels that much better,” Sorrenti told the Press & Sun-Bulletin. “They’re a very, very good team, no doubt about it, but I think we showed today the type of team we are.”

   A non-playoff playoff game: Chris Addorisio rushed for three touchdowns and Tim Soave added two as 2011 NYSPHSAA Class C state champ Dobbs Ferry clinched a Section 1 playoff berth by topping Bronxville, ranked 14th in the state, 37-17.

   Soave rushed for 169 yards and scored both of his TDs as Dobbs Ferry built a 28-3 halftime lead.

   Another non-playoff playoff game: Warwick scored the last 20 points of the game to defeat Washingtonville 20-7 to lock up a Section 9 Class AA playoff berth, setting up a semifinal vs. Monroe-Woodbury.

   "I'd say it took a quarter to kick in, but once reality hit us, we realized this is it," Warwick defensive end Connor Leavell told The Timers Herald-Record. "It could have been some of our last plays for our seniors in our lifetime, you know? That's what we were going through."

   Warwick has won four straight since suffering losses by 37-6 to Monroe-Woodbury and 29-0 against Minisink Valley. M-W is coming off its second straight loss, 27-25 to Minisink Valley.

   Before last week's loss to Newburgh, M-W had lost just once to a local opponent since 2004.

   Week 8 scoreboard: The full list of New York scores from the weekend is available on the site.