Leading off today: Class A was front and center across the state Friday as sectional football tournaments reached the semifinals.
One of the two games topping the list for drama was 22nd-ranked Carthage's 43-36 victory over No. 15 East Syracuse Minoa in Section 3 on the strength of two late touchdowns.
Spartans running back Jose Sanchez (22 carries, 210 yards) scored on a 13-yard run to take a 36-35 lead with 2:30 minutes left, and then the Comets responded with the winning score three plays later as quarterback Bailey Wilkinson broke off a 20-yard TD run. Carthage converted the 2-point play as Wilkinson (31 carries, 236 yards) found running back Josh Capers for a 43-36 lead.
A final ESM drive ended inside the Carthage 25 as time expired.
In another high-scoring Class A affair, Wallkill advanced in Section 9 with a 55-47 win over Hyde Park FDR in their rematch of a regular-season game won by the Panthers 35-28 in overtime.
Wallkill QB Joe Pillitteri completed 9 of 16 passes for 224 yards and needs only 155 yards to break the Section 9 record for passing yards in a season (2,754) set by Warwick's John Garcia in 2011.
Trailing 48-47 with :40.4 left, Roosevelt went for a two-point conversion, but running back Justin Hoskins (318 yards, three TDs) was stopped at the 1-yard line after Hoskins has tallied on a 4-yard touchdown run. Calculating that the TD was inevitable, Wallkill called let him walk into the end zone.
Wallkill's Brandon Purdy returned the subsequent onside kick 53 yards for a score.
Wallkill and Cornwall will meet in the title game for the seventh straight season.
In a Section 1 game between ranked teams, No. 7 Rye eliminated No. No. 25 Tappan Zee 28-7 to return to the finals for the first time since winning six straight crowns from 2003-08.
Alex Raynor intercepted a pass and forced a fumble to set up a pair of first-quarter touchdowns for the winners. The Garnets carried a 21-7 lead into the half after Andrew Livingston threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tim DeGraw.
In Section 2, defending NYSPHSAA champion Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, ranked fifth, edged No. 24 Troy 24-19 as sophomore John Clayton (7 of 11, 117 yards), a midseason call-up from the junior varsity, threw two TD passes.
Dan Maynard, who opened the season at quarterback, scored the decisive TD on a 57-yard run in the third quarter before Troy responded with a pair of scores.
Burnt Hills prevailed 18-12 in four overtimes when the teams met in Week 2. The Spartans ran their winning
