Leading off today: Go big or go home. That was both a battle cry and a necessity Friday night for Utica Notre Dame quarterback
Kevin Warmack.
The senior scored a Section-3 record eight touchdowns Friday while rolling up 405 rushing yards as the Jugglers scored a 52-40 win over General Brown to advance to the Class C final next Sunday at the Carrier Dome. Notre Dame had lost to the Lions in the playoffs the previous two seasons.
"We came here with a mission to win and get Herkimer in the Dome," Warmack told Syracuse.com. "We wanted this win bad."
Warmack scored on a 46-yard run on his team;s opening possession and then a 74-yard kickoff return to give Notre Dame a 12-7 lead. His scoring runs of 2 and 51 yards built the cushion to 17 points, but General Brown running back Zach Pitre answered with a pair of quick scores.
Lined up at running back to start the second half, Warmack scored on a 2-yard run, keeping ND on track.
Warmack's eight touchdowns broke the sectional record of seven last accomplished by Tyler Rouse of Baldwinsville in 2012. Tom Wallace set the state record of 11 for Saranac Lake in 1926.
Big comeback: For pure drama and grit in Section 3, it would have been hard to match East Syracuse Minoa's 38-35 victory against Whitesboro in the Class A semifinals. Trailing 35-10 at the half, ESM won on Jake Rodman's TD pass to Fred Johnson with :03 to go.
The win gave coach Kevin DeParde career win No. 100.
There wasn't any screaming or yelling at halftime," DeParde said. "We just told the kids to calm down and play ESM football in the second half."
Working extra hard: John Jay East Fishkill outlasted Mamaroneck 34-33 in two overtimes to advance to the Section 1 Class AA final.
The Patriots drove 80 yards to tie in the final seconds and then stopped Mamaroneck's 2-point conversion in the second overtime.
Mamaroneck pulled ahead 27-20 on Marquez Jackson-Allen's 15-yard touchdown run with 10:20 left but missed a 25-yard field-goal attempt wide left with 1:22 left, but John Jay drove 80 yards for the tie on Ryan Schumacher's 15-yard throw to Joe Lisowski with :08 left.
Facing third-and-25 in the second OT, Mamaroneck scored on a 35-yard throw from Bill Flatow (13-for-23, 304 yards, three touchdowns) to Alex Parkinson. Mamaroneck went for two, but was stopped on a rushing attempt.
More Class AA: Fourth-ranked Jamestown fought off No. 30 Williamsville North 19-7 as Devan Jackson ran for 204 yards on 18 carries, including runs of 58 and 62 yards.
