Leading off today: Our Lady of Lourdes scored late in regulation to tie and then
won 21-20 in overtime vs. Cornwall on a successful extra point in the NYSPHSAA Class A football quarterfinals Friday.
Dean Rotger scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to tie it at 20, and Curt Jorgensen converted the kick to advance the Warriors to the semifinals. Another Rotger 1-yard touchdown run tied the score at 14 with 3:11 remaining, and Lourdes survived two red zone scares in the waning minutes.
First, Kevin Doyle forced and recovered a fumble with 1:34 left after Cornwall had driven to the Lourdes 15. The Warriors' Luke Timm intercepted a pass for the end zone after the Dragons had driven to the 21 with :05 to go.
Cornwall got the first possession in overtime and Jason Bailey scored on a 1-yard carry. But the extra point was blocked, opening the door for Lourdes.
M-E impresses early: Maine-Endwell put four touchdowns on the scoreboard before Whitesboro made its initial first down and registered a 42-7 victory in the Class A quarterfinals, extending its winning streak to 62 games.
Five years and a day after their most recent loss -- to Whitesboro in a state quarterfinal -- the Spartans dominated with four TDs in the first 11:24. Each of the first-quarter scoring plays covered 33 or more yards.
Kyle Balmer went 4-for-4 passing for 108 yards and two TDs. He returned an interception 56 yards for another and rushed for yet another.
"We wanted to jump on them early because we knew they haven't been down much this year," M-E's Michael Palmer told the Press & Sun-Bulletin. "We weren't sure how they would respond to a little adversity so we wanted to get out there, jump up on them quick and see how things went."
Greenwich impresses late: Held to a 7-7 tie at halftime, Greenwich blew open its Class C quarterfinal in the second half and beat Gouverneur 49-13 in Class C.
"Our coaches got in there and just told us, 'That was the worst football we've ever seen,'" Greenwich's Kyle Boddery said of the halftime talk. "Us captains really got together and said, 'Listen, we don't want this to be our last game. We don't want to go out like this.'"
The Witches started the second half with a 60-yard drive, capped off with Mike Brandow scoring the second of his four touchdowns. Greenwich finished the day with 448 yards of offense.
Class D recaps: Tioga steamrolled Sandy Creek 50-14 to advance to its fifth straight NYSPHSAA semifinal. Jesse Manuel ran for 238 yards and five touchdowns in the first half to help the Tigers build a 43-6 advantage.
Tioga's defense forced five turnovers in the opening half.
Just creating turnovers is a huge momentum swing and that really opened up the game there early in the game and definitely changed the mentality of the game," said Manuel, who finished with 243 rushing yards on 18 attempts.
Adam Zwierlein added 77 rushing yards for Tioga, which has won seven straight since a 35-32 loss to Newark Valley in Week 4.
Meanwhile, Ticonderoga advanced to the semis for the first time since 2007 by blanking Whitehall 32-0.
The Sentinels held the Railroaders to minus-5 yards rushing.
Ticonderoga lost quarterback Evan Graney and center/defensive tackle Caleb Munson to injuries in the first half, but senior Brody Rocque, who scored two touchdowns, stepped in to run the offense. Ryan Trudeau
