Leading off today: Plainedge was down to one option to escape overtime in the Section 8 Conference IV football semifinals at Hofstra University: Throw to the end zone on fourth down and hope for the best as the clock ticked to zeros on the scoreboard.
The result turned out to be optimal, to say the least, as sophomore QB Jaxson Torres connected with senior receiver Alec Anderson on a 38-yard scoring strike as Plainedge defeated Seaford, 33-27.
"A guy that runs really fast and jumps really high and a quarterback that can throw it as far as the field," Red Devils coach Rob Shaver told Newsday. "Yeah, that helps."
Said Anderson: "We've done it a couple of times in practice, more than you think. But I practice jump balls quite a bit. I work out. I've got strong hands. Everything comes together."
The last-play heroics capped an 11-play, 61-yard drive in 3:28. The drive followed a 13-play, 59-yard Seaford drive that culminated with Brian Falk's 2-yard TD run. That play knotted the score, but Plainedge blocked the extra point.
In the other semifinal, Wantagh rolled to a 55-6 victory over Cold Spring Harbor to set up a Nassau County title game between two teams that dropped down from Conference III this fall.
Be prepared for some losing records in the state tournament
Last weekend's sectional semifinals action saw some unexpected results, such as Pleasantville (5-4) and Ardsley (5-4) advancing in Section 1 Class B, and Rush-Henrietta (4-6) reaching the Section 5 Class AA title game.
Either Pleasantville or Ardsley will move into the NYSPHSAA quarterfinals with a 6-4 record, and Rush-Henrietta will have a punchers chance against Aquinas for the right to advance. However, those are not the win-loss records likely to cause raised eyebrows.
That's because this is Section 4's year to fill the at-large spots in the large school brackets so that no one draws a quarterfinal bye. Consequently, Ithaca (3-7) will get the wildcard spot in Class AA even if it does not win its Section 4 final vs. Corning (6-2). In Class A, Vestal (5-5) is also in regardless of its outcome vs. Horseheads (8-2).
It's the result of Section 4 having so few teams in the large classes -- three in Class AA and four in Class A. It falls under the ongoing struggle the NYSPHSAA faces to align playoff classification cutoffs with the reality that upstate residents have been fleeing counties north of the New York City bedroom communities in substantial numbers for several years.
Baseball standout coming home
Speaking of fleeing, the state has long been a leading exporter of basketball stars with remaining high school eligibility. Talented players frequently transfer to out-of-state programs -- I hesitate to call some of them "schools" -- to raise their recruiting profiles by playing regional or national schedules.
It's a different sport, but New York is getting one of the more promising college prospects back this spring. Newsday reported that
Jayden Stroman, who played three years of varsity baseball at the Stony Brook School before transferring to play his junior year at IMG in Florida, will cap off his high school playing career at Patchogue-Medford this spring.
Stroman, the younger brother of Major League Baseball pitcher Marcus Stroman, announced this week that he will attend Duke University -- assuming he doesn't turn pro following the amateur draft in June -- after graduation. He is a highly regarded, switch-hitting shortstop and pitcher.
"His mom wanted him home for his final year of high school," said his father, Earl Stroman. "It makes sense. We don't know if he'll be playing professionally next year or attending Duke. We wanted to spend this year together as a family."
Passings
Longtime Port Jefferson coach Alphonse Desiderio has passed away, the
Section 11 social media account reported this week.
Desiderio was a teacher and coach for the Port Jefferson district from 1958 to 1995, making him the longest-tenured high school baseball coach in Suffolk County history. He coached his teams to over 400 wins, including 10 league championships.
