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John Moriello's NYSSWA blog
Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008: No. 2 Gates Chili, No. 7 Syracuse CBA toppled
   Leading off today: Adam Gruschow caught four touchdown passes, Duell Smith went 18-for-30 for 227 yards and three scores, and visiting No. 15 Hilton upset No. 2 Gates Chili in a Class AA football battle last night, 42-32.

   It was the biggest news on a busy night of football for teams ranked by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

   Gruschow finished with nine receptions for 146 yards. His 16-yard catch of a Jeffrey Stanton throw off a fake field goal gave the Cadets a 35-25 lead with 4:25 to play after the Spartans had clawed back to within a field goal by driving 75 yards to a 10-yard Rickey Stevens TD run.

   West Genny back on track: Dave Hildman's interception and 55-yard return for a score started No. 13 West Genesee on its way to a 28-22 victory against No. 7 Syracuse CBA in Camillus.

   CBA came unglued in the third quarter, giving the ball up on four interceptions and a fumbled kickoff return, leading to 21 unanswered points.

   The Wildcats' Jim Marks went 10-of-17 for 191 yards and two touchdowns. His 31-yard throw to John Glesener gave West Genesee a 21-9 lead midway through the third quarter. Following a pick by Matt McCabes, Marks drove the Wildcats 95 yards in seven plays, capped by a 40-yard run by senior Jeremy Jones.

   More Class AA showdowns: QB Dan Scalo ran 21 times for 200 yards and scored a touchdown to lift No. 5 Monroe-Woodbury to a 37-14 victory over No. 17 Saratoga Springs in Central Valley. Scalo also hit 6 of 12 passes for 100 yards and a TD for M-W, which rallied from a 14-7 deficit.

   James Ferrier, who missed most of the last four games with a sprained ankle, ran in a two-point conversion run with 2:47 left that carried No. 9 Minisink Valley past No. 24 Newburgh Free Academy, 16-13. His 10-yard TD run had cut the NFA lead to 13-12, and Minisink Valley coach Kevin Gallagher gambled for the win.

   Mike Belluzzi ran for 243 yards -- including 199 on 14 first-half carries -- and four touchdowns for No. 12 John Jay-East Fishkill in a 31-17 win over No. 23 Mahopac. John Jay-EF produced 304 yards of offense, didn't turn the ball over and sacked Mahopac QB Tim Taps four times.

   Tomarris Bell ran 17 times for for 164 yards and scored three times as McQuaid, ranked 15th inn Class A, prepped for its rivalry game with No. 1 Aquinas by edging Class AA No. 21 Marshall, 41-32. Junior fullback John Jenkins rushed 11 times for 189 yards for the Knights.

   Capitalizing on fumbles on LaSalle's first two offensive plays, senior quarterback Nick Ottati scored on three one-yard runs in the first quarter of a 34-7 Schenectady victory to wrap up the No. 11 Patriots' first league title. Ottati threw for 131 yards and one touchdown.

   LeRoy powers past Cal-Mum: LeRoy put up 27 consecutive points en route to a 27-20 victory over Caledonia-Mumford and its ninth triumph in the last 10 games against the Red Raiders in Section 5's top rivalry.

   Drew Alexander (114 yards) and John Casper each scored two touchdowns as LeRoy (6-0), ranked No. 4 in Class C, rallied from an early 14-0 deficit against Cal-Mum, No. 3 in Class D. Cal-Mum leads the all-time series, 38-35-2.

   Friday's rapid recap: Class A No. 11 Iroquois escaped with a 22-19 win over West Seneca East after scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter. Brandon Murie (24 carries for 81 yards) scored the winning touchdown with 7:56 left.

   Class A No. 8 Victor senior Chuck Beckwith carried 32 times for 175 yards and five touchdowns to down Churchville-Chili, 49-26. Senior QB Chris Rose was 19-of-27 for 286 yards with two touchdowns to help offset C-C junior Corey Nicholson, who piled up 329 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries.

   In Class B, Hornell topped No. 6 Bath, 14-7, as Zach Harkenrider threw fourth-quarter TDs of 81 and 18 yards. Harkenrider finished 9-of-16 for 168 yards with three interceptions.

   Class B No. 4 Lackawanna routed Eden, 43-3, as Capone Smith ran 12 times for 280 yards and two TDs and threw for another score.

   Tim Smith scored on a 10-yard run and Brad Riner ran in the two-point conversion with :17 to play as Class C No. 10 Oakfield-Alabama escaped against Pembroke, 25-24.

  
   Buffalo McKinley pounded Hutch-Tech, 40-6, as Kevin Chillis carried 22 times for 354 yards and three touchdowns, returned a punt 64 yards for another score and added an interception.

   Sophomore quarterback Joe Licata completed 24 of 36 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns to Daeshaune Clark, who scored five times for Williamsville South in a 48-20 win over Amherst.

   Mercy, which supplemented 14 varsity players with 11 JV call-ups, blanked Wyanandanch, 20-0, in Riverhead to improve to 4-1 and within reach of a playoff spot. Ryan Olson (9-for-18 for 121 yards) threw three touchdown passes.

   Class C No. 2 Dobbs Ferry escaped with a 13-6 win against Albertus Magnus, which had the ball at the Eagles' 36 with 5:00 to play but turned it over on downs.

   Boys soccer: Brentwood pushed its league unbeaten streak to 73 games with a 6-1 victory against Lindenhurst. Joseph Lopez had four goals and an assist in the first 30 minutes, and Hancell Guevara added a goal and two assists.

   Williamsville South handed Williamsville East its first league loss, 2-1 as Max Mangold and Zack Schwartz posted goals.

   On Thursday, Maple Hill coach Dan Gillespie earned his 500th victory as the Wildcats defeated Taconic Hills, 2-0, on a pair of first-half goals by Evan Lepkowski.

   Girls soccer: Junior Kori Hamm of No. 2 Edmeston (17-0) scored in overtime for a 1-0 win over No. 7 Cherry Valley-Springfield (13-1) in a key Section 4 Class D game. Hamm's 38th goal of the season came with 4:23 left in the first overtime.

   Senior Danielle Braun of Iroquois had a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over Holland, pushing her career totals to 79 goals and 56 assists.

   Senior Teresa Delabio scored all five goals, giving her a school-record 39, in Starpoint’s 5-0 win over West Seneca East.

   Sorry: This from Newsday:

   "Ed Hickland has been an official for 34 years. He has officiated basketball, soccer and football in states such as California, Ohio, Michigan and New York. He knows the perils of officiating. He knows that a controversial call sometimes can lead to fallout. But he didn't expect this kind of fallout.

   "There have been threats of protests and lawsuits. All because of a call that he and the four other men in his crew made last Saturday on the final play of regulation in the Sayville-Kings Park football game -- a call that Hickland now considers incorrect.

   "'I feel terrible after seeing the replay and knowing that we didn't get the call right,' said Hickland, the head referee. 'We blew the call as a crew and that doesn't sit well with me because I'm passionate about what I do and take my job very seriously.

   "'It falls on me because it's my crew. I thought we did everything in our power to get it right. We discussed the play and went over what happened immediately after Kings Park scored. We went with the information we had and there was nothing to support that something illegal happened.'"

   Can we back up a few paragraphs?

   Lawsuits? Lawsuits? Are they serious down there on the Island?

   Look, the officials' ruling turned out to be wrong, but how 'bout a little perspective. It was a game.

   Just a G-A-M-E.

   And, lest we forget, Sayville bears a little bit of responsibility for the loss, having pulled a Pisarcik. If they were so hell-bent on avoiding giving the ball back to Kings Park in those final six seconds of regulation, the Flashes could have run the ball out of the end zone on fourth down and taken a game-ending safety.

   It's not tough, guys. I saw Ian Goodberlet of Aquinas do it late in the 2002 Class A state final at the Carrier Dome against Nyack. In fact, I think Goodberlet is still running around there, waiting to be tackled.


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