Orchard Park and Monroe-Woodbury played two distinctly different games at the Carrier Dome yesterday, with the Crusaders dominating the first half and Quakers then rallying for a 21-17 victory in the New York State Public High School Class AA football final.

   Senior quarterback Kyle Hoppy scored on second-half runs of 14 and 67 yards to complete the comeback against Monroe-Woodbury, which was making its fourth straight appearance in the finals. His work highlighted the night-and-day difference between the halves: Monroe-Woodbury outgained Orchard Park by 189-102 while taking a 17-0 lead, but the Quakers had a 233-41 margin after halftime as Hoppy and Jeff Tundo amassed 203 rushing yards.

   "They've been here before and we were a little awed walking out here in the Dome," Orchard Park senior linebacker Brandan Nuessle admitted. "We were sure we could beat them, but we couldn't get our defense off the field in the first half and our offense couldn't sustain drives. We were OK once the offense got going."

   Neussle made 17 tackles on his way to earning the award for the game's outstanding defensive back, but his biggest play came in the final 2:21 in the form of one of two interceptions on consecutive Monroe-Woodbury offensive snaps to close out the game.

   Monroe-Woodbury QB Dan Scalo had carried the ball 17 times for 113 yards and two short touchdowns in the first half, getting to the corner ahead of the defense several times. Orchard Park limited him to eight carries for 17 yards and M-W to just two first downs in the final 24 minutes.

   "We changed our defense a little bit," Nuessle said. "We started with four down linemen and then went to the 3-4, and that helped contain their quarterback a little bit. And we knew if we could make them throw we could win the game."

   Scalo finished 4-for-9 for just 24 yards. It didn't help that he was playing hurt. Coach Pat D'Aliso told the Times-Herald Record after the game that Scalo played the entire season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and will undergo surgery and four months rehabilitation.

   Once Hoppy scored the go-ahead TD with 6:00 left and the Crusaders went three-and-out, Monroe-Woodbury was out of options other than to start throwing. Getting the ball back after Orchard Park failed to convert a fourth-and-inches play near midfield with 2:28 left, Scalo rolled out to his left looking for junior Andrew Tolosi. But Nuessle stepped in front and made a leaping two-handed grab.

   Three runs by Tundo (26 carries, 146 yards and a TD) and a punt milked 86 seconds off the clock, putting the ball back on Scalo's hands at the M-W 19 with 0:55 left. His ensuing throw for senior James Young was into double coverage, with senior David Goeltz coming down with the ball.

   "Everybody made big plays," winning coach Gene Tundo said. "Everybody."

   Rye repeats: Rye won its second straight Class B championship and third in fourth years with a strong all-around effort in holding off Oneida, 16-12.

   "It's a super feeling, but it's hard work on every level," Garnets coach Dino Garr said. "The coaches deserve a lot of credit for putting in a lot of hours and hard work. And the players do, too."

   Rye senior Kyle Ramalho rushed 24 times for 136 yards to walk away with game MVP honors and Cole McCormack carried 15 times for 96 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the first quarter. They helped Rye to a 274-152 total yardage advantage and helped take the sting out of the Garnets' 13 penalties for 113 yards.

   "I know that we gave them a bit of help, but I also knew that we could take them," said senior Rob Santangelo, who was selected the game's outstanding offensive lineman.

   Oneida tried to rally late, getting an 8-yard TD throw from Ryan Kramer to Brandon Miles with 2:09 that closed the deficit to 16-12. But Rye senior Paul Reisner snatched the ensuing onside kick out of the air and fell on the ball at Rye's 38.

   "I can't imagine something as good as this," Santangelo said. "We worked hard for back-to-back titles."

   Nike Cross National update: The Burnt Hills and Queensbury girls received two of the four at-large berths yesterday to the Nike Cross Nationals, giving New York four teams in Saturday's championships in Portland, Ore.

   Fayetteville-Manlius and Saratoga locked up the automatic girls berths in Saturday's regional qualifier. New York's boys representatives will be Shenendehowa and Fayetteville-Manlius; the four at-large berths went to teams in California, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

   Besides the 22 boys and 22 girls teams from around the country, a total of 90 individuals -- the top five boys and girls from each region not from qualifying teams -- also advance to the championship meet.

   New York's boys are: Max Straneva (Chenango Valley), Alex Deir (Honeoye Falls-Lima), Bobby Andrews (Shoreham-Wading River), Scott Anderson (East Aurora) and John Muller (Arlington).

   New York's girls are: Amanda Moreland (Bloomfield), Lizzie Predmore (Shenendehowa), Danika Simonson (Shenendehowa), Liz Schinski (Geneseo) and Roxanne Henningson (Greenwich).

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