There was entirely too much championship football played Saturday, so I'm just skimming off some of the highlights as we prepare for the final three weeks of the season.

   Kicking off: The two schools that cracked 50 points on the scoreboard in Saturday's NYSPHSAA sectional finals did so nearly simultaneously, setting up an interesting state quarterfinal next weekend.

   North Tonawanda put up 34 points in the second quarter, took advantage of eight turnovers and dominated Lancaster 54-7 in the Section 6 Class AA championship. Senior Steve Kijowski scored four touchdowns, junior Joe Montesanti scored three and senior Mike Tuzzo threw for two.

   NT senior Darrik Bloomfield recovered a fumble to set up the game's first score and also picked off two passes.

   "I don't know if I ever could have imagined it like this," Tuzzo told The Buffalo News. "It's a dream of all of ours to come out at Ralph Wilson Stadium and win. We were able to do it, and it was a lot of fun."

   Next up for No. 3 North Tonawanda is a trip to Rochester on Saturday to take on No. 20 Webster Schroeder. The Warriors walloped Gates Chili 52-14 as Pete Noto rolled up 19 carries for 207 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. He also caught two passes for 64 yards and another score.

   Schroeder finished with 523 yards of total offense.

   First down: With starting QB Niko Manning sidelined by a bruised spleen, Malik Burks put Baldwinsville on his back and carried the No. 6 Bees to the Section 3 Class AA championship. Burks ran 43 times for 243 yards and three touchdowns to beat back Syracuse CBA 30-12.

   "If you come to Baldwinsville as a running back, be prepared to carry the rock," coach Carl Sanfilippo told The Post-Standard after the Bees won their first crown since 1989. "That’s what Malik does."

   The Bees started to take charge midway through the third quarter following a short CBA punt. Burks ran six consecutive times for 23 yards, and QB Casey Colligan punched it in from the 1 for a 15-12 lead. Early in the fourth quarter, Burks followed a fumble recovery with a 1-yard scoring run to turn it into a two-possession margin.

   Second down: Matt Hefter's interception of a Rian White throw near midfield sealed No. 1 Monroe-Woodbury's 35-27 victory over Warwick in the Section 9 Class AA final.

   The Crusaders won their sixth straight title and extended their Section 9 winning streak to 51 games, building a 28-7 lead and then hanging on. White's 35-yard touchdown pass to John Babin midway through the fourth quarter was his sectional-record 31st on the year and Babin's 19th scoring grab, also a record.

   Michael Grace missed the subsequent extra point to leave the score at 28-27, and M-W recponded with Dan Scalo's 30-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Laird with 2:23 left.

   In other Section 9 action. James I. O'Neill shocked Class B No. 4 Highland 35-28 to advance.

   Highland returned two first-half kickoffs to forge a 21-21 tie, but Church Pfeil (31 carries, 165 yards) scored on a pair of short runs in the second half to pull out the victory.

   "It was upsetting to see that we had pushed down the field fighting for every yard and then they'd put another

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seven points on the board in a couple of seconds," Pfeil told The Times Herald-Record.

   Quarterback Aaron Kilner completed 12 of 19 attempts for 153 yards and two TDs. He scored the game's first TD on a 7-yard run, and Pfeil gave O'Neill the lead for good with a 1-yard run with 3:11 to go in the third quarter.

   Third down: Junior Quinn Rasmus' first varsity field goal, a 39-yarder with 2.9 seconds left, gave Hoosick Falls a 17-14 victory vs. Chatham in the Section 2 Class C final. Hoosick Falls drove 10 plays and 58 yards in 1:30 to set up the winning kick, with junior Mike Brewster completing seven throws for 52 yards in the sequence.

   "I looked at the clock and realized we didn't have time to give him a few more yards," coach Ron Jones said of Rasmus, a soccer player before this season. "I told him to get out there and just kick with his normal swing. He was great."

   Junior Josh Keyes (31 carries, 151 yards), tied the game with a 4-yard, fourth-down carry with 7:24 to play in the run-up to Rasmus' heroics.

   "Yes, I would have liked to have been a few yards closer, but what can you do?: Rasmus told The Times Union. "I just wanted to keep my cool. This was definitely the biggest kick I ever made, including on the soccer field."

   Fourth down: No. 2 Chenango Forks scored TDs on its first five possessions to dominate Walton 48-14 in the Section 4 Class C championship game, giving the Blue Devils eight trophies in nine years.

   Fullback Jordan Barnett scored the first three TDs, Ricky Bronson threw to Dan Grady for a 35-yard score and Jimmy Miller ran for a TD in the first half.

   Other than a 96-yard drive to close the first half with a 34-0 lead, the Blue Devils average starting field position in the first two quarters was the Walton 36-yard line.

   Quick kicks: Yonkers Roosevelt scored scored two touchdowns in the final 6:37 of the fourth quarter to rally past Poughkeepsie 23-19 in the Section 1 Class A championship game.

   Poughkeepsie's Josh Graham scored on runs covering 27 and 71 yards, and Dane Myers broke a 75-yarder only for a 19-10 lead. Roosevelt's Dave Thomas (36 carries, 158 yards) finished a drive with a 1-yard run, then hitt the end zone for the third time with a 6-yard carry with 1:05 to play.

   "It was a great battle between two great teams," Poughkeepsie coach Ken Barger told The Journal News. "I could try to come up with other words, but the action on the field has to speak for itself. It was awesome. It was great to be part of it."

   The stat sheet: Jake Gravel ran 10 times for 142 yards and two TDs, went 5-for-7 for 153 yards and kicked all six extra points as Malone beat Massena 42-20 for the Section 7/10 Class A berth in the state quarterfinals. The Huskies got a 2-yard TD run by Gravel midway through the third quarter and a 72-yarder with 10:59 to go for a 42-12 victory.

   Bayport-Blue Point shocked Class C No. 4 Babylon 26-19 to avenge a 28-7 loss a month ago. Babylon lost fullback Mark Panarelli in the early going.