Kicking off: It doesn't have the same ring to it as "Miracle of the Meadowlands," the NFL stunner that lifted the Philadelphia Eagles into the playoffs and shamed the New York Giants into an overhaul that eventually made the franchise a contender.
Still, the "Fumble in Fenton" was a head turner, helping convert a sure loss into a 31-27 victory for Chenango Valley over Johnson City in yesterday's high school football action after the Wildcats were one minute and a pair of kneel downs from the win.
With Chenango Valley out of timeouts, Johnson City led 27-25 and had possession of the ball. But the Wildcats fumbled the snap exchange at midfield, and CV recovered and scored the winning TD with three seconds to go on a Kevin Cox 25-yard throw to Conor Mahoney down the middle of the field.
Cox finished with 266 passing yards, three scoring throws and two rushing TDs.
Johnson City had reeled off 20 straight point in a wild fourth quarter to take a 27-18 lead before the Warriors drove 76 yards in seven plays to a 2-yard touchdown catch by Zack Collins with 2:17 left. The Wildcats recovered the ensuing onside kick before the fateful fumble.
JC's Jerrel Whisonant ran for 222 yards and three TDs in a losing cause.
First down: Zay Richardson is rolling.
Albany Academy's all-state running back scored on all five carries in Week 1 and continued his rushing rampage yesterday with 20 carries for 262 yards and another half dozen TDs to beat Hudson Falls 55-32. He has season totals of 25 carries, 559 yards and 11 TDs.
His latest effort offset the work of Dakota Drake, who rushed 33 times for 266 yards and three TDs.
The Cadets scored on their first four possessions en route to a 34-6 lead and 489 yards of offense on the day. Junior quarterback Hunter McCarthy went 11-for-12 for 194 yards and two touchdowns.
Second down: Monroe-Woodbury put up four touchdowns in the first nine minutes and blew out host Union-Endicott 55-7 in an intersectional matchup.
Ryan Spelman ran for four touchdowns and passed for one for the Crusaders (2-0), the six-time defending Section 9 Class AA champs. He romped 76 yards two plays after U-E opened the game with a three-and-out series and then drove M-W 72 yards in five plays to a 7-yard run by Andrew Tolosi.
Turnovers on the next two U-E possessions gift-wrapped TDs and put the game out of reach late in the first quarter, and it was 46-0 at halftime.
Spelman finished with seven carries for 134 yards and threw for 88 more yards.
Halftime: The first weekend of Long Island football saw a number of outstanding efforts beginning with five Mike Pellegrino TDs -- one on an 87-yard jaunt -- as Connetquot beat Northport 40-26.
Timmy Wienclaw hit a 27-yard field goal in overtime for Kellenberg to top Chaminade 24-21. Wienclaw caught TD passes of 52 and 74 yards from Nick Fiore in the second quarter. He finished with six grabs for 142 yards.
Alexander Minicozzi (15 carries, 234 yards) ran for three TDs and Joseph Jacobi (6-for-9, 191 yards) threw for three for Locust Valley, which broke to a 27-0 lead in the first half and beat Oyster Bay 47-26.
William Floyd edged Bay Shore 35-28 as Stacey Bedell (20 carries, 228 yards) scored on a 61-yard run with 4:33 left for his third TD of the day.
Elmont blanked Bellmore JFK 33-0 as Qusarn Caldwell threw for 110 yards and two TDs on 7-for-9 accuracy and rushed for 71 yards and a score.
Danny Napolinello opened the game with a 90-yard kickoff return, ran 20 yards for another score on his only carry and caught a 40-yard scoring strike for Valley Stream Central in a 33-0 win vs. Great Neck South.
Preshod McCoy (29 carries, 206 yards, two TDs) ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 5:49 left as North Babylon edged West Islip 13-9. McCoy also registered an interception on defense.
Sewanhaka dominated Valley Stream South 38-6 as Isaiah Pollack went 6-for-7 for 176 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed three times for 27 yards.
Third down: Buffalo Catholic schools and metro New York CHSFL squads split four games on the day after QB Paul Quadrato scored on a keeper from the 3 as time expired for Monsignor Farrell in a 21-20 win at Buffalo St. Joseph’s.
Charles Kamara converted the decisive PAT with no time left on the clock.
The Marauders took the lead with 1:14 to go before Quadrato drove Farrell 80 yards in 10 plays without any timeouts. He was 5-for-9 (two spikes to stop the clock) for