Kicking off: Aquinas and Victor played one of the hardest-hitting games I can recall in the Section 5 Class A final last night, with the Little Irish prevailing 10-7 for their fifth straight championship.
"It was two tough defenses going at it,'' Aquinas sophomore linebacker Billy Lombardi told the Democrat and Chronicle. "It easily could've been the other way around, two great offenses going at it.''
Senior fullback Tim Young scored on a 5-yard run with 6:45 remaining in the second quarter, the Little Irish added a field goal before the half and then they held on in the second half.
Lombardi converted a crucial 4th-and-17 play with a long run as Aquinas sought to run out the clock. He made 10 tackles on defense, including 4½ sacks.
"We had to go 60, 70 yards (to score),'' Victor coach Jim Haugh said. "That's tough sledding against a quality defense.''
Next up for Aquinas is its fourth straight NYSPHSAA quarterfinal vs. Sweet Home, which has won the last two confrontations en route to state championships. The losing state finalist in both instances was Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, which stayed on course by beating Lansingburgh 42-21.
Brandon Beatty ran for 134 yards and four touchdowns, Evan Nusbaum rolled up 137 yards and a score and Keaton Flint contributed 128 yards and one touchdown in the Spartans' third straight Class A Super Bowl championship.
Beatty scored a pair of 8-yard touchdown runs in the second quarter as Burnt Hills built a 35-0 lead.
TOURNEY BRACKETS
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"We want a state championship," Beatty told The Times Union. "We lost the state title game the last two years and we don't like that."
First down: Harrison won its seventh Section 1 championship in 13 seasons by edging Horace Greeley 6-0 in Class A. The Huskies held Greeley to 219 total yards.
Harrison scored the only points on a 10-yard run by senior Alex Acompora early in the second quarter after Steve Ricciardi ran 64 yards the previous play.
After the loss, Horace Greeley coach Bill Tribou announced his resignation, saying he had promised his wife and mother this was his final season.
"As of right now I am no longer the head coach," Tribou told The Journal News. "I made that decision over a year ago and that's the way it is right at this minute."
Second down: Junior QB Ryan Spelman and senior running back Trevor Officer combined for 498 yards of total offense to lift Monroe-Woodbury to the Section 9 Class AA championship with a 48-7 rout of Kingston.
Spelman, 7-for-14 for 199 yards, threw for two touchdowns and ran for two as the Crusaders won their seventh straight title and upped their postseason scoring margin to 110-14 in two games. Officer ran 17 times for 204 yards.
Officer ran for a pair of short TD runs and Spelman hit Zach Perez with a 41-yard touchdown pass to give M-W a 21-0 lead by halftime, then the Crusaders put up 27 in the third quarter, beginning with Spelman hitting Perez in stride for a 59-yard TD.
Third down: Defending state Class B champion Hornell had no trouble securing its 10th Section 5 championship, routing Midlakes 67-0.
Jordan Schwartz made touchdown receptions of 70 and 18 yards, and also made a catch on the opening drive to set up Sam Stonerock’s 2-yard TD run. Schwartz finished with seven catches for 233 yards. QB Dominic Scavo's first three throws were all completions and accounted for more than 150 of his 260 yards on the day. He finished 9-for-12 and also ran for a score as the Red Raiders continued to diversify their offensive attack after relying much more heavily on the run last year.
Hornell held Midlakes to 43 yards of offense.
Also in Class B, New Paltz topped Marlboro 13-0 in Section 9 to advance to the NYSPHSAA quarterfinals vs. Croton-Harmon. No Section 9 Class B team has won a state playoff game since 2000, when Rondout Valley won the state championship.
