Leading off today: Caledonia-Mumford coach Mike Monacelli refers to it as a "woulda, coulda, shoulda" discussion -- purely theoretical because we'll never know whether his football team could have pulled out a victory against Tuckahoe had the Red Raiders cashed in a lengthy drive at the end of the first half and wiped up a 6-0 deficit.

   The journey of 21 plays and 73 yards that consumed 9:06 on the clock, which isn't much shorter than some of my trips on the Thruway. But it ended with the Red Raiders turning the ball over on downs at the 7; they went into the locker room moments later still down 6-0 and mustered little in the second half of the NYSPHSAA Class D final before losing to Tuckahoe by a 27-0 final at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.

   Monacelli, 61, isn't the type who'll let the failed drive consume him. Rather, he grasps the big picture: Though the game was closer than the final score indicated, there was no doubt that Tuckahoe had size and speed that Cal-Mum could not match. And with no turnovers in 55 snaps, the Tigers weren't much in the mood to gift-wrap even the smallest opening.

   "We don't get that team quickness (in Section 5)," Monacelli said. "I can't remember (something comparable), maybe a Clyde-Savannah team years ago. When your scout team is out there (in practice) you're just trying to make plays. I don't have a scout quarterback to mimic that quarterback, I don't have two wings to mimic their wings and I don't have scout guys the size of 73 (Jonathan Jubilee) and 51 (Kevin Chen)."

   What he does have is the runners-up trophy to conclude the season with an 11-2 record amidst conjecture Monacelli will retire as coach. (He wouldn't engage in speculating after the game, but ...)

   Tuckahoe got 12 carries for 81 yards from Luis Esquilin and 15 attempts for 65 yards by Jarett Sommers.

   Cal-Mum fell behind midway through the first quarter after an ill-advised fake punt set up a six-play, 23-yard TD drive capped by quarterback Kevin Garabitos' 1-yard run. But the Red Raiders righted the ship and held Tuckahoe to two first downs in its next two possessions, taking over at its own 20 with 9:27 left in the second quarter to begin its lengthy drive. Jon Cappotelli would carry 15 times for 67 of his game-high 88 yards as the Red Raiders moved to the Tuckahoe 2. But lining up for a fourth-and-2 snap just outside the Tigers 2, Cappotelli was flagged for illegal procedure. Facing fourth down from the 7, Madison Suhr throw into the end zone and Vince Moore batted the ball down to end the threat.

   The third quarter began with Tuckahoe driving nine plays and 53 yards to Esquilin's 5-yard TD run for a 14-0 lead, and the Tigers wore down the Red Raiders the rest of the way with a combination of size and speed that was a cut above Class D competition all season long.

   The Tigers (10-1) eventually forced Cal-Mum to go airborne, and Ryan Mitchell pulled down three of the defense's four interceptions.

   "This feeling, it's almost like I'm in a dream now," lineman Kevin Chen told The Journal News. "It's ridiculous. Yes, we knew in the beginning of the season that we could get it done, but now that we're state champs it's surreal."

   Aquinas fights off Harrison: As Yogi Berra would say, it was deja vu all over again. A mere two hours after the fruitless Cal-Mum drive, Harrison suffered a similar fate at the end of the first half of its Class A title game against Aquinas.

   Down two TDs in the back end of the doubleheader, Troilo's Harrison squad covered 76 yards in 17 snaps over 6:53, including a missed field-goal attempt negated by a defensive penalty, but came away empty as time expired in the first half and ended up dropping a 24-13 decision.

   The championship was Aquinas' fifth, breaking a tie with Cal-Mum for the all-time state lead. The Little Irish did it with big plays from their senior stars in the scant time they held the ball. Chris Bostick got his feet down in the back right corner of the end zone for a 24-yard TD pass on a fourth-and-17 play in the second quarter, and Mike Messina broke loose for a 50-yard TD run that put the game away with 2:08 to play in the building in which he'll be playing lacrosse beginning next year.

   "I thought as long as we didn't give up any big plays we could win," Troilo said of Bostick's catch. "That was a killer. Fourth and 15 or fourth and 16, that was a killer. If that ball turned back to us anything could have happened."

   It nearly did anyway. In the span between the Bostick and Messina TDs, the Huskies held the ball for 20:51 to just 7:40 for Aquinas and outscored the Little Irish 13-3.

   "They kept us off the field for a very long time," said Messina, who earned game MVP honors after carrying 16 times for 176 yards. "That's what hurt us. "Usually our defense can get the ball right back and we can put some points up, but their offense was the key to their team. They kept us off the field a lot. I was getting antsy on the sideline. I couldn't wait to get in."

   Harrison's methodical drive at the end of the first half started at the Huskies' 20. It stalled out at the Little Irish 8, so Troilo sent Roberto Bruno on for a 34-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide to the left with 11 seconds left. But Aquinas was called for roughing the kicker, and Troilo put his offense back on the field believing he could get off two plays and still have a tick of the clock left for another kick if necessary.

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   Aquinas linebacker Sean Preish tripped up the intended receiver in the end zone on first down to move the ball to the 4, but sophomore quarterback Vinny Nicata was intercepted by Jahmahl Pardner on the next play, ending the half.

   "It was huge," Harrison running back Tanner Know said after picking up 110 yards in 22 carries. "I thought if we scored we'd have gotten back into the game."

   Harrison did drive 82 yards to a TD to open the second half and immediately forced the Little Irish into a three-and-out. But Aquinas senior Klay Heston stepped in front of a Nicata throw four plays later to set up a 36-yard Eric Terhaar field goal for a 17-7 lead.    Heston's officially a strong safety, but he's been a jack of all trades. Bostick, Pardner, Messina and linebacker Marc Pettrone have all suffered leg or ankle injuries in the last month, so Heston (a Lehigh lacrosse recruit) expanded his job description during the late stages of the run to a 13-0 season.

  "I'm very happy for Klay," coach Chris Battaglia said. "Klay is overlooked when people talk about our players. They think about Mike. They think about Jarron (Jones), but there is a Division I kid."

  Harrison (10-2) fought back to a Steve Ricciardi TD reception two plays after the senior was on the receiving end of a 38-yard pass from Charlie Drago, who had fielded a one-hop lateral from Nicata along the sideline.   Despite a missed extra point, Harrison still had life with 2:28 to play. But Pardner recovered the ensuing onside kick on one hard hop, and two plays later Messina swept left, broke one high arm tackle and stormed down the Aquinas sideline for his final varsity TD.

  "This is someplace where I'm going to play a lot of lacrosse," Messina said. "I wanted to get a football win here in my last game."

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   Long Island finals: Freeport junior quarterback Isaiah Barnes (23 carries, 206 yards) scored six TDs and passed for another as the offense rolled up 533 yards of offense and defeated William Floyd 62-35 Long Island Class I title at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium.

   It was Freeport's fourth Class I championship and second straight. The Devils scored nine TDs in 12 possessions. Freeport broke the record for points in a Long Island final set in 2004 by Sayville in a 55-14 victory over Wantagh.

   Floyd's Stacey Bedell (292 all-purpose yards) scored the first two of his four touchdowns -- including a 91-yard return of the opening kickoff -- to give Floyd a 14-0 lead, and his third score tied the game at 21 before Freeport shook loose.

   In Class III, senior QB Paul Magloire ran for three touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions to lead Lynbrook to a 42-27 win over Sayville for its first championship since 1992. Magloire finished with 120 yards on the ground.

   John Haggart led the way for Sayville with 27 carries for 123 yards and three touchdowns.