There are just a dozen football teams across the state in action on the final weekend of the football season, Rye, Sleepy Hollow, Bronxville and Tuckahoe among them.
Who’s coming back from Syracuse with NYSPHSAA championship hardware in hand?
Follow along here and find out as lohud football writer Mike Dougherty posts live updates and insights from the JMA Wireless Dome for both Friday games.
Schedule
At JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse
Friday, Dec. 5
Class D state championship: Tioga 42, Tuckahoe 31
Class A state championship: Rye 28, Brighton 14
Saturday, Dec, 6
Class C state championship: Bronxville vs. Chenango Forks, noon
Class B state championship: Sleepy Hollow vs. Monroe, 3 p.m.
Live blog
Rye (13-0) vs. Brighton (11-2)
Buckle up
Rye is in visitor’s whites. The call is tails. Brighton wins the coin toss and has deferred. The Garnets are chasing their fifth state title, but their first in Class A.
First quarter
Short kick and Rye starts from its own 46. Right away, Carson Miller throws deep to Henry Shoemaker. No surprise. Throw was two steps too long. Charlie Garnett, who left last week’s game early with an injury, picks up 9 on his first carry. That’s a good sign. A couple of passes to Nigel Strazzini dig the Garnets out following a holding penalty. It’s first-and-10 from the Bruins’ 26. Time out Brighton. Miller gets out of the pocket. That’s a nightmare for most teams. He sets up first-and-goal at the 5. That’s a 21-yard pickup. Three plays later, Miller squeezes in to cap an impressive opening drive with 7:58 to go in the first quarter. Shoemaker’s PAT try is blocked, though, so it’s a 6-0 lead.
That’s what you expect from Rye, not outward sign of nerves.
Garnets get flagged, it’s a facemask. A pair of chunk plays give Brighton some traction. It’s first and 10 from the Rye 32. Rye can’t get off the field on third down. Bruins quarterback Ethan Bialaszewski scrambles for 6 yards to extend this drive. Brighton is in the red zone. A big stop by Strazzini and Carsten Steinmann bring up a fourth-and-seven. Bruins go for it and Matthew Henninger makes a tough catch in traffic. It’s first and goal from the 9.
End 1: Rye 6, Brighton 0
Second quarter
The Bruins have to be thrilled with this drive, which has so far taken seven minutes off the clock. Brandon Kemp uses his blockers and cuts back into the end zone for a 6-yard TD. And the PAT is good. Brighton leads 7-6 with 39 seconds gone in the quarter.
Miller to Shoemaker for 15 yards has Rye in Bruins territory. Brighton comes in a full blitz. Miller tucks and runs for 18 yards, like, no big deal. Garnets are at the Brighton 15. Miller to Shoemaker again. The Harvard-bound wideout bodies a defensive back and scores. It’s a 15-yard catch and run. Miller and Shoemaker have connected for 20 TDs so far this season. The Garnets call time and set up a conversion play. Miller drops back, looks around, then sprints for the right pylon. Rye is leading 14-7 with 8:59 to play.
Never seen this one. Shoemaker hits a screaming line drive on the kickoff. Brighton player sticks a foot out and kicks ball onto the turf, then recovers the ball. Apparently, that’s an illegal kick. Bruins will start on their own 5.
Fumble. Steinmann comes out of the pile with the ball for Rye at the 12. Jack Levine, I think, on the hit. Garnets call time ahead of third-and-six play from the 8. Make it 21 scoring connections. Miller to Shoemaker who leans in for the score with 6:03 to play. The normally reliable Shoemaker misses the PAT so the Garnets’ lead is 20-7.
The Bruins go to the air for a couple of nice games, but are fourth-and-five. Strazzini comes flying in for a huge pressure. Bialazewski throws. Intentional grounding. Rye ball at the Brighton 46. A couple of holding penalties back the Garnets up. This is what Rye does. It’s second and 25. A third-down screen to Shoemaker nets 10 yards and the Garnets line up to punt.
Jagger Fenton punts into the end zone and the defense locks in.
Halftime: Rye 20, Brighton 7.
Third quarter
The Bruins come out throwing and go 0 for 3 to start the half. Punt upcoming. Rye coverage was much better on that series. Punt is muffed, but a hustling Sebastian Lewis comes back to recover. Garnets are setting up at their own 32.
Garnett rips off a nine-yard run, then heads to the sideline. The shoulder appears to be a problem still. Miller to Charlie Brady gets a first down. Rye is near midfield. Leo Hopkins with a rare Miller sack. It’s third-and-16 now. Illegal formation on the Garnets, who are not even close to being in synch offensively. Penalty is declined. Rye punts.
Another flag goes against the Garnets, who do this a lot. They play through mistakes better than any team in Section 1 and maybe the state. Defense gets the stop on third down. Brighton sends punting unit on. High snap. Bad kick. Flag down. Roughing the kicker. The Bruins are back on the move, first-and-10 at the Rye 49. Unsportsmanlike against Brighton and it’s second-and-17.
Heininger with a big fourth-down carry. He moves the chains with a 19-yard gain. The Bruins are facing another fourth down at the 14. Heininger needed one, but got met in the backfield by four Garnets. Turnover on downs.
Miller completes to Shoemaker and Lewis, moving the Garnets out to their 37 in the final minute of the quarter.
Fourth quarter
Another drive. Another flag. Holding against Rye. Miller is sacked again. That was good coverage by the Bruins. And they did it again. Rye has a habit of doing silly things, getting backed up and delivering a backs-to-the-wall play. On third-and-16, Miller scrambles and throws deep to Shoemaker who had separated. It’s a 68-yard hookup, in stride. Shoemaker slipped out of the grasp of the defensive back and walked in. They reconnect on the conversion, too. Garnets are up 28-7 with 10:12 to go.
Garnets continue to play well defensively and get Brighton off the field.
Rye kills some clock then punts it back to the Bruins with three and change to go. Brighton goes deep. Hudson Coles makes the grab and it’s first-and-10 at the Garnets’ 15. The Bruins get into the end zone and it’s 28-14 inside of two minutes.
The Garnets are taking knees. Brighton is burning time outs. Miller goes deep on third down to Lewis. Rye is first-and-goal on the 6. Garnets take two knees and celebrate.
Final: Rye 28, Brighton 14
Tuckahoe (10-1) vs. Tioga (12-1)
It feels like 18 degrees outside, but we’re nice and comfortable here inside the Dome, where Tuckahoe is back in the locker room after warmups firing up the pregame butterflies. The clock says three minutes until pregame introductions. Stay tuned for NYSPHSAA championship football.
Buckle up
Tuckahoe was first out of the tunnel and got a loud welcome from the 200 or so folks who made the trip. Tioga won the coin toss and deferred. Here we go.
First quarter
Connor Brice called his own number four times and then hit Max Reyes for a 12-yard gain. It’s first-and-10 at the Tioga 34. Tuckahoe already looks settled, but clearing out the big boys up front is proving to be a chore. Not a lot of room to run in the middle. Tuckahoe converts on fourth down and Tioga jumps early. First down. Connolly blasts up the middle for 6 to convert again on fourth down and Brice picks his way through traffic for a 6-yard touchdown on the next play. Brice handles the high snap and gets on for a two-point conversion. It’s 8-0 with 5:59 to go in the quarter.
That is exactly the kind of start Tuckahoe needed. Absolute best-case scenario.
Tioga is marching. Max Stauder got to the sideline and went for 30, but lineman mark McCane is limping off with an injury. It’s first -and-10 at the Tuckahoe 13. Logan Bellis gets into the end zone clean from the 2 with 2:42 to go in the first. Tioga goes for two, but Logan Bogetti and Vincent Justino make the stop short of the goal line. Tuckahoe lead is 8-6.
Tuckahoe is moving the chains again and picks up eight on a Brice-to-James Romeo connection. It’s second and 2 at the 29 of Tioga.
End 1: Tuckahoe 8, Tioga 6
Second quarter
Brice runs for another 6-yard touchdown. Willed his way in there. Romeo adds the PAT and Tuckahoe is up 15-6. Tuckahoe isn’t creating the usual space up front, but the line is opening seams for Brice and Connolly.
Tioga is fourth-and-4 at the Tuckahoe 40 and is going for it. Jackson Bombard picks up plenty. It’s first-and-10 on the 34. We’ve got a shoot-out now. Bombard hits a ridiculously wide-open Kadin Cole for a 34-yard TD on the next play. That had to be a coverage miscue. Tioga is going for two-points again. Brice knocks the pass away in the end zone. Tuckahoe lead is 15-12 with 7:34 to go in the half.
Keeping the clock moving is a huge priority for Tuckahoe and Brice just extending this drive with a scramble on third down. It’s fourth-and-5 at the Tioga 26. Tuckahoe calls time with 3:25 to go in the quarter. Brice drops back to pass and lets it fly with a defender around his leg. Incomplete. Tioga gets the stop. Momentum could swing here if Tuckahoe defense doesn’t respond.
Bombard goes deep again. Tioga rattled off three nice runs then Gavin Albrecht hauls in a 33-yard pass and sets up a first down at the Tuckahoe 19. Max Stauder rumbles for 16 and Bellis takes a pitch and rolls into the end zone from the 3 on the next play. Tioga again goes for two and Bombard is quickly swarmed at the line of scrimmage. Tuckahoe is trailing for the first time 18-15 with 34 seconds to go before halftime. And yes, that one stung with Tioga getting the ball to start the second half.
Brices launches deep, incomplete. The next snap is fumbled but Kilian Curylo lands on it and Tuckahoe lets the final seconds tick off.
Halftime: Tioga 18, Tuckahoe 15
Third quarter
We’re back. Tuckahoe starts on defense and has to stop or at least slow down Tioga’s running game if only to keep it’s line from wearing down in the second half. Bellis just ran off left tackle for 12 to get Tioga to the 50. Tuckahoe is giving up an average of 7 yards on first down this drive. Personal foul call on Tuckahoe has Tioga first-and-goal at the 10. Bellis goes in untouched from the 6 with 7:31 to go in the third and pushes the pile forward to get the two-point conversion. Tioga is getting comfortable with a 26-15 lead.
Tuckahoe starts at its own 44 and needs to get traction quickly. Connolly opens the drive with a 21-yard carry. Brice is stopped for no gain on third down, gets flushed from the pocket on fourth down and throws incomplete. Tioga takes over at its own 31.
And there is the third-down stop Tuckahoe desperately needed. Tioga punts for the first time this afternoon. Balls tumbles into the end zone with 3:06 to go in the third. Tuckahoe is back in the game. Brice zigs and zags, gets to the left sideline and legs out an 80-yard TD on the first play of the possession. And he’s got enough left to get in for the two-point conversion. Tioga lead is down to 26-23 with 2:53 to go in the third.
Brice is having one of those games. He’s playing with more composure than anyone on the field right now. Tioga narrowly squeaks out a timely first down. Curylo stopped Bellis following a 1-yard gain, but the chains are moving.
End 3: Tioga 26, Tuckahoe 23
Fourth quarter
Ryan Gentry, who narrowly missed a sack two plays earlier, brings down Bombard in the backfield to set up third-and-8 from the 36. Reyes bats down a pass on the next play. Fourth down upcoming. Tioga completes a 22-yard pass, but a flag is down. Lengthy discussion. This is giving Tuckahoe a minute to rest. Illegal block below the waste. Tioga is backed up. It’s fourth-and-23. Punting unit is on.
Tuckahoe gets stopped for short gains on all three plays, takes a delay of game penalty and punts. Ball is touched dead at the Tioga 44. Tuckahoe needs another stop with 8:52 to play. Good play call. Bellis zips around the left side for 18 yards. Tuckahoe looked tired on that play.
Ouch. Bellis went up the middle, bounced left and gave Tioga wiggle room. He went 23-yards for his fourth touchdown of the game and Stauder added the conversion run. Tuckahoe is down 34-23 with 5:50 to play.
Brice picks up 7 yards, then fumbles but Reyes gets on the ball to keep the possession alive. A pass on third down is off the hands of an oncoming defensive lineman and Tuckahoe is going on fourth down from the Tioga 47 with 5:01 left in the game. Connolly delivers. He shook a tackler off his leg and went 53 yards for the score. Brice shows patience on the conversion run and makes it a 34-31 game with 4:51 to go. Tuckahoe has some adrenaline to play with now.
First down Tioga. Bellis and Stauder are getting lots of room. Time out Tuckahoe with 2:36 to play. Bellis chewed up 11 and 6 yards to put Tioga at the Tuckahoe 32. Bellis gets five on third-and-1 and the clock keeps on ticking, we’re inside two minutes.
That should do it. Bellis runs 16 yards and into the end zone for his fifth TD with 58 seconds left. Bellis adds the conversion and it’s a 42-31 lead. Tuckahoe’s needle is on E right now. The effort was there, but the energy is low.
Brice completes two passes, then throws two incompletions. Connolly is stopped on fourth down and Tioga is celebrating with 14 seconds to go. One kneel down ends it and Tioga has it’s fourth NYSPHSAA Class D championship in the last five seasons.
Final: Tioga 42, Tuckahoe 31
Mike Dougherty covers high school football for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rye wins state football title, Tuckahoe loses D final. Relive action.
Reporting by Mike Dougherty and Stephen Haynes, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
