No.1 Somers, No.4 Pleasantville Advance to Class A, B Finals
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Carmel, Yorktown, Westlake, Put Valley Bounced in Semis
By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
Two of the usual suspects from the Ex-coverage zone survived and advanced into this weekend’s Section 1 grid championships, including top-seeded and state-ranked (co-No.1) Class A SOMERS, which survived a 14-6 battle against visiting fourth-seeded Harrison, along with No.4 Class B PLEASANTVILLE, which, despite being unranked in the state, managed a stunning 14-0 win over (No.15) and top-seeded WESTLAKE.
For the fourth-straight year, 2023 sectional runner-up Pleasantville advanced to Saturday’s 3:00 p.m. title tilt against No.3 Ardsley, a 14-12 upset winner of state-ranked (No.6) Bronxville, at Mahopac High, leaving us two unranked teams to challenge in an anything-goes sectional title challenge.
Somers advanced to Friday’s (6:00 p.m.) Section 1 title game against No.2 Rye, also at host Mahopac, having done so every year since losing to John Jay CR in the 2018 semifinals. VALHALLA was awarded a forfeit in the Class C semis and will face Dobbs Ferry in Saturday’s high noon championship showdown.
The only team missing from the recent state rep #OG was former three-time reigning Class AA champion CARMEL, seeded No.4, which was eliminated, 28-0, at the hands of top-ranked North Rockland.
‘Twas a wild and crazy week, for sure; especially when you mix in Class C PUTNAM VALLEY’s inexplicable egg it laid in the No.2 Tigers’ 54-13 head-scratching loss to visiting No.3 Dobbs Ferry.
We will try to make sense of it all below, but know this: Section 1 titles will be tough to come by for Ex-area teams this weekend at Mahopac High, home of the former Indians, sadly rebranded the Wolf Pac.
CLASS A
Undefeated Somers (10-0) is up against it vs. state-ranked (No.3) Rye (10-0) unless the Tuskers can kick it up a notch in the trenches where a physical Garnet team got the better of Yorktown in the semis.
Harrison RB Marco Marisi (22 carries, 160 yards) and Husky QB Dante Lanza (22 carries, 100 yards, TD) combined for 260 yards rushing, something the Garnets will surely try to exploit in a title tilt we’ve seen coming since defending champion Rye moved up from Class B to A this fall.
Down 6-0 entering the fourth quarter, two-time reigning NYSPHSAA champion Somers ran an introspective huddle on their opening possession of the final stanza. Time was of the essence and Harrison had been handling the Tuskers’ vaunted attack, holding them scoreless until Somers WR Dean Palazzolo hauled in a perfect pass from QB Miguel Iglesias (9 for 15 passing, 156 yards) just six seconds into the fourth quarter to tie the game at 6-all after a botched snap on the PAT.
“Harrison did a great job,” Somers Coach Anthony DeMatteo said. “They played a very physical game, hats off to them.”
Momentum #Energy, though, began its swing, and Somers would see Palazzolo (4 carries, 42 yards; 3 receptions, 54 yards) snap off another big-gainer, setting the Tuskers up at the Husky five. Two dives later, Somers senior RB Mason Kelly (17 carries, 80 yards) would seal the deal, plowing to paydirt from a yard out at 7:17 of the fourth. On yet another flubbed PAT, the Tuskers went ‘fire drill’ when holder JJ Penzo picked up a bad snap and found Will Marcus for the two-point conversion and the final margin.
Those are the types of things that cannot happen against Rye. Somers was lucky to see its defense pick up the slack, especially in the second half, behind senior captain Ben Harris (7 tackles, forced fumble) and sophomore Hudson Ruby (2 fumble recoveries, sack). Somers junior Brett Kennedy had his hat on a lot of licks, too.
“We definitely came out a little slow at first, we weren’t really clicking in the beginning,” Palazzolo admitted, “but once we found that one play to get the energy up we were there, and we couldn’t be stopped. We definitely need to have a perfect practice week this week going into the Rye game, but we are going to keep being us and get better every day.”
YORKTOWN will be the first to tell us that Somers is up against it this coming week after the third-seeded Huskers (6-4) suffered a 35-14 season-ending semifinal loss to Rye Friday at Nugent Field along the Sound Shore.
“Rye is as complete as a football team gets,” Yorktown Coach Pantelis Ypsilantis said. “By far the biggest team in Class A: Can beat you on the ground, through the air, weapons everywhere. And obviously they have a legendary coach (Dino Garr) who does an amazing job. We have a lot of experience on our coaching staff and unanimously we all said it was the best team we’ve ever faced in Section 1, they’re that complete, that good. We’ve said since the first game we played against them they are by far the best team in Class A. We believe it’s there’s to lose.
“We were unsure of what we were going to be coming into the season,” the coach added. “We had a slew of new starters on both sides of the ball, but the kids came together and put together a really nice season. Three out of our four losses came against state champions from last season. We will have a bunch of returning starters next year and some other kids in our program coming up ready to take the next step. However, losing (QB) Kaden (Gonzalez) will be a huge loss for us as a team and a program. Hard to put into words what he did for us the last three seasons (school records: 4,639 passing yards and 60 touchdowns). We’re excited to see what next season brings.”
This season, the Huskers came to play: Gonzalez (14 of 32, 173 yards, 60th career TD pass), and WR Tyler Galante (8 catches, 82 yards, TD) triggered an effective offense, but it was tough sledding against a Rye defense that has pitched three shutouts this fall and allowed a section-low 83 points.
Rye Coach Dino Garr surpassed former Somers Coach Tony DeMatteo for career victories (361) in Section 1. Next up on Garr’s checklist is retired Bethpage Coach Howie Vogts, who holds the state record for career coaching wins. (364)
Husker RB Chad Bowen (3 tackles) added 40 yards and a TD on six carries while Rocco Lore led the D with seven tackles, followed by Joe Hunter, Eamon Coney and Evan Kurth (5 tackles apiece).
MAHOPAC finished the season with a 23-20 non-playoff win over host OSSINING Thursday when senior RB Jack Clifford rushed 15 times for 48 yards and a score, which got him 1,030 rushing yards for the season.
Wolf Pac (6-4) sophomore QB Ethan Dedvukkaj was 13 for 20 for 135 yards with two passing touchdowns and 945 passing yards for the season. Mahopac junior Lorenzo Echandy returned from injury to finish out a strong campaign, including six receptions for 74 yards and a TD.
The defense was led by senior captain Landon Varley (12 tackles, forced fumble and a sack that ended the game on fourth down). Justin Sanchez had 19 tackles and Dominick Iacono had 16.
K Kyle Pinto was 2 for 2 on PATs and 1 for 2 on field goals (38 yards) and had a touchback.
LAKELAND could not stop the run game and suffered a 40-20 season-ending loss to Clarkstown North. RB Robbie Policastro had 18 carries for 108 yards and a score while QB Joseph LaPeruta added 19 carries for 122 yards and a TD. He also tossed a TD pass to Anthony D’Errico. Nick Aleva led the defense with 10 sticks for the Hornets (2-8).
CLASS B
PLEASANTVILLE will face Bronxville in the Section 1 Championship game Saturday (3:00 p.m.) when the Panthers return to the sectional finals for the fourth consecutive year.
On its opening possession, Pleasantville marched to paydirt behind a dominant O-line and RB Louis Sdao, who punched it from six yards out (PAT good) for a 7-0 lead.
Sdao finished with 26 carries for 97 yards, and was equally special on defense where he had 10 tackles and two sacks. Pleasantville (5-4) padded its lead in the fourth when Panther DB Nick Reich snared a 43-yard pick-6 to seal the deal. Joe Sokich kicked two extra points.
“Extremely proud of our guys,” Pleasantville Coach Tony Becerra said. “We knew going into this season having the No.1 strength of schedule that it would get ugly at times. We also knew that if we could just get to the postseason, improve weekly, and stay healthy we’d have a chance. We keep reminding our guys that they can accomplish great things if they harness the power of their collective will. So, in some ways, they’ve willed themselves into getting the job done. I’m just as proud of our coaches in preparing them to be successful,” the coach added. “Special teams coach, Brian Maceyak, dialing up the onside kick was huge. Even though it didn’t result in points, it kept the ball out of their hands. Coach Lamar’s defense delivered another great performance, this time pitching a shutout. To top it off our staff veteran, Pete Christie, coached in his 500th game spanning a 40 year coaching career.”
#CongratsCoach
CLASS C
Top-seeded VALHALLA moved on to the finals after No.4 Woodlands failed to field a team for the semis. Either way, the Falcons were no match for the state-ranked (No.8) Vikings (8-0), who were likely expecting to see No.2 PUTNAM VALLEY, ranked No.19 in NYS, but a not-so-funny thing happened in the Valley where the Tigers (5-4) suffered a shocking 54-13 loss to No.3 Dobbs Ferry. The 54 points against comes a week after the Tigers surrendered 66 points in a league-title setback to the Vikings. PV had handled the Eagles, 62-35, back on Oct. 25, but few teams, if any, can allow 100 combined points against in a competitive playoff-type-setting and survive.
“We knew Dobbs would be out for revenge,” PV Coach Ryan Elsasser said. “We were a little banged up after the Valhalla game in key spots. They hit those spots and jumped out early on the scoreboard. (QB) Mateo Dobra took a hit that limited his ability to throw after the first series.
Dobbs did a good job keeping our key players isolated once the pass game was limited.
“I am very proud of my kids for what they were able to do this year,” the coach added. “We fell short of our expectations and goals in the section, but they should all hold their heads high after this season.”
CLASS AA
CARMEL (5-4) could not stop North Rockland RB Jaquan Johnson, who rushed for 240 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries in the former three-time defending champion Rams’ 28-0 loss to the top-seeded Raiders, ranked No.17 in NYS. North Rockland will face No.3 Mamaroneck in the finals.
CLASS D
HALDANE will face rival Tuckahoe Friday (3:00 p.m.) for the sectional title between the lone two Class D schools in Section 1.
INDEPENDENT LEAGUE
While HORACE GREELEY suffered a 34-7 setback to Tappan Zee in the Indy League finals, both WR Jameson Blakeslee and QB Julian Asch set all sorts of career records for the Quakers while facing an Independent League schedule the last couple of years. In 28 varsity games, Blakeslee, the Bucknell-bound lax star, posted career stats that include school records for 102 receptions, 2,027 receiving yards and 29 receiving TDs. Asch has put up a school record 3,655 passing yards and 38 TD passes, plus 10 rushing scores.
RAY GALLAGHER/DAVID TABER/TONY HUMBERTO PHOTOS
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
Visit Ray’s author bio page for more details. Also read Ray’s archived work here and his Direct Rays column here.
