Rams Crowned NYS Class AA Grid Champs, 1st Ever in Putnam County
History Made: Carmel Crowned Putnam’s 1st NYS Grid Champs
Unbeaten Rams Crush Bennett Academy, 42-12, Romp Through State Tourney
By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
SYRACUSE — Section 6 Class AA champion Buffalo Bennett had never seen anything like Section 1 champion Carmel all year. In fact, few teams in state history have seen anything like the 2021 Rams. In one of the most dominating performances in the history of the state tournament, Coach Todd Cayea’s Rams (13-0) romped through the field in historic fashion, including Saturday’s 42-12 victory over Bennett in the NYSPHSAA championship at the fabled Carrier Dome.
Carmel became Putnam County’s first-ever state football champion, doing so by crushing 13 foes by 24 points or more by a combined 512-81 margin, including CBA-Albany (51-7) and Newburgh (47-13) in the state quarterfinals and semis, respectively.
Selecting an MVP would be an arduous task, because, as the state-ranked (No.3) Rams have done all season, they personified the word T-E-A-M from start to finish. After 27 years on the Carmel sideline, Coach Cayea turned the community and student body — #CarmelCrazies — into a football-frenzied town, which, oftentimes, played second fiddle to the former juggernaut that was New Rochelle for decades. Carmel’s last venture into the state tournament was 1998, something that wasn’t lost on Cayea’s Rams.
“We wanted this for Coach Cayea more than anything,” said Ram senior RB Dylan Shields, who was as close to MVP as anyone after scoring three touchdowns and gaining 156 yards on nine carries, including a game-sealing 90-yard jaunt. Shields added five tackles on defense, a stout unit that held state-ranked (No.5) Bennett’s 2,000-yard rusher Dominic Allen to 39 yards on 13 totes.
“He’s one of the greatest coaches to ever coach in this state. He’s been here for nearly 30 years and we finally got to do it for him. He makes it very hard to prepare for us. We have a lot of different skill players who can get the job done behind an amazing offensive line, and defensively we were the best in the state. This is a once-in-a-generation type of team that had high expectations, so to finally reach them this feels great.”
After going 5-1 during the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season, Carmel set the bar high and took its preparation to the next level. Sessions were crisp. The scout team bought in. The leaders led by example and accountability, and the brotherhood became trustworthy.
“We had a goal today and no one was going to stop us from reaching it,” senior QB Kevin Dall said after rushing for 64 yards on nine carries while orchestrating the offense that outgained Bennett 257-42 on the ground, including Dall’s hurdling 15-yard effort that set up a score. “I’m not sure we had the actual vision of a state championship in mind when the season started, but we got here and it just feels awesome. Nothing compares to this. We had no clue how this season was going to turn out at the beginning of the year, but it turned out to be a sectional title and once we got that we weren’t getting denied.”
Senior DB Vincent Mazzamuto (7 tackles), who played his best ball in the postseason, forced two early turnovers, one off a strip-sack, a second on an interception. Carmel turned those two short fields into 14 points and a 14-0 halftime lead behind TD trots from senior RB Josh Massi (from five yards) and Shields (from 21).
With the game still very much in doubt early in the third quarter, Cayea went deep into his bag of tricks and unleashed the kind of disciplined chicanery few teams can execute. Ram senior WR Andrew Fiore’s fourth-down reverse, optioned into a 38-yard TD strike to senior TE T.J. Fusco for a 21-0 lead after senior K Nick Sodano’s PAT (7 of 7 on the day). Sodano planted Bennett deep in its own territory all game long and added a touchdown-saving tackle on the lone kick the Rams failed to cover. Nick Rosaforte (11) and Massi (8) led the defense in tackles. Menacing Ram DL Dominick Telesco added two tackles, a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery.
“We’re just a bunch of brothers,” said a humbled Massi, who finished with 26 yards and a score. “We never want to get outworked. We always play with heart. I’m going to stay a little chill right now, but I’m definitely going to go home and celebrate with my brothers.”
After Bennett finally got on the board with a third-quarter score, Carmel put additional distance between the two state powers with a pair of touchdown drives that blew the doors off the dome. Junior FB Nick Rosaforte powered in from two yards out for a 28-6 lead with 3:00 to go in the third, and sophomore RB Matt Risley punched in another for a 36-6 lead with 8:29 to play.
Bennett then changed its game-plan and consistently went to the air, tacking on another score before Shields went 90 untouched yards for the final margin.
Cayea admitted the emotions of these last two years — when he was unceremoniously dismissed after the 2019 sectional runner-up season, only to be rehired — were on his mind, but procuring the program’s biggest achievement weighed much heavier.
“This is something I’ve always dreamed about,” Cayea said. “New Rochelle has always been a juggernaut for us, so this means the world to us to finally get it done. This is for all the guys that came before them, who came up a little short. These guys were just able to finish it off for the community. They love their football in this town, and I’m just proud to be their coach.
“We’ve been a team all year long,” Cayea added. “The past 13 weeks it’s been different guys every week. I told the kids since week one, if you want to win championships it starts on the defensive end. You’ve got to swarm the ball and be great tacklers and be disciplined. Our defense has been outstanding all year long, and our offense feeds off of it. I can’t say enough about this team. Being a coach, you come to these big games, so you just want to be part of one. You hope that at some point in your career, you get the chance to do something like this. You dream about it, and to share it with my family, and my son Trevor being on the team, we’ve been through a lot the last few years, and they’ve been supportive and always back me through the years, so you know we’re going to celebrate this one.”
Ram DB Trevor Cayea, who had four tackles, was appreciative of the father/son bond and the experience of sharing a state and section title.
“This means a lot to me and my family, especially my dad,” Trevor Cayea said. “I can’t even explain how this feels to share it with him. As a family, we’re going to kick back and enjoy this.”
With the biggest throng of fans to turn out at the Carrier Dome last weekend, the Cayea clan won’t be alone in celebration. Buy that man a drink! You’ve been #CayeaO’d!
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.
