Brewster Stuns Yorktown, Somers Edges Mahopac, Carmel Looks Stout

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

While everyone was focused on the big dogs of Class A last Friday at SOMERS High, which narrowly defeated MAHOPAC, 17-14, in the DeMatteo Bowl II, it was Coach Ed Mulvihill’s BREWSTER Bears that took Section 1 off the chain and unleashed a stunning 33-20 upset of host YORKTOWN.

Scores were coming in at an alarming fashion, including a 33-7 Brewster lead behind QB Chris Donohue’s two TD strikes, and DB Luke Sanchez’s pick 6. Local media types, of which were aplenty at Somers, were seen scrolling through Twitter with one hand and scratching their heads with the other as one of the biggest opening-day upsets in recent history unfolded.

Donohue finished 12 of 16 passing with two TD passes for 157 yards, four of those passes going to Sanchez for 36 yards.

“Sanchez had a great game for us,” Brewster Coach Ed Mulvihill said after 18 holes on Saturday and perhaps a happy hour on the 19th. “Donohue also played great. Being a third-year starter he has a good understanding of the offense, so he was able to audible at times and he made some great decisions.”

Brewster RB’s Willie Martinez (13 carries for 96 yards and a TD) and Joey Anfuso ( 8 carries for 63) took over in the second half for the Bears.

“First half we threw it and second half we ran it,” the coach said. “The O-line did the job in the trenches. Dom Rienzi, Ryan Costales, Mike Triolo, Luca Saccomano and Chris Triolo wore them down as the game moved on.

“I knew if Chris Donohue played up to his abilities we could throw the ball on them some,” Mulvihill continued. “On defense, we had many questions that we didn’t know the answers to. They really stepped up and swarmed to the ball. It was a good start against an elite Yorktown team, Rye, Somers and Jay being the others, so it was a good win for us.

“Defensively, Dom Rienzi and Ryan Costales were constantly in the backfield being disruptive,” Mulvihill added. “Chris Triolo and Nick Sayegh also played well. Yorktown has some top-rated athletes and we knew we had to contain them. For three and a half quarters we did that.”

Brewster could be the surprise team of the season, perhaps a team that will be on everyone’s radar from here on out. Donohue is legit, the O-line won the trench battles and the Bears’ defense limited a Yorktown offense that had decent weapons going in.

“Brewster is very good,” second-year Yorktown Coach Pantelis Ypsilantis said. “Their QB is the real deal and they beat us in the trenches. Is it fixable for us? Yes. When things go wrong our guys have to stick to what they are taught and do their job. We got away from the fundamentals in the heat of the battle and it undresses everything.”

The local media was out in force at SOMERS, so there had to be something big brewing, and the game lived up to the hype when MAHOPAC’s last-ditch Hail Mary was picked off by Somers DB TJ Olifers, his second pick of the day at the goal line. The kid has a nose for the ball and excelled on the defensive side of it.

Somers junior Ravi Dass turned the tide on a dime when the electrifying RB took the opening kick of the second half 90 yards to the house. This kid can jet.

Somers RB Matt Kapica had 59 combined yards of offense, including 32 yards rushing and 27 receiving. Derek Marcus had a team-high 13 carries for 56 yards. Somers junior QB Matt Fitzsimons hit on 5 or 10 passes for 63 yards, including a deft aerial to Tery Mancuso to set up the Tuskers’ fourth-quarter score. Somers forced three turnovers, had seven tackles for loss and had three sacks, two by Luke Kennedy. Dylan Faller had a team-high nine tackles while Francesco Gioffre had eight.

Somers captain Ethan Krauss (four tackles) was happy to come away with the win but knows there’s work to do.

“We’ve definitely got some stuff to work on as a team but at the end of the day we came out with the win,” the LB/TE said. “I thought Mahopac played very well and had some good plays. We are being doubted a lot as a team now that Coach D retired, and we lost most of our starters in that senior class last year, but a lot of kids are stepping up to the plate and buying in. We still have the same goals as every year, and I think we have a lot of talent that can get it done. This is a statement season and Somers isn’t going down without a fight.”

Disappointed with the loss, Mahopac took plenty away from the battle, including a good connection between senior QB Anthony DeMatteo and his receiving corps, including but not limited to Max Gomes (4 grabs, 38 yards), Patrick McMahon (4 for 32) Ryan Rondeau (4 for 76, INT on D) and Michael Callahan (1 for 23). DeMatteo hit on 16 of 29 attempts for 184 yards and added a score on the ground. Indian RB Joey Koch added 54 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. The Indians also impressed on defense, forcing three turnovers to go with three sacks.

“I think we played fantastic,” senior captain Adam Montalvo said. “Everything we did wrong was a Week 1 mistake we can fix. The team never quit, not for a single second. I think if we were to play them later in the season we could come out on top.”

Somers is scheduled to travel to Brewster (7 p.m. Friday) in what could be a whale of a game if the Bears are for real. Mahopac will host Our Lady of Lourdes (7 p.m. Friday).

LAKELAND upended PANAS, 34-14, behind an incredible debut from QB Steven Dedvukaj, who connected on 15 of 20 passes for 170 yards and three TDs. The signal-caller also rushed for 90 yards and two scores. He was in sync with WR Ryan Gallagher, who hauled in two TD strikes and Tyler Ronk grabbed another. Stephen Carroll had nine tackles and Connor McGannon added six to lead the defense. Lakeland will host John Jay CR Friday (7 p.m.). Panas, which saw 6’8” 345-pound Penn State-bound senior Maleek McNeil do a little bit of everything (including a Wildcat TD and booming punts), will host Yorktown Friday (7 p.m.).

CLASS AA

CARMEL looked the part of a serious title contender when Coach Todd Cayea’s Rams opened the season with an eye-popping 34-7 win over host Arlington. Senior QB Kevin Dall (8 of 13, 92 yards) hit on two TD passes, connecting with Nick DiLeo (2 catches, 29 yards) and Josh Massi (38 rushing yards, 16 receiving).

Carmel RB Dylan Shields (8 rushes, 74 yards) scampered along the sideline for a 28-yard touchdown run and a 20-0 lead before the Rams’ defense batted down a pass, which was picked off by Dominick Telesco and returned for a pick-6; game over! Ram RB Nick Rosaforte (4 rushes, 22 yards) tacked on a final score with 9:40 left to play before the Ram reserves came on.

“It did feel really nice for us to pull out that win,” Carmel All-Section senior RB Josh Massi said. “We hope to get better each week as a team. Our coaches give us an excellent game plan each week, and we just have to collectively execute it.”
Carmel will host Spring Valley Friday (7 p.m.).

OSSINING fell 34-6 at White Plains but kept the Tigers out of the endzone in the second half. The Pride scored their lone touchdown off of a five-yard run by Giovanni JeanPierre toward the end of the fourth.

“We ran through a buzzsaw today,” Ossining’s Coach Larry McRae said, adding that his team has had to overcome a series of injuries that have hampered their effectiveness.

“White Plains played well, they were well-coached and made plays when they had to, even on long conversion they made all of the plays. I think we just have to get healthy, we get down on ourselves but we just need to pick it up,” he added.
Standouts for the Pride include Jorge Ramirez who saw his first career start on Friday after filling in for an injured teammate and ran for 40 yards on 10 carries and JeanPierre who ran 11 times for 21 yards and the Pride’s lone touchdown.

Defensive leaders for the Pride include Vincent Bernardo who recorded 7.5 tackles, including two tackles for a loss and a forced fumble, and Jeremy Medina who secured three tackles and an interception.
The Pride has now slid to an 0-2 start after losing its week one home game 16-14 against Greeley Ossining. It will look to rebound next week at home against Port Chester (6 p.m.).

CLASS B

PUTNAM VALLEY, which lost 35-14 to WESTLAKE, will visit HENDRICK HUDSON, a 17-7 loser to Pleasantville, Friday (6 p.m.). Chris McGuire threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Panaterri for the Sailors’ lone score.

CLASS D

HALDANE routed Rye Neck 38-0 and Blue Devil sophomore RB Evan Giachinta picked up where his brother Sam, a historical Haldane figure, left off. The younger brother of Haldane’s finest went for 101 yards and two scores on 18 carries in his debut as the starter. Giancarlo Carone added a 70-yard TD jaunt. The Blue Devils will visit Woodlands Saturday (1 p.m.).

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