Cegielski Scores 2 TDs in Mahopac Upset of Arlington; ’Pac to Face Unbeaten Carmel; Somers Slithers Past Rye; Yorktown Wins, Braces for Hen Hud

Examiner Sports Editor

@Directrays

Friday was a day of stabilization for the Mahopac Athletic Department; football Coach Dominick DeMatteo and his Indians providing the consolidating force for a school district that has had more downs than ups recently. The Indians built an unexpected, cushy 19-0 lead, then hung on for dear life to post a stunning 19-14 upset of League AA-North rival Arlington to improve to 2-0 and set up a juicy Week 3 matchup with crosstown rival Carmel (2-0, 1-0), also unbeaten and winners of two-straight games over Mahopac (2-0, 1-0) over the last two years by a combined 42-6 score.

“It was a program win, from 9U youth football all the way on up to the senior class, for the MSA and the entire community,” said DeMatteo, who came to Mahopac after nine seasons at Arlington and one season at Nyack because Mahopac is home and he followed his heart. “This is one the whole community rally around and be proud of. It’s sick. I almost killed myself trying to jump into the stands. This was huge. I felt we could compete. I thought if we limited mistakes, we could move the ball.”

Mahopac’s ground game was impressive, considering it didn’t know who would line up 7-9 yards deep and pound the rock a month ago, as DeMatteo wasn’t hired until the summer and the off-season workouts were sparse and shambolic as the district got its ducks in a row.

Mahopac senior RB Salvatore Marchionni and junior RB Tim Cegielski combined for three TDs and nearly 200 rushing yards. Marchionni got into the end zone from a yard out for the game’s initial score, making Arlington pay for one of three first-half turnovers and K John Dignam, who is proving to be a weapon, added the PAT for a 7-0 lead. Cegielski struck paydirt from seven yards out to make it 13-0, and the Indians then pounced on the Admirals’ third fumble some five minutes into the third quarter. It took just six plays before Cegielski broke snaked in at the pylon from six yards out for a 19-0 lead that had the week-long mantra — #ShockTheSection — in full throat among the vociferous Mahopac Maniacs, the 12^th man that has shown up in force to support the new-look Indians.

“I talked to my linemen and we agreed that if I gave 100@% they’d give 100%,” said Cegielski, who had his coming out party with 139 yards on 29 carries, including two TDs and the bulk of the damage on Mahopac’s final, clock-eating drive, which stalled on the Arlington eight but left the Admirals with just 19 seconds to drive 92 yards. “That last drive was amazing.”

One play in particular — in which Cegielski diverted against convention, broke a couple of tackles and cut back across the grain for a key first down — iced the game.

“We came together as a team and things are changing here,” Cegielski said. “It feels amazing to be part of: Coach DeMatteo, I mean, I couldn’t have asked for a better coach than this guy. He calls everything right. He makes us a family. We knew the very first day we were family and we all just came together. I’m not even kidding when I say that.”

DeMatteo’s management of the clock on the game’s waning drive was masterful, allowing the Indians to milk the clock and rush to the line just in time to get off a play.

“Timmy hit a different gear all night, especially on that last drive,” DeMatteo said. “Everybody knew he was getting the ball but he just kept breaking tackles.”

Defensive Coach Steve Nardini’s unit also came of age, swarming to the ball, forcing turnovers and gang-tackling like a team possessed.

“They worked as a unit to come out victorious,” Nardini said. “We scrimmaged a couple of great teams this summer, like Somers and New Rochelle, to get us ready for this. We corrected our mistakes and came out with the W.”

Indian QB Ryan Dugan, on senior night in Mahopac, could not have been any happier to see the ground game develop.

“This win just means so much to the seniors,” said the mild-mannered signal caller, who hooked up with WR Reahl Allen on a 27-yard pass to set up the first score from the three. “We worked hard in the off-season but we didn’t have a coach, so we had to do a lot of stuff on our own to get ready and to have it come together means so much to us. When we saw the film, and installed our game plan, we really thought we could beat them. We knew that nobody really thought we could do it and we like that, too. We’re not going to allow ourselves to get too high off of this. We still got business to take care of.”

And now it’s on to Carmel, a Rams team that handed host Horace Greeley a 40-6 thumping to put up a combined 68 points in its two wins, while allowing just 19.

“Tonight was special,” said Indian DB Joe Dalo, the heart and soul of the defense, who forced a fumble on the game’s final play when he trucked free-wheeling Admiral RB EJ Escoto with eyes on the end zone. “We all, as a team, worked extremely hard this past week to shock the section. We all knew we had it in us and everyone doubting us really pushed for motivation. Some writers were predicting us to lose 28-13 and saying they would be shocked if we kept it close. Now, we’re on to Week 3 against an undefeated Carmel team, which will push every single one of us to give unbelievable effort every second next week. I already talked to the head (Mahopac) Manias, so expect big things next Friday at home.”

CARMEL is coming to Mahopac with the coveted Higgins trophy, and a dynamic, diverse attack, which features junior QB Peyton Cayea, who hit on 7-of-10 passes for 155 yards in the rout of Greeley, and three strong and speedy RBs. Senior Nick Heis (10 for 103 yards, 2 TD), junior Sam Duke (10 for 92 yards, 2 TD and sure-handed junior speedster Joe Mascetta (6 catches for 145 yards), who is proving to be Cayea’s main target since transferring from Dover, are legit weapons who give the Rams the potential to maintain their two-year stranglehold on the Higgins. Cayea has tossed for 269 yards in two games, 172 of which has gone to Mascetta, while Heis and Duke have rushed for a combined 245; the unit is multi-faceted.

No matter how you slice it, Week 3’s got more of a siracha-style sizzle in Putnam County than anyone could have figured as the counties premier rivalry fires up Friday night #GetYoPopcornReady…

CLASS A

SOMERS (2-0) is a legit super power, what with the defending NYS champions having gone down to Rye and pulled out a 21-14 win. Somers forced six turnovers, three of which they turned into touchdowns, to regain a 14-point, second-half lead the Tuskers had blown. Drew Cassin, who had a ferocious, game-saving stick, scored the winning TD from nine yards out with 43 seconds left, still more than enough time for Rye to mount a final drive, which was halted when Somers DB Vincent DiFilippo intercepted a pass as time expired.

For second week in a row, amazing Tusker CB Ryan Elliott intercepted three passes (one of which came in the end zone just before halftime and allowed Somers to maintain a 7-0 lead) while stiff-sticking LB Antonio Vieira snared a fourth to set up Cassin’s score.

Somers went into the half leading 7-0 when RB Rob Fazzinga plunged in for a 4-yard score. FB Tyler Carr chugged for a hard-fought 49 yards on 14 carries. Somers QB Kevin Olifiers (6-of-10 for 77 yards in the air) punched in a score from a yard out, following a Garnet fumble.

YORKTOWN (2-0) is hoping to remain on a collision course with Somers and after a 36-0 win over host Panas, the Huskers remained on track. Maryland-bound lacrosse star Brett Makar also remained on track to garner serious Player of the year consideration when he roasted Panas for four touchdown runs, the last being a 57-yard scamper, preceding runs of 3, 3 and 8 yards. He tallied 152 yards in all on just 14 carries and hauled in four passes from QB Tommy Weaver. Yorktown RB Brandon Meyereles had five carries for 99 yards, including a 45-yard TD jaunt to put the game on ice.

CLASS B

PUTNAM VALLEY saw WR/LB Darnel Shillingford go for 124 yards receiving and a touchdown while leading the team with 12 tackles, and FB/LB John Listwan rushed for 48 yards and a TD, and added 12 tackles, but it wasn’t enough in the Tigers’ 34-20 loss to Westlake.

“We made a few mistakes early on and gave away too many scoring opportunities early in the game,” PV Coach Ryan Elsasser admitted after the Tigers fell to 1-1. “We played an aggressive game and battled every series. I am happy with the level of play and fight that we had. I am excited to see what we can do with the rest of the season. We will continue to work on cleaning up the little things and look forward to seeing Westlake again in post season play.”

NWE/Putnam Examiner Grid Poll

No.1 SOMERS – Rye outgained Somers 265-162, so there’s obviously work to be done on both sides of the ball, right?

No.2 YORKTOWN – The Huskers can get by with mental miscues and double-digit penalties against the likes of Lakeland and Panas, but they had best tighten things up this week when Hen Hud comes a calling.

No.3 CARMEL – Guessing the Rams won’t take Mahopac lightly this Friday; not that they would have previously, but precise preparation is now in order, knowing the Indians are no longer the outfit they took it to the last two years.

No.4 MAHOPAC – From the Freight House Café to Bucci’s Deli, all anyone could talk about was the win over Arlington, the rejuvenation of the program and procuring the year-long bragging rights to the Bryan Higgins Memorial Trophy #ReckonI’llBeThere

No.5 HEN HUD – I have been assured that this Sailor unit (1-1) is refocused on its initial goal of competing for a sectional title after its Week 1 misfortune, and its 40-0 whipping of neighboring Peekskill sets up a dirty Week 3 showdown with Yorktown, which will make or break the Sailors and pretty much give the Huskers their first REAL test of the season.

JPEG captions: RAY GALLAGHER PHOTOS

Mahopac RB Tim Cegielski had his coming out party in Indians’ 19-14 win over Arlington, rushing for over 100 yards and two TDs.

Mahopac RB Sal Marchionni picks up key yards on late drive in Indians’ 19-14 win over Arlington.

Mahopac DB Joe Dalo lays the wood to cause fumble on final play of game in Indians’ 19-14 win over Arlington.

Putnam Valley WR Darnel Shillingford hauls in catch for much of his 100+ receiving yards in 34-20 loss to Westlake.

Yorktown QB Tommy Weaver slithers through an opening in Huskers’ 36-0 win over Panas.

Yorktown RB Brett Makar finds one of many creases that enabled to rush for over 150 yards and four scores in win over Panas Friday.

Panas bookends Austin Giligan and Jordan Grossberg protect QB Brandon Hodge in Panthers loss to Matt Steigmeier (67) and Yorktown Friday.