Fraietta, Hen Hud Making Moves; Somers Set for Po’Town Showdown

Wow! I honestly didn’t think Hen Hud would be the main player or deciding factor in the great debate/four-way tiebreaker we posed in last week’s Class A grid poll. In fact, we didn’t even include Mike Lynch’s Sailors among the four middle-of-the-pack teams – Brewster, Lakeland, Panas and Ossining – in our fruitless poll. Well, Sailor QB Joe Fraietta changed all that within the last couple of weeks when he and his Sailors busted conventional wisdom by playing Croton to the final whistle in Week 3 and then knocking off Lakeland, 23-19, in Week 4.

Fraietta, who we told you about in this space over and over, stuck the dagger into Lakeland with 53 seconds left, escorted into the end zone from three yards out, giving those in Sailor Country an epic overthrow of the Hornets.  The senior QB scored all three touchdowns for the Sailors on the ground.

“I give most if the credit to my line, without them I’m not going anywhere. When I’m running the ball I always know that guys like Ben Schwartz and Matt Smith are going to give me all they got,” Fraietta said.

Lakeland junior RB Jimmy Flaherty scored two touchdowns, including a 57-yarder late in the third to trim Hen Hud’s lead to 13-12. Versatile Sailor Carson Cole padded the lead in the fourth, booting a 30-yard field goal, but the Hornets took the lead when Flaherty knifed in with his second TD with just 4:29 to play. At 2-1, it’s suddenly the Sailors who are notching their belts and thinking the unthinkable; Class A playoffs. Maybe, just maybe, this Mike Lynch fella is a miracle worker.

Hen Hud and Lakeland are usually evenly matched over the last decade, with the exception of a couple of games, and this year was no different.

No.1 SOMERS — QB John Decker hit on 5 of 7 for 102 yards and a TD to RB Connor Vlasaty, but the 12- carry, 177-yard effort (including three 3 TDs) by senior RB Stefano Bicknese was all anyone could talk about after Somers (3-0) destroyed Nyack, 41-20. Bicknese added a pick and a sack on defense, stating his case for Class A Player of the Year.

“The reason why all of this works is because of the offensive line,” Decker said. “I have all day to throw and the backs have huge holes to run through. They deserve a lot of the credit of this team’s success. They’ve trained hard and have been dominating, and Bicknese has been an animal.”

Coach Tony DeMatteo, Section 1’s all-time winningest coach, secured the 295th victory of his career, cutting Bicknese loose early. He scored all three touchdowns in the first half, including a 73-yard jaunt to paydirt on Somers’ first possession.

The Tuskers led 20-7 at halftime and padded the lead on second-half scoring rushes from Vlasaty and Mike Morgante.

Somers now preps for undefeated, reigning champion Poughkeepsie in what could be the biggest game in Class A this season, though Harrison vs. John Jay was a ridiculous game between two of the upper echelon programs on the circuit. Having seen three of the four teams in person, and knowing what I know about Poughkeepsie, it looks like the only thing that can keep these four out of the semis would be an unlawful quarterfinal matchup.

“It’s the biggest game of the year,” Decker admitted. “It’s been circled on our schedule since Day 1. This game means so much to everyone. It’s going to be a great game.”

Remember the name Davonte Hamilton. The Pioneer WR/DB is torching dudes.

No.2 BREWSTER – The Bears have had just one winning season (5-4 in ’08) since former boss Brian Walsh left after the ’04 season. The Bears were 22-40 since he left, and yet they now stand at 3-0 under first-year Coach Ed Mulvihill after a 26-0 thrashing of host Port Chester. Brew Crew went up 19-0 at the half behind Fernando Solis (56 yards, 2 TDs on 9 first-half carries) and QB Brian McNeill (who hit on 4-of-5 first-half passes for 62 yards and a score) and never looked back.

The Bears should settle down now and be well prepared for a Friday night clash with Saunders, which should enable them to be 4-0. The more you look at their schedule, the more you have to like Brewster’s chances to run the table, but let’s keep it real and stick with what we know: Saunders is 3-0. Are they posers or are they legit? Says here that they’re 21-6 win over Peekskill makes them posers, but we shall see. Francisco Wilson-King (16 carries, 148 yards and 2 TDs vs. Peekskill) is the guy the Bears will want to load up on.

“We went in knowing what we had to do and got it done,” said McNeill, who finished with a pair of scoring strikes to versatile Eddie Schoenig, the Clay Matthews look-a-like, who has to switch jerseys to become eligible. “Our blocking was great, every single player whether it was a lineman or back, they got the job done. We worked hard all week but now have to work even harder for our next game.”

Homecoming Day should be a rocking affair at Brewster this Friday.

No.3 YORKTOWN – Husker QB Nick Mariano led the Huskers (1-2) with 152 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries and 95 yards passing in a 48-29 loss to defending Class A champion Poughkeepsie. Yeah, Yorktown is 1-2 right now, but their losses are far more impressive than most teams’ wins in this Class A poll.

“They are a great team,” Husker QB Nick Mariano said of the Pioneers. “We hung in but their athletes just made to many plays and it killed us. Somers and Poughkeepsie are equal, and it should be some game when they play each other (this week).”

No.4 HEN HUD – Apparently, they got enough athletes over there at Sailor Country after all. Fraietta (22 rushes for 88 yards, 12 of 15 passing for 130 yards) was the best one on the field in Sailor (2-1) win over Lakeland. The kid is a baller.

No.5 PANAS – Panas (3-0) RB John Brophy is looking more and more legit with each week. The 5-11, 190-pound junior needed just five carries to reel off 108 yards and two touchdowns in a 50-6 Panther win over lowly Riverside. James Jackson chugged for 41 yards and two TDs, while seniors Steve Jeszeck and Thomas Guzzy each found paydirt for the Panthers, who face winless Yonkers in Week 4. Sure would like to see a quality W so we could rank the Panthers higher, but they can run the ball some (234 yards on 21 carries) and the defense has been ferocious. The bad part about the way Section 1 has scheduled Class A this season is that you just don’t know what you have until you face a team like Somers, or even a club like Yorktown. Panas is vastly improved but we still don’t know what we got, officially.

No.6 OSSINING – With its 37-8 win over Gorton, Ossining (1-2) finally gets off the scheid. We’re just not used to seeing a goose egg next to the Pride’s win column. Pride QB Justin Davidov had a hand in all five touchdowns, going 9 for 12 passing for 181 yards and three touchdowns and another 22 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

No.7 LAKELAND – The Flaherty lad had 20 carries for 145 yards and a pair of scores, but this loss could annihilate Lakeland’s playoff chances. Hornet QB Brian Prunty hit 13 of 25 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown, but had two costly interceptions. WR Ryan Bonifati had his best game, snaring four catches for 73 yards and a score. Lakeland (2-1) has no wiggle room left and cannot look past week 4 opponent Fox Lane, as it eyes up a Week 5 encounter with rival Yorktown.

No.8 PEEKSKILL – Red Devs (0-3) might have to wait until Week 6 clash with Riverside before we see a W posted.

Class A Week 4 Grid Schedule:

Friday

7:00 FOX LANE @ LAKELAND

7:00 POUGHKEEPSIE @ SOMERS

7:00 EASTCHESTER @ YORKTOWN

7:00 SAUNDERS @ BREWSTER

7:00 OSSINING @ PELHAM

Saturday

1:30 PORT CHESTER @ PEEKSKILL

1:30 HEN HUD @ RIVERSIDE

1:30 PANAS @ YONKERS

 

JPEG Captions: RAY GALLAGHER PHOTOS

McNeil:

Brewster QB Brian McNeill had a big day against Port Chester for the 3-0 Bears.

Schoenig:

Bears OL/LB Ed Schoenig caught two TD passes in Brewster’s rout of Port Chester.

Bicknese:

Somers RB/LB Stefano Bicknese is looking the part of a legitimate Class A Player of the Year.

John Brophy:

Panas RB John Brophy posted his second-straight 100-plus-yard game in rout of Riverside.

Eric Meyreles:

Husker RB Eric Meyreles ran for 62 yards on 16 carries in loss to Pooughkeepsie.