Horsemen Pull Out 24-21 Win Against Brewster to Secure Chance at Class-A Championship
In what was the play of the year for the Horsemen, Isaiah Sanjuan secured a deep pass from Lopez for the eventual game winner. It left a loud Brewster crowd silent. Ray Gallagher Photo
His arms at a 90-degree angle and palms pointed upward, Sleepy Hollow’s Ronny Munoz flashed an ear-to-ear grin expressing a state of absolute disbelief and pure jubilance. The Horsemen’s head coach Steve Borys was being chased by two of his players, in hopes of avoiding a Gatorade bath from a couple of his players. Grown men wearing Sleepy Hollow apparel were giddy like little children, concealed emotions be damned.
That was the scene of a wild celebration on the Sleepy Hollow sideline; a clear indication that what the Horsemen had just pulled off at the end of its Section I Class-A semifinals game against Brewster Saturday afternoon was truly incredible. With a jaw-dropping ending, Sleepy Hollow pulled out a 24-21 instant classic win against the host Bears Saturday afternoon, in the process punching a ticket to the Class-A championship game Wednesday against Somers. Appeared to be dead, near miracle plays brought the Horsemen back to life.
“Crazy,” wide receiver Dionel Infante said. “I still can’t believe we won. I’m speechless right now.”
If the winning side was speechless, imagine what the losing side, Brewster felt.
“To say shock, I don’t think shock really gets the right word out there,” Brewster head coach Ed Mulvihill said. We’re shocked. We did everything we needed to win, but Sleepy went ahead and they made play to win.
And the Horsemen waited to almost the last minute to make its big plays, but it was still enough to erase an 11-point deficit. Junior Isaiah Sanjuan was in the middle of all of it.
With 1:36 left and ahead 21-10, Brewster had the ball but not for long. The Bears fumbled it away, leading Sanjuan to scoop it up and run 59 yards for a Sleepy Hollow touchdown, cutting Brewster’s advantage to 21-18 after a successful two-point conversion.
After a three and out from the ensuing Brewster possession, pandemonium shortly followed.
Set up at about midfield, with just 36 six seconds remaining and no timeouts left to call, quarterback Devin Lopez heaved a deep pass down the center of the field. As the spiral was airborne, it was Sanjuan sprinting downfield.
“When I see the ball in the air, I’m saying, ‘am I gonna catch it, am I gonna catch it, am I gonna catch it,’” Sanjuan said.
Well, Sanjuan caught it, an over the shoulder grab that’d make former hall of fame ball player Willie Mays proud. After the reception, Sanjuan hightailed into the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown catch.
Then euphoria erupted on the Horsemen sideline to the point Borys said he might have peed himself just a little in the aftermath of the winning reception.
“We almost all dropped dead,” Borys said. “It was great.”
A few minutes earlier in the fourth quarter, it looked like Sleepy Hollow was already lights out. A composed and efficient Brewster team battled back after trailing 10-6 much of the game. A mixture of Bears quarterback Brian McNeill quality passing and running back Joe Buonadonna downfield rushing eventually paid dividends.
Buonadonna gave the Bears its first lead of the game midway through the final quarter off a 14-yard run, dragging a couple of Sleepy Hollow defenders with him. Then on the Brewers next drive, Buonadonna scampered in for a touchdown on a 7-yard run to put Brewster up by two possessions.
“We kept hammering away, kept hammering away,” Mulvihill said.
Once Sleepy Hollow got the ball back and was in panic mode, Brewster’s Kyle Riccardi came up with an interception of Lopez. A play that should have been the final blow to the Horsemen’s shot at moving on.
Lopez even conceded he had to comfort a crying teammate at that point. The Brewster stands, packed with raucous home fans had to be reminded not to run onto the field after the game, in what should have been celebration.
Borys, while losing the game crept into his mind, he still knew his team could fight back, even against large odds.
“You just got to say B.S. and keep fighting and our boys never quit” Borys said. “They’re men, they’re animals. I love them.”
As for Brewster, Mulvihill is still proud of what his team was able to accomplish that included an undefeated regular season. He said the football gods were just on Sleepy Hollow’s side today. After pulling off close wins all season, Mulvihill said it was Sleepy Hollow’s turn for the big breaks
Regardless of what was meant to be, it’s a loss Mulvihill and his players, who looked demoralized afterward, will have a tough time recovering from.
Mulvihill said, “I’m going to need a lot of this winter to get over this.”
As for the Horsemen, their never die attitude will carry them into Wednesday’s showdown with Somers at Mahopac High School. For one more time, Sleepy Hollow will try to complete a magical season with a title win.
“I just know this team is a team. We love each other, we play as a team,” Sanjuan said. “We do everything we can to win. Everything.”
