Somers vs. John Jay was Everything and Then Some; Mahopac Losing its Playoff Grip in AA; Put Valley, too, in Class B
John Jay CR vs. Somers was everything we billed it to be, perhaps Section 1’s finest Class A regular season game of the 2014 campaign; complete with a 26-21 come-from-behind win by the host Tuskers before a capacity crowd on a sun-drenched Saturday that had both sidelines wishing for more.
Somers FB Tim Fazzinga led defending two-time Section 1 Class A champion Somers (3-1) with 15 carries for 139 yards and a TD while HB Matt Morgante (9 for 51), Joe Spor (5 for 57, TD) and Matt Senzamici (4 for 84, TD) were key throughout the game, but it was HB Tyler DeVito who had the play of the game, converting a 4th-and-17 for a game-clinching 60-yard TD run on a reverse with 7:16 left in the fourth.
“The game was a complete and total team win…4th-and-17 and Ty Devito goes up the sideline for six to win the game,” Fazzinga said. “That’s what were all about, everyone stepping up. Never count the Somers boys out of the fight.”
Morgante picked off Jay QB Ryan Lee at the Somers five-yard line to preserve the win. When it was over, all anybody could ask for was a rematch in the upcoming playoffs.
As key as the DeVito TD was, Senzamici’s score was equally vital. His 66-yard TD jaunt with 7:16 remaining, came one play after Jay RB Danny Skluth looked to have locked it up for the Indians (3-1) with a fourth-quarter score, spotting John Jay to a 21-13 lead.
But the Indians snuffed out Senzamici on the 2-point try to stay ahead 21-19. It would be up to Somers’ defense now, and the Tusker unit was up to the cause; not once but twice, in the waning moments, setting up the DeVito go-ahead score and sealing victory with the Morgante pick. No one has slowed John Jay’s high-flying attack all season, until the Tuskers did with their backs against the wall and the playoffs on the line. The Somers sideline was abuzz afterward, with assistant coaches and players calling Coach DeMatteo a defensive mastermind.
“Coach D is a genius,” Fazzinga said. “He has a plan for everything. Nobody works harder than he does. This is his life. No matter who we are playing, he will find a way.”
With the win, the Tuskers remained alive in the playoffs, now in second place in the league behind front-running Yorktown. Jay went from a first-place tie with Yorktown to third, but the Jay vs. Yorktown game in Week 7 on a Friday night at Jay for all the marbles should be absolutely berserk.
YORKTOWN saw junior RB Nick Santavicca continue his emergence as Class A’s premier back as he broke off 181 yards and two touchdowns against host Brewster (1-3), who fell into a 28-8 hole by halftime and trailed 42-8 before settling for a 42-22 defeat that signaled the end of the Bears’ playoff hopes.
Somehow, Yorktown, at 4-0 with two-TD wins over each opponent, including Somers, has flown under the radar. Brewster Coach Ed Mulvihill is here to tell you that Coach Mike Rescigno’s Huskers are about as complete a team as there is in Class A.
Yorktown is doing it with balance on offense and a ball-hawking presence on defense reminiscent of their NYS championship teams (1993-94). Senior QB Ryan Baker threw for 135 yards and connected with Daniel DelBene and Michael Dedvukaj for scoring strikes. Senior FB Tim Forbes, the heart and soul of the unit, ran for two TDs and set up another score by getting loose for 43 yards.
“We knew Brewster was gonna come to play but we were calm the whole game and didn’t take any plays off, which paid off in the end,” Baker said of the multi-faceted Huskers. “We have such versatile backs that it’s hard for defenses to stop us, but only if our line blocks as they have. With the way our lines been playing you can put anyone in the back field and the same results will come out.”
The Husker O-line has been nothing short of dominant this season, including Logan Peters, Joey Costella, Richie Campanaro, Steven Veteri and Joey Blume.
There are some things Yorktown needs to shore up, but they will almost certainly take a No.1 seed into the playoffs if the Huskers can tweak a few things (penalties, in particular) and take care of business down the stretch.
LAKELAND and PANAS both took their lumps last week and opened the door to trouble, as neither club has any wiggle room the rest of the way. The Hornets (2-2), who suffered a surprising 34-15 setback to Byram Hills that could come back to haunt them, will need to defeat Sleepy Hollow in Week 6 to secure a playoff berth, and Panas (2-2), which lost 56-47 shootout to undefeated Rye, will need to do likewise in Week 7. Sleepy could be their undoing.
Panas obviously has some work to do on defense, and D.C. Kris Brandt will harp on that this week. Panas QB Justin Lee threw for 121 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three more scores during the kind of day Sean Lindsay used to have at the turn of the century. FB Scott Hylka ran for 157 yards and a touchdown as Panas put up a season-best 523 yards of offense.
CLASS AA NOTES
MAHOPAC lost control of its own destiny after the Indians were hard-pressed to stop Section 1’s leading rusher — Marquez Jackson-Allen – who ran for 196 yards and four touchdowns as undefeated Mamaroneck beat visiting Mahopac 35-22. The loss left Mahopac (2-2) reeling in terms of the playoffs, as a second league loss leaves the Indians with no wiggle room over the final the final three weeks (four teams in the league sit above them and only the top four teams in each league qualify).
Charles Heady scored first for Mahopac on a 24-yard end-around. Leading by one score, Mamaroneck caught a break when Indian Coach Tom Donahoe uncharacteristically called for a fake punt, which was foiled, deep in his own zone. With a short, 29-yard field to work with, the Tigers struck quickly behind Jackson-Allen for a 19-7 lead. Indian FB Max Littleton scored from five yards out to make it 19-14 as Mahopac tried to rally, but Jackson-Allen, working on another short field, struck again for a game-clinching score and a 27-14 lead.
Mahopac will need some help to reach the playoffs, as will rival CARMEL, a 21-7 loser to Clarkstown North. The Rams (2-2) will need some things to fall in place as well if they are going to qualify.
CLASS B/D NOTES
After a scoreless first half of action, Putnam Valley and defending Section 1 champion Pleasantville upped the ante in the second half of Class B’s most pivotal Week 4 game. With a playoff berth essentially on the line for both one-loss teams, Pleasantville (3-1) lit up the scoreboard in the second half en route to a 19-6 victory over the visiting Tigers (2-2).
P’ville RB Brandon Castro was too much for the Tigers to handle, leading the Panthers with 123 yards and two TDs, and the P’ville defense was equally stout, snuffing out a PV drive at the one-yard line just before the half and recording three sacks on the night.
Trailing 6-0 after Castro scored from 25 yards out early in the third quarter for a 6-0 lead, Putnam Valley senior RB Dean D’Alessio returned the ensuing kick for an electrifying 84-yard TD to even the score when the PAT failed. Castro sealed the deal shortly thereafter, all but eliminating Put Valley from the four-team playoff format. It will take a minor miracle now for PV to get in now.
HALDANE got its usual Matt Balducci contribution in its 33-6 win over Pawling last Friday night during the first night game in school history when the senior FB rushed for 208 yards and three scores. But, perhaps more importantly, first-year Coach Ryan McConville may have discovered the future of Haldane football.
The kid with the coolest name in Section 1 football – freshman QB Tommy Twoguns – came off the bench after starter Tyler Giachinta injured his hand, and the gun-slinging kimosabe was quite impressive, connecting on 7-of-10 passes for 134 yards and a score. WR Ryan McCollum had four of those catches for 87 yards and a TD. McConville’s Blue Devils have their sights set on the first Section 1 Class D crown since 2011.
“It was a great win for our program, especially our seniors,” McConville said. “Brandon came in and show great poise and confidence for a freshmen. He ran our offense with great confidence and made all the checks and adjustments and our offense didn’t skip a beat. Matt Balducci is a physical downhill runner, who really sets the tempo for our offense. He really put in the time and effort in the off-season and it shows in the way he runs with the ball and makes tackles on defense. Our offensive line also deserves credit for creating holes and picking up blitzes so we can run the ball with great efficiency.”
THE WEEK AHEAD — With a hair-curling Week 4 now behind us, we turn our attention to a slew of Thursday games in Week 5 on account of the Yom Kippur holiday. Locally, Week 5 doesn’t really have a “Wow Factor-game”. Yorktown will travel to Hillary-town, poised to take on the Quakers of Horace Greeley in a game the Huskers should win. Carmel will visit Mount Vernon with one eye on Mahopac and its Week 6 doozy with the loathsome Indians. Brewster will visit a Spring Valley team it should defeat. Hen Hud (2-2) will travel across the river to Nyack where all bets will be off with the Indians (3-1) seeking to lock up a playoff berth ad eliminate the Sailors from contention. Haldane will visit Blind Brook. Mahopac will host RCK in a game it better win. Panas will play host to Pelham and Somers will visit Eastchester on Saturday.
In a game that has no bearing on the Class A or Class B playoffs but carries a lot of weight locally, Lakeland will host Putnam Valley. Since there is no love-lost between the bordering towns nowadays, this game will carry of ton of bragging rights and the upper hand at local parties.
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.
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