Class C breakdown: Croton vs. Bronxville
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- November
- 7
This is the final breakdown of the Section 1 Championships this wekend at Mahopac High School.
Class C Championship
Croton-Harmon (7-1) vs. Bronxville (8-0)
When: Sunday, 5 p.m.
Previous meeting: Bronxville defeated Croton-Harmon 30-14 in Week 4.
Common opponents: Bronxville handled Hastings last week, and beat Rye Neck, Lincoln Hall and Dobbs Ferry with relative ease. Croton beat Hastings 26-20 in the opener, beat Rye Neck and Lincoln Hall handily but needed a late touchdown to get past Dobbs Ferry.
How’d they get here: Croton-Harmon beat Rye Neck 34-0 in the quarters and beat Dobbs Ferry 25-20 last week. Bronxville pounded Lincoln Hall 41-12 and Hastings 38-7.
Position-by-position breakdown
Quarterback: Jack Near went down with an injury but is back to added a passing dimension for the Broncos. Dillon Mitchell is arguably the team’s MVP for the way he filled in at quarterback and will still see snaps there this weekend. Tyler Dorien has been incredible in the last four weeks and has proven to be one of the area’s best passing/running threats. Edge: Croton-Harmon.
Running backs: Brian Murray has put together another 1,000-yard season for the Broncos, and Liam Berney’s speed and Mitchell’s toughness are tough to match. Kevin Soares is back healthy for Croton, and Tyler Keppler and Matt Tralli are solid backs with plenty of big-game experience. Edge: Bronxville.
Receivers: Will Karol and James Karol are a couple of big targets at 6-foot-6. But there might not be a better set of hands in Section 1 than Joe Tralli, and his brother Matt Tralli isn’t far behind. Edge: Croton-Harmon.
Offensive line: Despite three starting sophomores, Croton’s group is solid and the return of Bobby Dusconi will definitely help. But Bronxville has the biggest, most complete, line in Section 1 with Steve Shoemaker, Kieran Borcich, Elliot Bartsch, Henry Palermo and center Blair Law. Edge: Bronxville
Defensive line: The trio of John Brennan, Ryan Logiudici and Dennis O’Connell has performed beyond anyone’s expectations. But Borcich, Bartsch, Paxton Cane and Palermo are relentless up front with their physical play. Edge: Bronxville.
Linebackers: Dusconi has been unstoppable since he returned from a shoulder injury two weeks ago, and Kyle Ricciardi is a special talent. The Broncos have the best and most feared duo in the conference with John Shkreli and Hart Mechlin. Edge: Bronxville.
Secondary: Both teams are blessed with talent in the defensive backfield. Joe Tralli and Matt Tralli are good covermen, and Dorien and Keppler are such smart players with so much experience. Murray is an elite player for Bronxville, and Jesse Delarama, Ryan Hackett and Artie Westerfeld are great underestimated for the Broncos. Edge: Croton-Harmon.
Special teams: Very evenly matched here in every facet. Joe Tralli and Matt Tralli can each break big runs for Croton, and Dorien is a dependable kicker. The Broncos don’t have a true game-breaker, although Mitchell is definitely capable of picking up chunks of yards. Ryan Grunseich also has a strong leg for Bronxville. Edge: Push.
Bottom line: Even though both teams have changed so much since they met five weeks ago, I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked if this game unfolded exactly the same way that one did. Croton got ahead early in that game, twice leading by a touchdown in the first half, before Bronxville established control at the line of scrimmage and simply pushed the Tigers off the ball. Bronxville is still big, still physical and even more confident than ever.
PREDICTION: Bronxville 28, Croton-Harmon 17





Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting, Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his wife, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University, where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in history.








tigers got that ramma jamma. im so pissed lohud can’t show it.
Devaney the starting dline for bronxville is jesse de la rama paxton cane kieran borcich steve shoemaker and elliott barsch…get ur facts right
Broncos have it all going on. Go Broncos.
Easy win for Bronxville… Croton sucks
you guys have another thing coming if you think the reigning champs are gonna let this one go. i hope its a great game and the best team wins.
Mitchell def deserves MVP.. If he didn’t step in Broncos would have had a real problem on their hands.