Varsity Insider

I was off today so I didn’t attend either of the games. Both were noteworthy for their own reasons.

Bronxville advanced to Saturday’s Class C championship game, setting up a rematch with Dobbs Ferry. The two teams have proven they are far above the heap in C. Now, they can determine who’s No. 1.

Also, out on Long Island, Iona Prep rallied late and nearly upset St. Anthony’s, but a failed two-point conversion with 24 seconds left gave the Friars the victory.

Here are roundups for both games:

St. Anthony’s 21, Iona Prep 20: At St. Anthony’s, Mario Biaggi connected with Omari Buster for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds left, but Iona Prep’s Justin Combs was stopped short on a two-point try for the win failed and host St. Anthony’s escaped. The Gaels had trailed 21-6 in the fourth quarter. A 31-yard touchdown run by Biaggi and his two-point conversion pass to Brandon Williams cut it to 21-14 with 3:36 remaining.

“They’re a good team,” Iona Prep coach Vic Quirolo said. “They made some plays, we made some plays. And we didn’t quit. We had a chance to win the game after being down big, which was awesome.”

Iona opted to go for two after its final score because it played the game without kicker Alex Kapp, who is also the soccer team’s goalkeeper. Kapp was away with his club soccer team, leaving the Gaels without a kicker. They also opted to try for the first down on two other occasions rather than attempt a field goal.

Quirolo said he only found out Friday that Kapp would not play. He also said Kapp’s club coach suggested that he had been kicking too much.

“Absolutely it was a big part. Not only that (the missed PAT and going for two), but there were times that we were down inside the 15 yard line and could have kicked a field goal instead of going for it,” Quirolo said. “His (Kapp’s) absence played a major role.”

Bronxville 47, Blind Brook 13: In the resumption of a Section 1 Class C?semifinal that was suspended Saturday with the host Broncos ahead 26-6 in the second quarter, Christian Conway rushed for six touchdowns. Coach Jeff Napolitano thinks playing the game over two days may have
benefited his top-seeded team heading into Saturday’s 8 p.m. sectional final against No. 2 Dobbs Ferry.

“Normally we wouldn’t have done anything on a Sunday, so for me, another day of our guys playing football may work to our advantage,”?he said. “We got a lot of our other units in. They got some work and they looked good.”

Bronxville led the game 26-6 over Blind Brook midway through the second quarter when the game was suspended Saturday because of snow. Blind Brook QB Jaime Ketchabaw had just scored his team’s first touchdown.

The Broncos have now won 26 straight games against Section 1 competition. Their closest result in that time span was a 15-14 victory over Dobbs in Week 1 this season. The Eagles led the game 14-0 before two Conway touchdown runs and a Conway two-point conversion run sparked a comeback victory and sustained the winning streak.