So it’s the last state semifinal…and, mercifully for yours truly, the last outdoor football game of the year. I’m up here at Dietz Stadium again as New Rochelle will attempt to send itself to Syracuse for the fifth time in program history.
The Huguenots will play an unbeaten Shaker team tonight at 7. I’ll post updates from the game on Twitter @LoHudInsider. Afterward, I’ll return here with the final score, a recap and a look at the upcoming schedule. You can expect final stats, facts and quotes shortly after the conclusion of the game.
So far, as our friend BIG JOE pointed out to me on Twitter, all three Section 9 teams that won last week’s quarterfinals against Section 1 lost this weekend. Burnt Hills dropped Cornwall last night, and Hoosick Falls and Glens Falls dispatched of O’Neill and Marlboro today.
Tuckahoe has already helped salvage Section 1’s record in states by securing a berth at the Carrier Dome. Can New Ro do the same? Follow along to find out.
And, as always, enjoy the football.
Saturday’s games -
Class AA state semifinals
At Dietz Stadium, Kingston:
New Rochelle 28, Shaker 21
GAME RECAP
Class A state semifinals
New Rochelle 28, Shaker 21: At Dietz Stadium in Kingston, with his team trailing by a point, New Rochelle quarterback Khalil Edney threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Joe Clarke with just 30 seconds remaining. It capped a 65-yard drive that lasted just 1:05 and sent the Huguenots to their fifth state championship game in program history. They will meet defending state champ Orchard Park of Section 6 at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 24 at the Carrier Dome.
“I’m proud of my kids,” New Rochelle coach Lou DiRienzo said. “I always tell them, confidence through preparation. When we got into our two-minute offense with 1:35 left, the kids were poised. Everybody had a piece. Pop had a draw. Joe was Joe. I’m really proud of the composure they kept.”
Edney finished 7 for 14 for 68 yards and a touchdown to earn offensive MVP honors. Senior Terrence Holden had a sack and earned defensive MVP honors.
Edney completed two passes to Clarke on the final drive and picked up a first down on a 19-yard quarterback draw. After two incomplete passes to open the final drive, Clarke drew a pass interference penalty that advanced the ball to midfield and allowed New Rochelle’s offense to gain momentum.
“I was relaxed, composed,” Edney said. “Coach always says that big-time players make big-time plays. That’s what I did in the fourth quarter.”
The offense seized on its late-season momentum, scoring four or more touchdowns for the fourth straight game.
“On that drive, the way we had picked it up in the playoffs helped us a lot,” Edney said.
Jason Ceneus rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries and Jon Forrest rushed for 52 yards and a score. The sophomore gave New Rochelle a 14-0 lead going into halftime. Ceneus added to it in the third quarter after Shaker failed to convert a fake punt at its 17.
Shaker responded to the 20-0 deficit with touchdowns on three straight possessions. Quarterback Chris Landers threw a 49-yard score to Mike Mainella late in the third quarter. The Blue Bison cut their deficit to 20-13 when Ryan Griffin punched in a touchdown to cap a 15-play, 68-yard drive. The 210-pound senior finished with 31 rushes for 132 yards, the most rushing yards allowed by New Rochelle all season.
On the ensuing possession, the Shaker defensed held New Rochelle to a three-and-out and forced a punt. The second play, Landers broke a 49-yard keeper for a touchdown and helped put the Blue Bison ahead 21-20 on a two-point pass to Mainella with 1:35 remaining.
Ironically, it was the exact score of New Rochelle’s 21-20 defeat at North Bergen in the regular-season finale that remains the team’s only loss of the season.
“Some of us were scared, but we just tried to keep our heads up,” Clarke said.
“No doubt about it,” DiRienzo said of the similar circumstances. “They stayed together. Nobody hung their heads. Nobody was sulking.”
The victory will give New Rochelle a shot at the second state title in program history. The Huguenots won in 2003 and finished as the runner-up in 2000, 2004 and 2009.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 24
Class AA state championship
At Carrier Dome, Syracuse:
New Rochelle vs. Orchard Park (Section 6), 6 p.m.
222 Comments
Just,
Once again, I have no qualms about the interference call vs HHS. Just the roughing call—our QB got hit in the head on the legit hold that took away the long TD and nothing got called there. That’s what we were heated about.
Don’t miss you at all
States, LOLOL!!!
Refing is tough, though never delved into those waters. Once i heard about the inteference call I thought about you. Just a little needling. The highlights msg showed, you couldn’t tell if Harrison QB was hit late in that game so I still dont kno the answer. So the gripe could have been very legit. Plus it is always best to let the kids decide the outcome down the stretch unless the foul is too blatant not to call. JIMO
“LOL!!.. AGREE!!!.. NEW RO GOING TO THE SPREAD, SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE THE WHOLE GAME!!!......
JUST DO YOU REMEMBER ME SAYING IF YOU DN’T HAVE A PASSING GAME YOU ARE NOT MAKING IT TO THE DOME?????????????..... ANOTHER ONE OF MY NOT HAVING A CLUE!... MOMENTS!!...”
Prince!!!!!Of course I remember…. and agree. Need a passing game…..and of course the Wing can provide
Remember you can be a wing based team and still line in passing formations whether it be twins, trips, unbalanced, shotgun, etc…Actually New Ro has always had different formations but I guess just the amounts of passing not always there. Like if we are saying they should be 30% pass, 70% run. Things like that.
I Need to get some OP film!!!
Just a fact November 19th, 2012 at 11:41 am
“LOL!!.. AGREE!!!.. NEW RO GOING TO THE SPREAD, SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE THE WHOLE GAME!!!......
JUST DO YOU REMEMBER ME SAYING IF YOU DN’T HAVE A PASSING GAME YOU ARE NOT MAKING IT TO THE DOME?????????????..... ANOTHER ONE OF MY NOT HAVING A CLUE!... MOMENTS!!...”
Prince!!!!!Of course I remember…. and agree. Need a passing game…..and of course the Wing can provide
Remember you can be a wing based team and still line in passing formations whether it be twins, trips, unbalanced, shotgun, etc…Actually New Ro has always had different formations but I guess just the amounts of passing not always there. Like if we are saying they should be 30% pass, 70% run. Things like that.
I Need to get some OP film!!!
JUST
EAXCTLY!!/... NE WRO NEEDED TO DEVELOP A DOWN FIELD PASSING GAME NOT JUST SIDELINE TO SIDELINE!!.. THEY WILL BE READY FOR ORCHARD PARK!!!
Just,
It is a tough business. Bottom line, if Pok doesn’t have the bad snap on the 5 yard line earlier, along with the fumbled quick return on the 10—the game is totally different. Instead of forcing it down the middle for the tie, they can take their time and play for the win instead. Life lessons, it is what it is—it was a great game, they never gave up and got a lot of respect in the process. Looking forward to next year but hopefully D’Andre, Megan and B.Weir can get a Gold Ball to assuage their pain from that loss.
JUST/ STATE/ HOOPS
VIDEO OF O/PARK
http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121118/SPORTS/121119201/1004
GUYS….
An all-star cast graduated from last year’s Orchard Park state championship football team, and its wide receiver is playing quarterback this year.
But the Quakers are still big, still strong, still smart and they’re going back to the Dome.
Senior Mitch Wilson scored four touchdowns during a 178-yard evening and the Quaker defense came up big time and time again as OP beat Christian Brothers Academy of Syracuse, 26-14, Saturday to earn a second straight trip to the Class AA state championship game.
“The entire year, every single practice, Coach [Gene] Tundo says if we want to win states, we’ve got to do this, we’ve got to do that,” said Wilson. “He says, ‘You’ve got to practice hard if you want to go to states. We can do it, I know we can.’ ”
Orchard Park will defend its Class AA championship at Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome at 6 p.m. next Saturday. It will be the third trip in program history for OP, which also won a state title in 2008. The Quakers (10-1) will face New Rochelle (10-1) of Section I (Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties) in the final.
New Rochelle defeated Shaker, 28-21, in Saturday night’s East Semifinal in Kingston. Shaker, the champion of Section II (Albany area), entered the game as the top-ranked team in the state Class AA poll.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Tundo, who’s in his 19th season coaching. “Our kids played awesome. They played their hearts out the whole game. … This accomplishment might be one of the best by any team I’ve ever coached in 30 years. I’ve coached a lot of teams. To get back to this point is incredible. I’m amazed by what they’ve done.”
Last year’s OP team graduated five All-Western New York first-teamers after a 13-0 season. Ben Holmes moved from receiver to quarterback, and the 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior showed off his elusive scrambling moves throughout the game.
Holmes ran for 175 yards on 13 carries in a game Orchard Park kept control of due to its running game and its defense. Holmes only threw four times (completing two for 14 yards with one interception) as OP ran for 407 yards to CBA’s 17. The 5-9, 180-pound Wilson did his damage on 27 carries, and several times his short touchdown runs were set up by long runs by Holmes.
“All of that, it’s all because of the line,” Wilson said of OP’s ground game. “I don’t think Ben or I could have ran as far as we did if they didn’t make the huge holes. All the credit goes to them.”
CBA, which passed for 274 of its 291 yards, displayed its quick-strike ability with 1:37 left in the third quarter when junior J.J. Zazzara hit junior Deshawn Salter behind the defense in what became a 75-yard scoring play that drew the Brothers to within 20-14.
CBA appeared to be back in the game when a fumbled OP snap gave the Brothers the ball at the OP 36 in the final minute of the third quarter. However, Austin Goltz got the ball back for the Quakers with an interception on the very next play.
After the teams exchanged punts, OP went 65 yards in five plays to make it 26-14 with 7:29 left. Wilson had a 29-yard run during the drive, which he finished off with a 14-yarder to the left side in which he dove to break the plane at the goal line.
“We were making dumb mistakes [on offense],” said Wilson. “Ben and I talked to each other, we said we need to score, we need to do it right now. Our defense was making great plays, they gave us momentum and eventually we just drove it in.”
The defense, as it did for much of the evening, kept CBA from making it a game when senior Connor Eddy (seven tackles) intercepted a pass into the end zone with 2:45 left on fourth-and-goal play. Senior Jett Modkins also had an interception and five tackles.
“They’ve been scoring 40 points a game. To do what we did says a lot about our defense,” Tundo said.
Prince, nice work!!!
Here are a couple of stats to victory..
If Edney rushes for over 125 and throws to Clarke for atleast 50 yrds…
or Edney rushes for 75 yards and throws for over 100 yards to Clarke….
NEW RO WINS!!!
OP strengths…
o-line.
qb will look to run.
#5 a good RB, but not break away speed.
and another strength… everyone blocks on run plays. Check out the WR’s getting their hands dirty out there.
Going to be a great game.
Either team net turnovers more than 2x other team, they will lose. I expect it to be that close!
***2 more turnovers than the other team, so if it is 3-1 turnovers…team with 1 wins..
JUST
I TOTALLY AGREE!!.. I THINK THE GAME WILL COME DOWN TO O/ PARK BEING ABLE TO HANDLE NEW RO OFFENSE!!.. THERE PASS DEFENSE IS SUSPECT!!.. AND I THINK NEW RO DEFENSE WILL BE THE BEST ALL AROUND DEFENSE THEY WILL HAVE SEEN ALL SEASON!!... THIS WILL BE INTERESTING!!..
SIS
THE TWO TEAMS ABOVE ARE SLOW AS YOU KNOW WHAT!!.. IT LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF COWS ON DEFENSE!!.. O/PARK LINE LOOKS BIG AND STRONG BUT I DO SEE SOME LAZZINESS!!.. THEY NUT DOMINATING THE LINE THEY ARE BLOCKING THIS IS A WINNABLE GAME FOR NEW RO!!.. I NEED TO SEE MORE VIDEO BEFORE I GIVE MY FINAL SCORE!!... THERE IS NOT A KID ON THE TWO VIDEO (DEFENSIVELY) ON JOE CLARKE, TERRENCE HOLDEN, RAY GANLEY! TALENT LEVEL!!.. COME ON MAN!!
I REALLY WANTED TO GO TO SYRACUSE WITH R.T. ...BUT THEY ARE HAVEING MY 81ST BIRTHDAY AT A FABULOUS PLACE ON THE LAKE….R,T, SAID THAT I HAD TO BE THERE TO GREET MY FRIENDS TONY BENNETT , BOBBY VALENTINE AND MARIANO RIVERA….SO I GUESS I WILL ATTEND THE PARTY….LOL
Take me big joe!!.... I can be your body guard!!..
I can serve water!!!
Prince, definitely New Ro D best OP will see all year!!! Becaus New Ro D best in STATE!!
Just
I agree I was lookn at the video the other teams look like cattle out there slow Not athletic poor change of direction ability!!.....new Ro looks smaller then the other teams on the video, but new Ro looks faster, more athletic, more talented and better coached then the teams on the video..
Those teams looked like white plains, Arlington, Rck
RIVERAS KIDS ARE IN MY GRANDSON AND DAUGHTERS CLASSES IN THE PURCHASE…HARRISON SCHOOLS ..AND I WANT ALL TO KNOW THAT HE IS THE MOST LOVING …CARING ..NICE PERSON , I EVER MET…...AS FOR TONY, WE MET ON HIS HONEYMOON IN FLORIDA WHEN HE WAS A NEW UP COMING STAR….AS FOR BOBBY…WELL HE IS FAMILY…..RT IS OUR BABY GREG WHO WATCHES OVER ME,,,,,,SO I DONT NEED A BOUNCER RT IS 6-3 …240 AND TOUGH
Prince, going to look in more detail later… OP didn’t look slow but not fast either… I will re view.. It did concern me that all their guys go all out when blocking… Usually wr’s don’t like to get their hands dirty….
Big joe, thought you were kidding about the celebrity birthday…. Nice!!!!!
Big Joe,
Happy Birthday my friend! Enjoy all your family and friends at your party!
thanks hoops