KINGSTON - Offensive MVP Ron Schofield rushed for 261 yards and two touchdowns with the Moriah defense sacking  Eldred QB Bryan Henry four times in the Vikings' 22-13 state semifinal victory at Dietz Stadium Friday afternoon.

Number 7 Moriah advances to its second consecutive state final. Last year, they wound up losing to Maple Grove. This year they'll play #2 Randolph, who defeated top-ranked Groton, 14-6, in the other semifinal played in Rochester.

The 9-2 Section Seven champs used a 32-yard punt return by Eric Baker to set up a first-and-goal from the Eldred two just over four minutes into the game. On the next hike, junior fullback Nick Gilbo scored the game's first touchdown and his 7th of the year. Ryan Mascarenas converted the extra point for a 7-0 Moriah advantage.

Late in the first quarter, a 44-yard Nascarenas punt got the Vikings out of trouble from inside their own five. Eldred got the ball at midfield but a key sack on third down forced the Yellow Jackets to punt.

Mascarenas returned the kick but fumbled, allowing Jordan Tice to recover for Eldred at the Moriah 21. On the first play from scrimmage, Ian Halloran broke up the middle and ran all the way in for a score at 10:20 of the second quarter. Gilbo blocked the Bobby Warden PAT to preserve a 7-6 Moriah lead.

The Vikings proceeded to march downfield from their own 32 to the Jacket 10, but on 2nd-and-goal, Henry intercepted a Nate Gilbo pass.

In the final minutes of the first half, Eldred drove 64 yards to the Moriah 30 when Warden's 47-yard field goal fell just shy of the mark. This sent the teams into the locker rooms with a close 7-6 score.

Moriah journeyed on an 11-play, 65-yard drive that ended on a Schofield two-yard touchdown at 2:19 of the third. The running back accounted for 45 of the 65 yards on the scoring march. Halloran nearly recovered a fumble on the third play of the series but lost control of the football. The PAT went wide left but Moriah had opened up a 13-6 margin.

More excitement then took place during a special teams situation when Eldred punted after its next possession and Matt Balcom recovered a muff at the Moriah 30. The Yellow Jackets decided to try a direct snap out of the wildcat formation but Mike Speshock picked off a Warden pass at his two and made a 26-yard return.

Schofield needed just two totes of the football to achieve his desired results. First, he raced out to the 41. Then he got the ball a second time and went the remaining 59 yards to pay turf and his 19th touchdown of the season. A two-point pass try went awry but Moriah had expanded to a 19-6 lead with 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Eldred didn't quit. After a kickoff return to the 27, Henry trotted out to hit Balcom on a 72-yard pass-and-run play to get the football all the way down to the Viking one on the final play of the third. Halloran got his second TD of the game on the next carry and 21st of the year. Warden made the kick to cut the Eldred deficit to 19-13.

QB Gilbo made his lone completion of the day, 30 yards to Ralph Schofield,  on the next Vikings series. But the drive ended in a missed field goal attempt.

Moriah's defense held and this time they would get the clincher on offense as they embarked on a 10-play, 69-yard excursion ending up with a 21-yard Mascarenas field goal. Moriah had a 22-13 lead which put the game out of Eldred's reach at 1:56 of the final period.

Schofield had all but 22 of the Moriah rushing slate in this game with his 261 yards on 38 carries. Nate Gilbo earned Defensive MVP honors for the Vikings with his two sacks. Wally Edwards had 1.5 sacks for Moriah, with the team total of four sacks costing Eldred QB Henry 30 yards.

Halloran proved the workhorse again for the 10-2 Yellow Jackets, going 16-for-117 to earn his team's Offensive MVP.  The rest of Eldred's ground attack netted 94 yards.

Henry completed 6-of-13 passes for 91 yards. Balcom caught three of those aerials for 80 stripes.

Dylan Kulik took home the Eldred Defensive MVP award.

This marks the final game in the long and storied coaching career of Eldred's Frank Kean, who has overseen the typical ups-and-downs of a small football program for well over 30 years. Perhaps Eldred saved its best for last in regard to the long-time mentor. The Yellow Jackets have won three Section Nine titles in the past five seasons and came up especially big here in 2009 with the regional championship won against Tuckahoe last week. 

--- Rich Arnott and Phil Dusenbury  

The New York Jets announced Wednesday that Frank Kean of Eldred High School has been named this week's recipient of the New York Jets High School Coach of the Week Award. For his efforts, Kean will receive $1,000 to benefit the school’s football program and will be presented with a certificate from the Jets.

This award, in its 14th year, is given to a coach in the tri-state area who serves the best interests of the game through the teaching of sound football fundamentals, the motivation of young players to achieve, and the promotion of youth football by way of dedication to their community, their school and their student-athletes.

Kean is in his 36th and final season as the head coach of the Yellowjackets. He has coached Eldred to many divisional and sectional titles, most recently the Division 5, Section 9 regional championship this season. Kean has also won Section 9 titles in baseball and basketball during his time at Eldred. He has taught mathematics for 38 years at Eldred and coincidentally has 38 former students who are now math teachers.

-- NY JETS RELEASE