MIDDLETOWN – Dan Scalo and big plays go together - whether dashing for a first down on a 4^th-and-2 on his team’s first drive of the game, finding seven yards to maintain possession in the 4^th quarter when Monroe-Woodbury leads by a single point, or connecting with Packy Laird on a 30-yard TD pass on 4^th-and-9. Do you prefer defense? How about Defensive Player of the Game Dan Scalo with his 7.5 tackles to help control parts of the Warwick passing attack?

Scalo’s versatile performance along with two touchdowns apiece by Trevor Officer and Patrick Laird earned the Crusaders a 35-27 victory over Warwick and a sixth consecutive Class AA championship at Faller Field Saturday night. The Crusaders have now won a record eight AA crowns since the classification came into existence in 1996.

Coach Pat D’Aliso’s crew needed just about everything to get this one done as Rian White and the Wildcats clawed for a late game upset.

Early on, though, White dove into the end zone nearest Middletown High School for a 12-yard touchdown to wrap up an eight-play, 55-yard scoring drive. Mike Grace converted the PAT to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

The Cru answered back by going 58 yards on 12 plays. A pass interference call against Warwick enhanced the effort to the Wildcat 27, as Scalo’s first fourth down conversion would soon set up a first down at the 13. Five plays later, sophomore Ryan Spelman crashed through for a 1-yard score. Laird kicked for a 7-7 tie.

In the second quarter, Warwick began on their own 19 and two Nick Race receptions of 13 and 20 yards pushed the pigskin to the MW 29. White took a hard hit on the ensuing run and defensive tackle Pierre Saloman recovered the fumble for the Crusaders at the 26.

Scalo and Officer handled all but 16 of the yards needed to score with 54 ticks on the clock before halftime through steady ground gains. Laird’s catch marked the exception but Officer ran the final five to put Monroe-Woodbury up 14-7 after the Laird extra point.

The Crusaders appeared to have run away with this game at the 6:21 juncture of the third stanza. Officer returned the second-half kickoff 46 yards and Laird hauled in a 41-yard Scalo aerial to make the score 21-7 after Laird’s kick.

Then MW got the ball again to embark on a five-play, 82 yard journey that culminated with an Officer 2-yard score. Laird made it 28-7.

The Wildcats had nothing to lose at this point and got their game going. White brought the offense out at the 20 and completed six passes, four to John Babin. The last Babin reception went for an 18-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 28-13 with the missed PAT.

Two possessions later, Babin took in a 16-yard pass to transport the football to the Crusader 37. Race covered the leftover space this time with a catch-and-speed away touchdown. Babin made a two-point catch in the end zone and Warwick had fought back to within 28-21 with 9:28 remaining in the game.

The Wildcats held and Laird punted them back to their 36. A pass interference call against MW moved the ball to the Crusader 42. Two Babin catches got a first down at the 31 before White found him again on the next play for a scoring pass. This gave the senior QB the all-time single season record for touchdown passes in Section Nine with 31. The crucial extra point missed, however, and MW still had a 28-27 lead with 5:25 left.

Officer returned the ensuing kickoff to the Wildcat 49. Scalo sustained the series to where he had the 4^th-and-9 from Warwick’s 30. Then, in one of the biggest crunch-time plays you’ll see, the standout senior fired one to Laird for six points. The reception gave Laird the sectional record for the most receiving yards in a single game: 179. The senior, headed for West Point after graduation, converted for the 35-27 margin.

Warwick had 2:51 to work with and took over on their own 18. White completed a pass to Babin at the 30 and subsequently hit Sam Careccia on a big 4^th-and-6 play to the MW 45. After an incompletion, however, MW junior Matt Hefter intercepted a White pass to send the Crusaders into the state tournament.

Scalo rushed for 122 yards on 26 carries and passed to the tune of 187 yards to go with his two TD passes. These numbers just can’t portray the kind of clutch performance he gave on a night where the Crusaders’ 50-game winning streak against Section Nine opponents was seriously threatened in the final minutes. It also gave Coach D’Aliso career victory # 199.

Officer ran his season total to 16 touchdowns and finished with 33 yards on the ground. Spelman, who had started for Officer, gained 17.

Laird was also quite a force in this game, making six receptions for his 179 yards plus successfully booting all five extra points. Laird has made 62-of-64 this season.

8-2 Warwick had quite an offensive season, perhaps the best in a program that goes back to 1896. Offensive MVP White completed 24-of-37 passes in this contest to chalk up 329 yards, the third highest game total in Section Nine history. He finishes up the season with 2,373 passing yards. His two-year docket totals 4,089 and 50 touchdown passes through the friendly skies.

Comrade Babin caught 12 passes for 149 yards on the night. He collected two TD catches to increase his SNF record season total to 19. The career slate rests at a remarkable 27 – another sectional all-time high.

10-0 Monroe-Woodbury completes another perfect season against Section Nine opponents and advances to take on the Section One winner between New Rochelle vs. North Rockland next Saturday at Dietz Stadium.

--- RICH ARNOTT

THE MONROE-WOODBURY(MW)/WARWICK (W) BOX SCORE:

TEAM STATS -- First Downs: MW -14, W- 14; Rushes attempted -- MW - 43, W - 16; Yards Rushing: MW - 172, W - 27; Yards Passing: MW - 187, W - 329; Passes (Att/Comp/Int): MW - 7/16/0, W - 24/37/1; Sacked: MW - 0, W - 0; Returns/Yards: MW - 6/118, W - 3/69; Punts/Avg.: MW - 2/21, W - 3/30; Penalties/Yards - MW: 6/56, W - 4/45.

INDIVIDUAL STATS -- Rushing (Att/Yards/Fmb lost) -- (MW) Scalo 15/122/0, Officer 11/33/0, Spelman 6/17/0; (W) White 11/19/1, Testa 5/8/0... Passing (Att/Comp/Yards/TD/Int) -- (MW) Scalo 7/16/187/2/0; (W) White 24/37/329/1 … Receiving (Number/Yards) -- (MW) Laird 6/179, McFarlin 1/8; (W) Babin 12/149, Careccia 6/47, Race 5/113, Grogan 1/20 … Returns (Number/Yards) -- (MW) Officer 2/79, Hefter 1/15, Morgan 1/14, Walsh 1/6, O’Brien 1 /4; (W) Marggraff 2/50, Babin 1/19 … Fumble Recovery -- (MW) Salomon … Interception -- (MW) Hefter.

SCORING SUMMARY: 1^ST -- (W) Rian White 12 run (Mike Grace Kick) 8 plays 55 yards (9:07); (MW) Ryan Spelman 1 run (Pat Laird kick) 12 x 58 (2:10) … 2^nd -- (MW) Trevor Officer 5 run (Laird kick) 13 x 74 (:54) … 3^rd -- (MW) Laird 41 pass from Dan Scalo (Laird kick) 1 x 41 (11:41); (MW) Officer 2 run (Laird kick) 5 x 72 (6:21); (W) John Babin 18 pass from White (Grace kick) 6 x 80 (4:08) … 4^th -- (W) Nick Race 37 pass from White (Babin pass from White) 2 x 47 (9:28); (W) Babin 31 pass from White (kick failed) 5 x 64 (5:25); Laird 30 pass from Scalo (Laird kick) 8 x 56 (2:24).

TEAM RECORDS: Monroe-Woodbury 10-0, Warwick 8-2. 

Monroe-Woodbury wins the Class AA Championship and proceeds to next Saturday's Regional game at Dietz (7:30 pm).

--- PHIL DUSENBURY

KINGSTON - The O’Neill Raiders defeated the previously unbeaten and state-ranked Highland Huskies, 35-28, in the Section Nine Class B final Saturday night at Dietz stadium.

The ball game started out as a real shootout with O’Neill striking first with 4 minutes gone, on an Aaron Kilner 7-yard keeper that ended a drive that went three-quarters of the football field. Mitchell McKearn, who was perfect with all his extra points (7 for 7), gave the Raiders the early lead, 7-0.

Highland came right back with a score of its own with 5:07 left in the first quarter on a Matt Relyea to Mike Forte scoring pass that covered 35 yards. Scott Bolstad, also perfect in the kicking department for the Huskies (4 for 4), tied the score at 7.

Kilner brought his Raiders back again with 5 seconds left to play in the first quarter and threw an 11-yard TD pass, this time to McKearn, to take the 14- 7 lead.

But the Huskies weren't finished with the quarter quite yet either. Mike Forte returned the ensuing kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at the end of the first quarter, 14-14.

Again, the Huskies answered - this time before the halftime break. Husky Jeff Matcham took the kickoff and returned it 80 yards for another touchdown with zero seconds left on the clock. Halftime score: ONeill 21- Highland 21.

At halftime, I don't think either coach could have expected more from these two prolific teams at this point in the game.

O’Neill came to this game to play and started the second half from where they left off in the first but with two important additions. The defense started stepping up. After the kickoff to Highland, the Raiders’ defense forced a fumble and recovered, and then followed in the next defensive sequence with a blocked punt.

Each of these turnovers ended up in Church Pfeil touchdowns for the Raiders. Pfeil, the Offensive MVP, ended with 165 yards on 31 carries and two TDs.
Highland scored again with 1:30 left in the game on a Relyea to Forte 12 yard pass. But it was too little, too late. The final onside kickoff was smothered by a Raider lineman.

Relyea was 7 for 17 with no interceptions and 105 yards and 2 TDs while Forte had 3 touchdowns for the Huskies. Kilner was 12 for 19 with no interceptions and 143 yards and 2 TDs and one rushing TD. McKearn had 74 rushing yards and was also the defensive MVP with 10 tackles.

Coach Relyea had a good run this year making it through the regular season with 8 wins and no losses. With four new injuries in Saturday’s game, the coach quipped: " We just ran out of players."

Highland ended the season 8-1. O-Neill (7-3) moves on to the inter-sectional playoffs (next Friday) against Section 1 champion, Nanuet, who defeated Sleepy Hollow Saturday night, 29-6.

--- JMATCH with Rich & Ellen Michaelis

KINGSTON - Ellenville’s defense pitched its fourth shutout of the season on the way to defending its Class C championship title. The Blue Devils scored one touchdown in each quarter to defeat Liberty, 27-0, here at Dietz Stadium.

The first score came on the seventh play of a 78-yard drive in the first period. Jose Aldorando hit pay dirt on a six-yard run to do the honors. The PAT failed. 6-0.

Andrew Platt got into the act in the second quarter when he blocked a Liberty punt that was recovered at the Indian five. On the next play Platt powered into the end zone to boost the margin to 12-0 as the PAT again failed.

Liberty managed to end the first half deep in Devil territory. The Indians had a first and goal from the 10, but failed to put up any points on four cracks at the goal line.

The third quarter remained scoreless until Ellenville engineered a nine play, 44-yard drive that ended with a TD pass at the 1:59 mark. The score came on an 11-yard toss from QB Robert Borriello to Thomas Savaglio. FB Platt then got the call and scored two more points on a PAT run to make it 20-0.

Less than three minutes of playing time later, the Devils’ Brennin Haugen intercepted a Marshon Williams’ aerial and returned it 42 yards for the game’s final touchdown. The score came at 11:46 of the fourth stanza. Michael Wernick’s kick added the extra point to up the score to 27-0.

Platt, a senior, was named the game’s most outstanding offensive player. In rushing he gained 53 yards on 16 carries. The team’s seasonal leading rusher, Doug Lewis, used sparingly until late in the game and picked up 67 yards on 11 carries. Aldorando was seven-for-71 with 42 of those yards coming on one carry. Meanwhile Ellenville QB Borriello completed two-of-three passes for 30 yards.

Liberty’s leading rusher was Williams, a sophomore who carried 19 times out of the spread for 61 yards. In passing he was six-for-14-for-43 yards and the interception.

Liberty senior linebacker Brandon Tompkins, who had 11 tackles, was named the most outstanding defensive player.

State-ranked Ellenville (9-1) will face the Section One champ (Bronxville or Croton-Harmon) next Friday at Dietz (4 pm) in the regionals.

Liberty finishes its season with a 5-5 record.

--- Rick Stone with Rich & Ellen Michaelis

MIDDLETOWN - The Cornwall offense jumped out to a three touchdown halftime lead over Wallkill and then let its defense do the rest as the Green Dragons won their fifth consecutive Section Nine Class A championship here at Faller Field Friday night. The final score was 26-7.

Offensive Player of the Game Tyree Smallwood scored a pair of first quarter touchdowns and rushed for a total of 130 yards to again spark the Cornwall offense. Meanwhile an attacking Dragon defense completely shut down the Panthers in the second half, limiting them to 66 yards and two first downs. Wallkill had but four first downs all night.

Cornwall scored on the game’s first play from scrimmage when quarterback Tyler Lawlor hit Smallwood deep over the middle for a 63-yard score. Wallkill’s Bryan Devos flew in to block Kenny Kirshner’s attempted PAT to keep the score at 6-0.

Two possessions later, a Lawlor-to-Brandon Flores pass covered 38 yards to the Panther 20. On second down Smallwood got loose for a 16-yard TD run with 2:31 left in the opening quarter. Kirshner’s conversion made it 13-0.

Wallkill’s offense for the night consisted primarily of four big-gainers. The subsequent Panther drive contained two of them. The first was a beautiful 45-yard Andrew Harcher to Chad Hecht pass completion and run down the left sideline to the Cornwall 28 for the Blue Cats’ initial first down for the night. That was followed a nifty 28-yard scamper by Dom Calvanico who slipped up the middle and then cut to the outside to beat the Dragon secondary to the end zone. Pat Toole’s PAT made it 13-7 with 1:24 left in the first quarter.

Smallwood’s 33-yard kickoff return to midfield quickly quieted the Wallkill faithful. Three Cornwall plays netted only eight yards as the first quarter came to an end. However, the time out allowed Dragon coach Marcus Hughes to get everything in order a fake punt.

Punter Kicker Kirshner took the snap and unleashed a long pass toward the end zone. Justin Van Wygerden caught the bomb for a 42-yard score.

Van Wygerden got flagged for an end zone celebration which forced the Dragons to pass for the PAT. It failed but Cornwall now owned a 19-0 lead.

The Dragon defense then started heating up. Wallkill did pick up one more first down in the second quarter on a 29-yard Harcher-to-tight end Joe Cappuccilli hookup to the Panther 48, but four plays later, Toole was forced to punt. The ball went off the side of his foot and netted just three yards.

So the Cornwall offense set up shop at the Wallkill 49. The Dragons pecked away for three first downs with Lawlor completing three-of-three passes to Joe White for 22 yards. His fourth completion also went to White who caught it this time in the right back corner of the end zone for a TD. Kirshner’s kick made it 26-7 with 16 seconds left before halftime.

The second half was a scoreless affair. Coach Hughes was happy with defensive coordinator Tom Pinder’s unit but not too thrilled with the second half offense which falls in his direct domain as offensive coordinator.

“Everything I called in the first half worked. That first pass for the touchdown, the fake punt and all,” he said. “Then in the second half, nothing worked (offensively). I’ll take the blame for that. I wanted try some of our new stuff, but it didn’t work out.”

Cornwall’s defense was led by defensive player of the game Ryan Staudle, a junior lineman who stuffed the run and was in Harcher‘s grill all night, sacking him once. Senior linebacker Dylan Babcock also had a sack to add to the three he registered in the semi-final win over Saugerties.

Wallkill gained only 44 yards on the ground in 28 rushes. Calvanico carried for 37 yards on seven tries while 1,000-yard rusher Schoonmaker was limited to 17 yards on eight cracks. Harcher netted 10 yards in losses.

The Panther passing game was a bit more successful (five-for-13-for 112 yards). Hecht had two catches for 52 yards.

For the champs, Smallwood’s 130 yards came via 20 carries. Lawlor was held to 32 yards on 15 lugs. The team rushing totals were 37-for-164 yards.

Meanwhile Lawlor completed 12-of-21 passes for 154 yards. Add that to the Kirshner-to-Van Wygerden TD, and the Dragons finished with 13-for-22 for 196 passing yards. White finished with six catches for 47 yards while Smallwood was two-for-62 and Kelly two-for-11.

Overall Cornwall netted 360 yards of offense to Wallkill's 156. Both the Green Dragon offensive and defensive lines received much of the credit.

“Our line isn’t big but they’re tough and quick,” assistant coach Jack Cassel stated. “They did the job tonight.”

Asked if the Dragons could use a big power back to round out the potent backfield, he only half-jokingly quipped, “We search the hallways every day.”

For now Cornwall will continue to rely on those bursts of breakaway speed supplied by the sensational Smallwood who has now rushed for 1,214 yards on 128 carries and scored 18 rushing TD for the season.   He has also caught six TD passes.

Cornwall is now 7-2 and will meet the Section One champ (either Roosevelt of Yonkers or Poughkeepsie) next Friday night at Dietz Stadium in Kingston (8 pm).  Wallkill finished its season at 6-4. 

--- PHIL DUSENBURY

KINGSTON – Offensive Player of the Game Bryan Henry threw for 268 yards and the Eldred defense caused six Chester turnovers in the Yellowjackets’ dominating 45-6 Class D championship win over the Hambletonians at Dietz Stadium on Friday night.

Many of the so-called experts including this writer picked Chester to advance, but Eldred seized control of this game with a 17-point first quarter to cruise to a third title in the past five years.

QB Henry hit Matt Balcolm on a 51-yard touchdown pass at 7:20 to get things rolling with Bobby Warden nailing the extra point.

Geno Jones recovered a squib kick to get the offense back onto the field and it didn’t take too long for Henry to complete a 39-yard pass to Ian Halloran at the Chester three. Halloran took the next handoff into the end zone and Chester soon found itself trailing, 14-0.

Jones then continued to wreak havoc on the Hambletonians by diving on another loose football to give Henry an even shorter field to begin on the Chester 15. On fourth down, Warden came out to kick a 25-yard field goal to boost the Jacket advantage to 17-0.

Chester quarterback Matt Balzano just couldn’t get going early in this game as Dylan Kulik stepped in front of a pass on the ensuing drive inside Eldred’s 10. Travis Hay also got into the act for the Yellowjackets before halftime in making another fumble recovery.

Halloran broke through for a 14-yard score less than three minutes into the second half and Warden’s boot gave Eldred a commanding 24-0 lead. The place-kicker also had a few rushes on the night, including a one-yard push into the end zone to start the fourth quarter. 31-0.

Chester finally got on the scoreboard when Victor Cruz brought a fumble back 20 yards for a score. The two-point try failed.

Henry added a five-yard touchdown and Kulik returned a fumble 15 yards to wrap up the scoring. Warden went 6-for-6 in extra points on the night.

Henry completed 9-of-13 passes for 200 yards to show remarkable accuracy. Halloran had 23 carries for 136 yards.

For 6-4 Chester, Balzano connected on 9-of-19 passes for 83 via the airways. Travis Mann rushed for 54 yards on 17 carries while lineman Niko Wong earned Defensive Player of the Game honors.

9-1 Eldred advances to the state quarterfinals to play the Section One Tuckahoe-Haldane winner in White Plains at 4:30 next Friday.