SWC75
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This year’s tournament field:
(The team’s won-lost record, points for and against and the number of Section III titles won in their history regardless of class is listed with each team.)
CLASS AA
#1 CBA 7-0 (225-72) vs. #8 Utica Proctor 2-5 (244-256)
#4 Liverpool 5-2 (251-219) vs. #5 West Genesee 3-4 (215-171)
#3 Henninger 5-2 (266-194) vs. #6 Fayetteville-Manlius (6-1 (212-96)
#2 Baldwinsville 6-1 (315-184) vs. #7 Central Square 2-5 (146-271)
Comment: Further evidence that the five class system doesn’t work is the presence of three teams with losing records in the eight team field. West Genny is, at least, the defending sectional champs. They were kind of snake-bit with two one point loses and a three point loss, so they should be a formidable opponent. Still, it’s hard to see them in the #5 slot while 6-1 -M, who beat them is #6. Baldwinsville’s Tyler Rouse is clearly the section’s best player but CBA is the best team.
CLASS A
#1 Jamesville-DeWitt 7-0 (220-64) vs. #8 Watertown 3-4 (174-192)
#4 Whitesboro 5-2 (188-124) vs. #5 East Syracuse-Minoa 4-3 (236-123)
#3 Nottingham 5-2 (217-119) vs. #6 Carthage 3-4 (127-195)
#2 Indian River 6-1 (265-130) vs. #7 Fulton 2-5 (97-233)
Comment: Again we have three teams with losing records. Fulton is obviously not a playoff caliber team at all and Watertown lost their last four games by a combined 52-166 after starting 3-0. Carthage lost their last two games 6-45 and 14-48. But they made the playoffs. We could have a “big school” playoff between 7-0 CBA and J-D, 6-1 Baldwinsville, -M and Indian River and three of 5-2 Henninger, Liverpool, Nottingham or Whitesboro. Four of those teams used to be County League North rivals in the old days. J-D is clearly the class of Class A but Indian River has won 6 in a row after dropping the opener to defending champ ESM. Perennial power Whitesboro has had kind of a bumpy ride this year. Nottingham and ESM have looked very good at times.
CLASS B
#1 Chittenango 7-0 (252-65) vs. #8 VVS 4-3 (175-147)
#4 Oneida 5-2 (223-81) vs. #5 Cortland 4-3 (111-74)
#3 Homer 6-1 (186-118) vs. #6 Camden 5-2 (198-140)
#2 Cazenovia 6-1 (251-84) vs. #7 Westhill 3-4 (154-158)
Comment: This is all about defending champions Chittenango and perennial power Cazenovia, who lost only undefeated Class A J-D by 2 points. Homer’s only loss was 0-42 to Chittenango. Oneida has scored 40 points four times and been shut out twice.
CLASS C
(There are more teams in this class than the others so they have two, separately seeded 8 team brackets. They also start the playoffs a week earlier so there are only 6 games played before the playoffs start.)
#1 Canastota 5-1 (136-83) vs. #8 Watertown IHC 4-2 (185-95)
#4 Bishop Ludden 5-1 (184-117) vs. #5 APW 3-3 (161-130)
#3 General Brown 6-0 (263-15) vs. #6 Utica Notre Dame 4-2 (121-132)
#2 Skaneateles 6-0 (285-97) vs. #7 Sherburne-Earlville 4-2 (261-205)
And
#1 Herkimer 5-1 (219-68) vs. #8 Little Falls 2-4 (146-161)
#4 Frankfurt-Schuyler 4-2 (101-124) vs. #5 Mt. Markham 3-3 (102-124)
#3 Tully 4-2 (180-137) vs. Institute of Technology, (why don’t they call it Central Tech?) 2-4 (126-161)
#2 Waterville 3-3 (116-71) vs. #7 Lowville 4-2 (137-106)
Comment: The two best teams, Skaneateles and General Brown are in the same bracket. They aren’t even the #1 seed. What’s up with that? Also, what’s up with what happened to Skaneateles last year? They rose from the dead to become the best Class C team in the section. There were suspicions of out-of-district recruiting and the coach, Tim Green, got forced out. But the Lakers are just as good this year. Have any players been expelled from the team? If not, what was that all about last year? Now the Lakers get to play in the playoffs and will be favored to win it. But watch out for General Brown’s defense (15 points in 6 games) and defending champion Herkimer.
CLASS D
#1 Sandy Creek 7-0 (185-60) vs. #8 Dolgeville 5-2 (139-106)
#4 Weedsport 6-1 (249-89) vs. #5 Sauquoit Valley 5-2 (148-78)
#3 Port Byron 6-1 (200-98) vs. #6 Westmoreland 5-2 (283-114)
#2 West Canada Valley 7-0 (221-58) vs. #7 Pulaski 4-3 (192-167
Comment: West Canada is an interesting story. They were the first Section III team to win a state tournament championship in 1997. Things fell apart after that and at one point they didn’t even bother fielding a team. But the Indians are back in a big way and looking a lot like they did in ’97. Any time you beat perennial power Dolgeville 40-0, you can play the game. Weedsport is also a power, (they won the 2004 state title) and Westmoreland, the defending sectional champ, has been impressive at times. Port Byron knocked off Weedsport in a regular season ending game, 14-7. Sandy Creek has never won the section but could win it this year.
A 16 team small school, (B+C+D) tournament would likely have had these teams:
Undefeated: Chittenango, General Brown, Sandy Creek, Skaneateles, West Canada Valley
One Loss: Bishop Ludden, Canastota, Cazenovia, Herkimer, Homer, Port Byron, Weedsport
Two Losses: (4 of) Camden, Dolgeville, Frankfurt-Schuyler, Lowville, Oneida, Sauquoit Valley, Sherburne-Earlville, Tully, Utica Notre Dame, Watertown IHC, Westmoreland
I strongly believe these teams could compete with each other. They’ve done it in the past. Many have been in more than one division over their history and before the divisions many of them were in leagues together. But, on to what’s actually happened.
CLASS C FIRST ROUND (October 12th)
- Canastota overcame a 0-6 halftime deficit to dominate the second half and beat Watertown IHC 29-6. Quarterback Anthony Mason ran for a touchdown and passed for two more. He was only 3 for 4 from the air but 67% of his throws went for scores. Zach Zupan ran for 117 yards.
- Antoine Montgomery turned Bishop Ludden’s game with APW into a route with interception returns and fumble recoveries on consecutive plays from scrimmage. A 15-8 game became 29-8 and the Gaelic Knights went on to win, 43-14. The other hero was Corey Williams son who ran for 204 yards and 4 touchdowns for the winners.
- General Brown had all kinds of problems with Utica Notre Dame, finally subduing them, 33-30. The Jugglers scored twice as many points as the Lions had given up to all their regular season opponents combined. They jumped to a 17-0 lead and forced GB to make a big comeback to win. Zech Pitre’s 212 yards rushing and 2 scores were the key to comeback but it took a 16 yard pass from Richard Lagano to David Pitre to give GB the win.
- Conor Herr, the best passer in the section by a considerable margin, completed 24 of 33 passes for 298 yards and two scores and caught a 70 yard TD pass to lead the Skaneateles Lakers to a 49-22 romp over Sherburne-Earlville. The game was 42-0 at one point.
- Herkimer avenged their only loss, a week earlier against Little Falls, (12-20) with a dominating 42-8 victory. The game was close at halftime, 15-9 before the Magicians pulled away. Austin Mills threw three TD passes and Dan Apply scored three times, the last on an 80 yard run.
- Frankfort Schuyler took care of Mt. Marhkam, 34-18. After giving up a score on the opening drive the Maroon Knights responded with a scoring drive of their own and then scored again on a blocked punt. They never trailed the rest of the game. Brandon Longo ran for two scores.
- Tully’s Black Knights rushed for 437 yards, including 335 from Mike Spain to defeat the Institute of Technology 27-8.
- Kyle Malik scored four touchdowns to lead a Lowville comeback over Waterville 24-19.
CLASS AA FIRST ROUND (October 19-20)
- Utica Proctor managed to score 33 points on that great CBA defense. But they still lost by 23 points, 56-33. The Raiders had a 14-7 second quarter lead when the brothers rallied for three straight scores and never again trailed. DeShawn Salter scored 5 touchdowns for the winners, running or 231 yards.
- Defending sectional champs West Genesee knocked off Liverpool 36-25 as Naesean Howard ran for 240 yards and 4TDsThree of the Wildcat’s four losses this year were by a total of 5 points. Jeff Edwards had 218 rushing yards and two scores for the Warriors, who led 25-15 in the third period.
- Fayetteville-Manlius shut down Henninger’s offense in a 17-6 win which was described as a “hard-hitting, old-school affair”. Sean Bright scored twice for the Hornets.
- Baldwinsville devoured Central Square 63-20. Tyler Rouse ran for 262 yards and scored 5 touchdowns on runs of 59, 33, 7, 66 and 40 yards. Rickey Sparks had an 88 yard scoring jaunt and Eric Anthony an 88 yard pick six. They all must have been exhausted after that game.
CLASS A FIRST ROUND (October 19-20)
- déjà vu: Jamesville-Dewitt beat Watertown 47-12 in their final regular season game and did it again 49-0 in the opening round of the playoffs. Rasheed Baker ran for 164 yards and two scores. Watertown could only gain 79 yards.
- Whitesboro avenged their 0-27 defeat in last year’s sectional final by beating East Syracuse-Minoa 34-12. It was only 14-12 at the half but the Spartans pulled away in the second half behind long runs by Matt Felitto, who scored four TDs on runs of 33, 1, 55 and 51 yards.
- Nottingham doubled up Carthage 46-23 behind 355 yards rushing by Derrick Gore, who scored four times.
- Indian River beat Fulton 35-14. Darius Bryant ran for 151 yards on only 6 carries, two of which ere 61 and 69 yard touchdown runs. There were no upsets in this bracket.
CLASS B FIRST ROUND (October 19-20)
- Chittenango had no problem with VVS, 42-6. Star quarterback Devin Phelps ran for four touchdowns. The Bears, the only Section III team to make it past the first round of the state playoffs last year, look even better this year.
- Oneida beat Cortland 20-12 with two fourth quarter scores by Dylan Cafalone to erase a 6-12 fourth quarter deficit.
- Camden upset Homer, 37-20 behind four TD passes from Ryan McCarthy, who also ran for one and kicked a field goal.
- Cazenovia shut down a Westhill offense that had scored 66 points the previous week and advanced easily, 48-6. The Lakers rushed for 276 yards and got an 85 yard fumble return.
CLASS C SECOND ROUND (October 19-20)
- Bishop Ludden, the 2007 sectional and state champ, eliminated #1 seed Canastota 33-20 behind 285 all purpose yards from Antoine Montgomery, who had kick-off returns of 70 and 79 yards.
- Skaneateles had announced itself on the local scene in the 2011 opener by shocking perennial power and tow-time defending sectional champ General Brown, 54-31. That was the first of what is now 17 consecutive victories by an average 49-17. That’s virtually the score they beat General Brown by this time, 49-14. Conor Herr and Jake Cooney key the Laker’s aerial game but it was their interceptions, one returned 70 yards to set up a score and anther returned 45 yards for a score that keyed the rout. Herr passed for 223 yards and three scores, two to Cooney.
- Herkimer continued rolling, beating Frankfort-Schuyler 42-6. Matt Borek ran for 131 yards and a TD and kicked four extra points.
- Matt Bush ran 60 yards with a fumble for the winning score and Lowville knocked off Tully 34-26.
CLASS D FIRST ROUND (October 19-20)
- Sandy Creek eliminated Dolgeville 28-21, building up a 28-7 lead going into the fourth quarter and holding on to win. Four different players scored for the Comets. Mason McNitt ran for 157 yards.
- Weedsport Built up a 19-7 lead on Sauquoit Valley on three TD runs by Lance Myers, surrendered two scores to fall into a tie thanks to two missed conversions and won it on a fourth quarter safety and a 60 yard TD run by Matt Pele.
- Westmoreland crushed Port Byron 48-13, breaking the game open with a 35 point second half. Quarterback Zack Green rushed for 133 yards and two scores while Tim Harrison rushed for 136 and four scores.
- West Canada Valley beat Pulaski 35-20, putting them away with two fourth quarter touchdowns by Ryan Moody and Ryan Grogan, who each scored twice and ran for 258 yards between them.
CLASS AA SECOND ROUND
Tyler Rouse rushed for 272 yards and 4 TDs to help Baldwinsville out-last Fayetteville-Manlius, 38-36. Those were actually under his averages of 312 yards and 5 YDs. He’s leading the NATION in touchdowns with 44. He scored on runs of 75 yards, 4 yards, 55 yards and 51 yards and had a couple more called back. The Bees led 28-9 going into the final period of the thriller and withstood a 27 point fourth quarter by the Hornets. CBA also built up a big lead on West Genesee but their defense prevented any comeback in a 35-13 win. DeShawn Salter ran for 159 yards and two scores. JR Zazarra threw for 3 scores, two to Andre Dowdell.
CLASS A SECOND ROUND
Jamesville-DeWitt barely made it by perennial power Whitesboro, 7-6, in an old-fashioned defensive duel. The Red Rams scored on their first possession and made it hold up despite the fact that Whitesboro had several possessions in good field position due to bad punts and a fumble recovery. Nottingham upset Indian River 48-26 thanks to Marty Clanton, who ran for 210 yards and a score and passed for 167 yards and three more and Derrick Gore, who ran for 230 yards and two scores.
CLASS B SECOND ROUND
Chittenango had a 21-7 over Oneida and the ball on the 2 yard line but couldn’t push it over from there. They then gave up an 88 TD run by Dylan Cafalone and a two point conversion. The bears botched the kick-off and ahd to start their final drive from their own 7. They got a first down on a third and one from the 16 by inches in a measurement and were able to run out the clock for the 21-15 win. Cazenovia has no such problems in downing Camden 54-7 behind three touchdowns by Kevin Hopsicker. The Lakers beat the Bears 13-10 in last year’s finale in what was then a battle of unbeaten teams.
CLASS C THIRD ROUND
Skaneateles continued to make up for lost time by smashing Bishop Ludden, 38-19 to get into the Class C Finals they were denied the chance at last year The Lakers led 21-7 when the Gaelic Knights scored to make it 21-13. Skaneateles was flagged for two personal fouls on the play which were accessed on the kick-off, putting the ball on the Laker 30. BL tried and onsides kick which Conor Herr returned to the 42. The Lakers then drove in to score with 18 seconds left in the half on one of Herr’s three TD passes. The third came on the first possession of the second half and the Lakers were in total control from that point on. They will play the team that won the title in their absence last year, Herkimer, who blasted Lowville 41-7 behind two touchdown passes to Zach Steel from Austin Mills, who also scored himself.
CLASS D SECOND ROUND
Weedsport returned the opening kick-off 84 yards for a touchdown and then got stuffed the rest of the way as Sandy Creek rolled, 28-7. All four touchdowns were scored by Mason McNitt, who rushed for 135 yards on 19 carries. Westmoreland ended West Canada’s dreams of repeating it’s 1997 state title run, 37-20. Zach Green scored 25 of the Bulldog’s 37 points by running for two scores, kicking three field goals and four extra points.
FINALS
CLASS AA
In a back and forth game, CBA took a 28-24 lead late in the fourth quarter on a 5 yard run by Jonathan Stackhouse and then put the capper on it with a 15 yard fumble return by Joey Pascarella to close it out, 35-24 over Baldwinsville. Tyler Rouse gained 211 yards and scored 3 more touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to extend the Bees season and his career.
CLASS A
Nottingham won it’s first sectional title in 32 years, avenging a 6-25 loss to previously unbeaten Jamesville-Dewitt with a 14-7. J-D was leading 7-6 with 4:03 left but got greedy and Nottingham’s Daquan Adams intercepted a long sideline pass and the Bulldogs drove for the winning score from there, Marty Clanton finding Tyquon Rolon for the winner from 6 yards out. Nottingham’s only other loss was 14-28 to AA champion CBA in their first game of the season.
CLASS B
Cazenovia won their big confrontation with Chittenango, 35-21 with a couple of long fourth quarter scores that broke up a 21-21 duel. Jake Wilson had an incredible game with four touchdowns from 3, 38, 75 and 81 yards out. The Lakers lost only to Class A finalist J-D, 20-22 in their second game. They now must face the Section 4 champions, Maine-Endwell who last year won the State Class A title and return 21 of 22 starters from that team, (their enrollment dropped to a Class A level).
CLASS C
Skaneateles did in 2012 what they were not allowed to do in 2011- compete for and win the Section III class C title, beating Herkimer, the school that had won it in their stead last year, 33-16 behind 5 TD pass from Connor Herr. The Lakers made a statement early, scoring twice in their first seven plays from scrimmage on passes of 60 and 46 yards. They’ve been the dominant team against their own division in Section three the last two years, having won 19 games without a loss and out-scoring their foes 900-323, (47-17). Now they get a chance to test themselves against the best Class C teams in the state. One of them is Hornell of Section 5, who has won 48 games in a row, (the second longest winning streak in the nation), and the last three state Class B titles. Like Maine-Endwell, their enrollment dropped a bit and they are now a Class C team.
CLASS D
Sandy Creek won their first-ever sectional title, 26-21 over perennial power and defending sectional champion Westmoreland. John Shirley atoned for a previous fumble by scoring on an 8 yard run for the winner. The Comets scored after three Bulldog turnovers. Cameron Hall had a couple of long scores, a 42 yard pass play and a 64 yard run.
The Section III Champions for 2012:
CLASS AA CBA 10-0 (351-142) Going into the weekend, they were ranked #3 in the state in Class AA by the New York State Sportswrtiers Association. Max Preps ranked them #12 in the state overall and #1083 naitonally, (yes, they rank all the high school teams in the antion, somehow.)
CLASS A Nottingham 8-2 (325-175) NYSSWA: #19 Max Preps #22 / #1545
CLASS B Cazenovia 9-1 (388-118) NYSSWA: #7 Max Preps #182 / #1265, (yes, ahead of Class A Nottingham)
CLASS C Skaneateles 10-0 (454-168) NYSSWA: #7 Max Preps #28 / #1855
CLASS D Sandy Creek 10-0 (267-109) NYSSWA: #4 Max Preps #852 / #3932
(The team’s won-lost record, points for and against and the number of Section III titles won in their history regardless of class is listed with each team.)
CLASS AA
#1 CBA 7-0 (225-72) vs. #8 Utica Proctor 2-5 (244-256)
#4 Liverpool 5-2 (251-219) vs. #5 West Genesee 3-4 (215-171)
#3 Henninger 5-2 (266-194) vs. #6 Fayetteville-Manlius (6-1 (212-96)
#2 Baldwinsville 6-1 (315-184) vs. #7 Central Square 2-5 (146-271)
Comment: Further evidence that the five class system doesn’t work is the presence of three teams with losing records in the eight team field. West Genny is, at least, the defending sectional champs. They were kind of snake-bit with two one point loses and a three point loss, so they should be a formidable opponent. Still, it’s hard to see them in the #5 slot while 6-1 -M, who beat them is #6. Baldwinsville’s Tyler Rouse is clearly the section’s best player but CBA is the best team.
CLASS A
#1 Jamesville-DeWitt 7-0 (220-64) vs. #8 Watertown 3-4 (174-192)
#4 Whitesboro 5-2 (188-124) vs. #5 East Syracuse-Minoa 4-3 (236-123)
#3 Nottingham 5-2 (217-119) vs. #6 Carthage 3-4 (127-195)
#2 Indian River 6-1 (265-130) vs. #7 Fulton 2-5 (97-233)
Comment: Again we have three teams with losing records. Fulton is obviously not a playoff caliber team at all and Watertown lost their last four games by a combined 52-166 after starting 3-0. Carthage lost their last two games 6-45 and 14-48. But they made the playoffs. We could have a “big school” playoff between 7-0 CBA and J-D, 6-1 Baldwinsville, -M and Indian River and three of 5-2 Henninger, Liverpool, Nottingham or Whitesboro. Four of those teams used to be County League North rivals in the old days. J-D is clearly the class of Class A but Indian River has won 6 in a row after dropping the opener to defending champ ESM. Perennial power Whitesboro has had kind of a bumpy ride this year. Nottingham and ESM have looked very good at times.
CLASS B
#1 Chittenango 7-0 (252-65) vs. #8 VVS 4-3 (175-147)
#4 Oneida 5-2 (223-81) vs. #5 Cortland 4-3 (111-74)
#3 Homer 6-1 (186-118) vs. #6 Camden 5-2 (198-140)
#2 Cazenovia 6-1 (251-84) vs. #7 Westhill 3-4 (154-158)
Comment: This is all about defending champions Chittenango and perennial power Cazenovia, who lost only undefeated Class A J-D by 2 points. Homer’s only loss was 0-42 to Chittenango. Oneida has scored 40 points four times and been shut out twice.
CLASS C
(There are more teams in this class than the others so they have two, separately seeded 8 team brackets. They also start the playoffs a week earlier so there are only 6 games played before the playoffs start.)
#1 Canastota 5-1 (136-83) vs. #8 Watertown IHC 4-2 (185-95)
#4 Bishop Ludden 5-1 (184-117) vs. #5 APW 3-3 (161-130)
#3 General Brown 6-0 (263-15) vs. #6 Utica Notre Dame 4-2 (121-132)
#2 Skaneateles 6-0 (285-97) vs. #7 Sherburne-Earlville 4-2 (261-205)
And
#1 Herkimer 5-1 (219-68) vs. #8 Little Falls 2-4 (146-161)
#4 Frankfurt-Schuyler 4-2 (101-124) vs. #5 Mt. Markham 3-3 (102-124)
#3 Tully 4-2 (180-137) vs. Institute of Technology, (why don’t they call it Central Tech?) 2-4 (126-161)
#2 Waterville 3-3 (116-71) vs. #7 Lowville 4-2 (137-106)
Comment: The two best teams, Skaneateles and General Brown are in the same bracket. They aren’t even the #1 seed. What’s up with that? Also, what’s up with what happened to Skaneateles last year? They rose from the dead to become the best Class C team in the section. There were suspicions of out-of-district recruiting and the coach, Tim Green, got forced out. But the Lakers are just as good this year. Have any players been expelled from the team? If not, what was that all about last year? Now the Lakers get to play in the playoffs and will be favored to win it. But watch out for General Brown’s defense (15 points in 6 games) and defending champion Herkimer.
CLASS D
#1 Sandy Creek 7-0 (185-60) vs. #8 Dolgeville 5-2 (139-106)
#4 Weedsport 6-1 (249-89) vs. #5 Sauquoit Valley 5-2 (148-78)
#3 Port Byron 6-1 (200-98) vs. #6 Westmoreland 5-2 (283-114)
#2 West Canada Valley 7-0 (221-58) vs. #7 Pulaski 4-3 (192-167
Comment: West Canada is an interesting story. They were the first Section III team to win a state tournament championship in 1997. Things fell apart after that and at one point they didn’t even bother fielding a team. But the Indians are back in a big way and looking a lot like they did in ’97. Any time you beat perennial power Dolgeville 40-0, you can play the game. Weedsport is also a power, (they won the 2004 state title) and Westmoreland, the defending sectional champ, has been impressive at times. Port Byron knocked off Weedsport in a regular season ending game, 14-7. Sandy Creek has never won the section but could win it this year.
A 16 team small school, (B+C+D) tournament would likely have had these teams:
Undefeated: Chittenango, General Brown, Sandy Creek, Skaneateles, West Canada Valley
One Loss: Bishop Ludden, Canastota, Cazenovia, Herkimer, Homer, Port Byron, Weedsport
Two Losses: (4 of) Camden, Dolgeville, Frankfurt-Schuyler, Lowville, Oneida, Sauquoit Valley, Sherburne-Earlville, Tully, Utica Notre Dame, Watertown IHC, Westmoreland
I strongly believe these teams could compete with each other. They’ve done it in the past. Many have been in more than one division over their history and before the divisions many of them were in leagues together. But, on to what’s actually happened.
CLASS C FIRST ROUND (October 12th)
- Canastota overcame a 0-6 halftime deficit to dominate the second half and beat Watertown IHC 29-6. Quarterback Anthony Mason ran for a touchdown and passed for two more. He was only 3 for 4 from the air but 67% of his throws went for scores. Zach Zupan ran for 117 yards.
- Antoine Montgomery turned Bishop Ludden’s game with APW into a route with interception returns and fumble recoveries on consecutive plays from scrimmage. A 15-8 game became 29-8 and the Gaelic Knights went on to win, 43-14. The other hero was Corey Williams son who ran for 204 yards and 4 touchdowns for the winners.
- General Brown had all kinds of problems with Utica Notre Dame, finally subduing them, 33-30. The Jugglers scored twice as many points as the Lions had given up to all their regular season opponents combined. They jumped to a 17-0 lead and forced GB to make a big comeback to win. Zech Pitre’s 212 yards rushing and 2 scores were the key to comeback but it took a 16 yard pass from Richard Lagano to David Pitre to give GB the win.
- Conor Herr, the best passer in the section by a considerable margin, completed 24 of 33 passes for 298 yards and two scores and caught a 70 yard TD pass to lead the Skaneateles Lakers to a 49-22 romp over Sherburne-Earlville. The game was 42-0 at one point.
- Herkimer avenged their only loss, a week earlier against Little Falls, (12-20) with a dominating 42-8 victory. The game was close at halftime, 15-9 before the Magicians pulled away. Austin Mills threw three TD passes and Dan Apply scored three times, the last on an 80 yard run.
- Frankfort Schuyler took care of Mt. Marhkam, 34-18. After giving up a score on the opening drive the Maroon Knights responded with a scoring drive of their own and then scored again on a blocked punt. They never trailed the rest of the game. Brandon Longo ran for two scores.
- Tully’s Black Knights rushed for 437 yards, including 335 from Mike Spain to defeat the Institute of Technology 27-8.
- Kyle Malik scored four touchdowns to lead a Lowville comeback over Waterville 24-19.
CLASS AA FIRST ROUND (October 19-20)
- Utica Proctor managed to score 33 points on that great CBA defense. But they still lost by 23 points, 56-33. The Raiders had a 14-7 second quarter lead when the brothers rallied for three straight scores and never again trailed. DeShawn Salter scored 5 touchdowns for the winners, running or 231 yards.
- Defending sectional champs West Genesee knocked off Liverpool 36-25 as Naesean Howard ran for 240 yards and 4TDsThree of the Wildcat’s four losses this year were by a total of 5 points. Jeff Edwards had 218 rushing yards and two scores for the Warriors, who led 25-15 in the third period.
- Fayetteville-Manlius shut down Henninger’s offense in a 17-6 win which was described as a “hard-hitting, old-school affair”. Sean Bright scored twice for the Hornets.
- Baldwinsville devoured Central Square 63-20. Tyler Rouse ran for 262 yards and scored 5 touchdowns on runs of 59, 33, 7, 66 and 40 yards. Rickey Sparks had an 88 yard scoring jaunt and Eric Anthony an 88 yard pick six. They all must have been exhausted after that game.
CLASS A FIRST ROUND (October 19-20)
- déjà vu: Jamesville-Dewitt beat Watertown 47-12 in their final regular season game and did it again 49-0 in the opening round of the playoffs. Rasheed Baker ran for 164 yards and two scores. Watertown could only gain 79 yards.
- Whitesboro avenged their 0-27 defeat in last year’s sectional final by beating East Syracuse-Minoa 34-12. It was only 14-12 at the half but the Spartans pulled away in the second half behind long runs by Matt Felitto, who scored four TDs on runs of 33, 1, 55 and 51 yards.
- Nottingham doubled up Carthage 46-23 behind 355 yards rushing by Derrick Gore, who scored four times.
- Indian River beat Fulton 35-14. Darius Bryant ran for 151 yards on only 6 carries, two of which ere 61 and 69 yard touchdown runs. There were no upsets in this bracket.
CLASS B FIRST ROUND (October 19-20)
- Chittenango had no problem with VVS, 42-6. Star quarterback Devin Phelps ran for four touchdowns. The Bears, the only Section III team to make it past the first round of the state playoffs last year, look even better this year.
- Oneida beat Cortland 20-12 with two fourth quarter scores by Dylan Cafalone to erase a 6-12 fourth quarter deficit.
- Camden upset Homer, 37-20 behind four TD passes from Ryan McCarthy, who also ran for one and kicked a field goal.
- Cazenovia shut down a Westhill offense that had scored 66 points the previous week and advanced easily, 48-6. The Lakers rushed for 276 yards and got an 85 yard fumble return.
CLASS C SECOND ROUND (October 19-20)
- Bishop Ludden, the 2007 sectional and state champ, eliminated #1 seed Canastota 33-20 behind 285 all purpose yards from Antoine Montgomery, who had kick-off returns of 70 and 79 yards.
- Skaneateles had announced itself on the local scene in the 2011 opener by shocking perennial power and tow-time defending sectional champ General Brown, 54-31. That was the first of what is now 17 consecutive victories by an average 49-17. That’s virtually the score they beat General Brown by this time, 49-14. Conor Herr and Jake Cooney key the Laker’s aerial game but it was their interceptions, one returned 70 yards to set up a score and anther returned 45 yards for a score that keyed the rout. Herr passed for 223 yards and three scores, two to Cooney.
- Herkimer continued rolling, beating Frankfort-Schuyler 42-6. Matt Borek ran for 131 yards and a TD and kicked four extra points.
- Matt Bush ran 60 yards with a fumble for the winning score and Lowville knocked off Tully 34-26.
CLASS D FIRST ROUND (October 19-20)
- Sandy Creek eliminated Dolgeville 28-21, building up a 28-7 lead going into the fourth quarter and holding on to win. Four different players scored for the Comets. Mason McNitt ran for 157 yards.
- Weedsport Built up a 19-7 lead on Sauquoit Valley on three TD runs by Lance Myers, surrendered two scores to fall into a tie thanks to two missed conversions and won it on a fourth quarter safety and a 60 yard TD run by Matt Pele.
- Westmoreland crushed Port Byron 48-13, breaking the game open with a 35 point second half. Quarterback Zack Green rushed for 133 yards and two scores while Tim Harrison rushed for 136 and four scores.
- West Canada Valley beat Pulaski 35-20, putting them away with two fourth quarter touchdowns by Ryan Moody and Ryan Grogan, who each scored twice and ran for 258 yards between them.
CLASS AA SECOND ROUND
Tyler Rouse rushed for 272 yards and 4 TDs to help Baldwinsville out-last Fayetteville-Manlius, 38-36. Those were actually under his averages of 312 yards and 5 YDs. He’s leading the NATION in touchdowns with 44. He scored on runs of 75 yards, 4 yards, 55 yards and 51 yards and had a couple more called back. The Bees led 28-9 going into the final period of the thriller and withstood a 27 point fourth quarter by the Hornets. CBA also built up a big lead on West Genesee but their defense prevented any comeback in a 35-13 win. DeShawn Salter ran for 159 yards and two scores. JR Zazarra threw for 3 scores, two to Andre Dowdell.
CLASS A SECOND ROUND
Jamesville-DeWitt barely made it by perennial power Whitesboro, 7-6, in an old-fashioned defensive duel. The Red Rams scored on their first possession and made it hold up despite the fact that Whitesboro had several possessions in good field position due to bad punts and a fumble recovery. Nottingham upset Indian River 48-26 thanks to Marty Clanton, who ran for 210 yards and a score and passed for 167 yards and three more and Derrick Gore, who ran for 230 yards and two scores.
CLASS B SECOND ROUND
Chittenango had a 21-7 over Oneida and the ball on the 2 yard line but couldn’t push it over from there. They then gave up an 88 TD run by Dylan Cafalone and a two point conversion. The bears botched the kick-off and ahd to start their final drive from their own 7. They got a first down on a third and one from the 16 by inches in a measurement and were able to run out the clock for the 21-15 win. Cazenovia has no such problems in downing Camden 54-7 behind three touchdowns by Kevin Hopsicker. The Lakers beat the Bears 13-10 in last year’s finale in what was then a battle of unbeaten teams.
CLASS C THIRD ROUND
Skaneateles continued to make up for lost time by smashing Bishop Ludden, 38-19 to get into the Class C Finals they were denied the chance at last year The Lakers led 21-7 when the Gaelic Knights scored to make it 21-13. Skaneateles was flagged for two personal fouls on the play which were accessed on the kick-off, putting the ball on the Laker 30. BL tried and onsides kick which Conor Herr returned to the 42. The Lakers then drove in to score with 18 seconds left in the half on one of Herr’s three TD passes. The third came on the first possession of the second half and the Lakers were in total control from that point on. They will play the team that won the title in their absence last year, Herkimer, who blasted Lowville 41-7 behind two touchdown passes to Zach Steel from Austin Mills, who also scored himself.
CLASS D SECOND ROUND
Weedsport returned the opening kick-off 84 yards for a touchdown and then got stuffed the rest of the way as Sandy Creek rolled, 28-7. All four touchdowns were scored by Mason McNitt, who rushed for 135 yards on 19 carries. Westmoreland ended West Canada’s dreams of repeating it’s 1997 state title run, 37-20. Zach Green scored 25 of the Bulldog’s 37 points by running for two scores, kicking three field goals and four extra points.
FINALS
CLASS AA
In a back and forth game, CBA took a 28-24 lead late in the fourth quarter on a 5 yard run by Jonathan Stackhouse and then put the capper on it with a 15 yard fumble return by Joey Pascarella to close it out, 35-24 over Baldwinsville. Tyler Rouse gained 211 yards and scored 3 more touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to extend the Bees season and his career.
CLASS A
Nottingham won it’s first sectional title in 32 years, avenging a 6-25 loss to previously unbeaten Jamesville-Dewitt with a 14-7. J-D was leading 7-6 with 4:03 left but got greedy and Nottingham’s Daquan Adams intercepted a long sideline pass and the Bulldogs drove for the winning score from there, Marty Clanton finding Tyquon Rolon for the winner from 6 yards out. Nottingham’s only other loss was 14-28 to AA champion CBA in their first game of the season.
CLASS B
Cazenovia won their big confrontation with Chittenango, 35-21 with a couple of long fourth quarter scores that broke up a 21-21 duel. Jake Wilson had an incredible game with four touchdowns from 3, 38, 75 and 81 yards out. The Lakers lost only to Class A finalist J-D, 20-22 in their second game. They now must face the Section 4 champions, Maine-Endwell who last year won the State Class A title and return 21 of 22 starters from that team, (their enrollment dropped to a Class A level).
CLASS C
Skaneateles did in 2012 what they were not allowed to do in 2011- compete for and win the Section III class C title, beating Herkimer, the school that had won it in their stead last year, 33-16 behind 5 TD pass from Connor Herr. The Lakers made a statement early, scoring twice in their first seven plays from scrimmage on passes of 60 and 46 yards. They’ve been the dominant team against their own division in Section three the last two years, having won 19 games without a loss and out-scoring their foes 900-323, (47-17). Now they get a chance to test themselves against the best Class C teams in the state. One of them is Hornell of Section 5, who has won 48 games in a row, (the second longest winning streak in the nation), and the last three state Class B titles. Like Maine-Endwell, their enrollment dropped a bit and they are now a Class C team.
CLASS D
Sandy Creek won their first-ever sectional title, 26-21 over perennial power and defending sectional champion Westmoreland. John Shirley atoned for a previous fumble by scoring on an 8 yard run for the winner. The Comets scored after three Bulldog turnovers. Cameron Hall had a couple of long scores, a 42 yard pass play and a 64 yard run.
The Section III Champions for 2012:
CLASS AA CBA 10-0 (351-142) Going into the weekend, they were ranked #3 in the state in Class AA by the New York State Sportswrtiers Association. Max Preps ranked them #12 in the state overall and #1083 naitonally, (yes, they rank all the high school teams in the antion, somehow.)
CLASS A Nottingham 8-2 (325-175) NYSSWA: #19 Max Preps #22 / #1545
CLASS B Cazenovia 9-1 (388-118) NYSSWA: #7 Max Preps #182 / #1265, (yes, ahead of Class A Nottingham)
CLASS C Skaneateles 10-0 (454-168) NYSSWA: #7 Max Preps #28 / #1855
CLASS D Sandy Creek 10-0 (267-109) NYSSWA: #4 Max Preps #852 / #3932
