It was more than a turnaround; it was a complete about face. Tyler Peddie fielded a kickoff in the second quarter, took off at top speed and didn’t slow down until he was in the end zone. Along the way, he picked up some jarring blocks from his teammates. Tyler’s long run cut the Kingston lead to 13-6. The Dragons added five more touchdowns for a 38-21 win on a mild Friday night in Kingston.
But Cornwall’s prospects seemed bleak at the start. The home team scored on two of its first three possessions, while the visiting Dragons were unable to gain a first down. All that changed after Peddie’s long run. Mike White threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Klayton Kelly, and then engineered a last-second drive to send his teammates into the locker room with a 20-13 lead.
With the clock running down, Mike connected with Kelly for a 45-yard gain. And then, on the last play of the half, the Dragon quarterback reversed directions in the backfield to escape a horde of defenders. Throwing on the run, Mike launched a pass that deflected off Chris Bauer’s finger tips and landed in the waiting arms of Kobie Thomas for the go-ahead score.
The Dragons controlled the remainder of the game (except for a 96-yard pass-and-lateral play by the Tigers). Kevin Gangemi did most of the damage. He was tackled behind the line of scrimmage on six different plays, but he still managed to gain 160 yards and scamper over the goal line for a 37-yard touchdown. Bauer and Moiset Santos also scored.
After one of Gangemi’s long runs, he turned and thanked Brandon Lupo for opening a hole. Brandon wasn’t the only one to provide a key block. In the second quarter, Chris Bauer leveled a defender so that Mike White could sprint down the sideline for an 18-yard gain.
After a sluggish start, the Cornwall defense contained the host school for the rest of the night. Quinn Zsido had a pair of sacks, and Ryan Incognoli batted away a fourth-down pass to put an end to a Kingston drive. Peddie and Deston Treasure had second half interceptions, and Matt Robinson recovered a fumble on Cornwall’s 22-yard line.
