Before the game Coach Mike Connolly told his players to go out and do what was expected of them.
They did! But for a while, it looked like they had a serious challenge.
“We’ve got ourselves a game,” Quinn Zsido admitted as the Dragon defense came off the field. For a few minutes, it appeared that the Cornwall linebacker was right. But three touchdowns in the second quarter changed the complexion of the contest. Zsido’s team defeated Port Jervis 40-0 to clinch its fourth straight section championship, and its ninth title in 10 years.
Both squads came out of the locker room with intensity on Friday night. “Give me a hit, give me a hit,” Emmanuel Woolley shouted as Matt Masterson booted the ball down field. Another Dragon loudly announced that Port Jervis would regret having beaten Wallkill to get into the finals.
But there was no evidence of that in the early minutes of the first quarter. The Dragons had good field position after a Port Jervis punt went straight up in the air and came down in the backfield.
Cornwall moved to the 11-yard line, and then went in reverse as a result of two sacks, a dropped pass and a penalty. The Port Jervis fans were ecstatic. And they remained that way, as their team picked up a pair of long first downs to advance to the Cornwall 30.
Then the famed Dragon defense took control. Zsido made a diving tackle on a sweep, and after two more plays were unsuccessful, Mike Doulin sacked the quarterback on fourth down.
The Red Raiders crossed into Dragon territory two more times in the first half. Nick Krafft interrupted one drive with a sack, and Will Hartnett ended the next one with an interception.
The Cornwall offense ignited as the second quarter drew near. A pair of short passes to Kobie Thomas and Tyler Peddie put the Dragons on the scoreboard, as they both picked up big yardage after catching the ball.
Kevin Gangemi added three touchdowns on the ground — employing a Houdini move on one of them, where he slipped out of a defender’s grasp and sprinted across the goal line. Jason Bailey had another productive night. His longest completion was to Matt Robinson for a 60-yard score. His most memorable toss came in the closing seconds of the first half. On fourth down, he eluded a fierce pass rush and connected with Tyler Peddie in the end zone.
The Dragons play once-beaten Rye this Saturday at noon in Mahopac.
SCORING
C: Peddie 48-yard pass from Bailey. Kick good (7-0, 1Q)
C: Gangemi 4-yard run. Kick wide (13-0, 2Q).
C: Gangemi 12-yard run. Kick low. (19-0, 2Q)
C: Peddie 13-yard pass from Bailey. Kick good (26-0, 2Q)
C: Robinson 60-yard pass from Bailey. Kick good (33-0, 3Q)
C: Gangemi 7-yard run. Kick good (40-0, 4Q).
STATISTICS
Touchdowns: Gangemi 3, Peddie 2, Robinson. Extra points: Masterson 4. First downs: Gangemi 5, Thomas 2, Parker, Peddie, Robinson.
Passing: Bailey 13 completions in 16 attempts for 260 yards and three touchdowns. Receiving: Thomas 6 ccatches for 73 yards, Peddie 4 for 94, Robinson 2 for 72, Gangemi 1 for 21. Rushing: Gangemi 16 carries for 111 yards. Vizethann 2 for 7, Pavia 2 for 1, Bailey 2 for -1, Parker 1 for 21, Thomas 1 for -2.
Interceptions: O’Flaherty, Hartnett. Recovered fumble: Zsido. Sacks: Doulin, Krafft, Roth.
