New Paltz, Marlboro advance to Class B final
Ellenville, Pine Plains lose in C semifinals; Cornwall blanks Roosevelt in Class A semi
It will be New Paltz and Marlboro once again for the Section 9, Class B football championship after both teams scored semifinal victories Saturday.
Marlboro survived a scare from Liberty, winning 35-27, and New Paltz downed Spackenkill 35-17.
The teams meet for the title 7 p.m. Friday at Middletown’s Faller Field. New Paltz ended the Dukes’ five-year reign last year. Marlboro won the regular season meeting two weeks ago 21-7. Marlboro vs. Liberty
At Middletown, the (8-0) Dukes rallied three times to defeat a tough (4-5) Liberty team and its star back, Roy Penn-Cosentino.
Phil DeSantis ran for three touchdowns in a wild fourth quarter to lead Marlboro. The teams combined for 34 points in the period.
Three TDs were scored in a two-minute span. Cosentino’s 39-yard run put Liberty ahead 21-14 with 11;46 left. DeSantis tossed a 57-yard pass to Eric Borchert and scored two plays later on a 7-yard run to tie with 10:45 remaining. Cosentino then capped a quick with an
8-yard burst to put the Indians back ahead with 9:51 to go. They missed the extra point and it was 27-21.
The Dukes responded with a 56-yard drive. DeSantis tied it with a 1-yard run and Sam Mongelli kicked the point-after for a 28-27 advantage with 7:17 to play.
Liberty, as it did to start the game, relied on its offense and chose a fake punt deep in its own territory on the next possession. Mongelli made the Indians pay with a 9-yard TD run in the first quarter. Liberty again failed to convert and DeSantis raced 19 yards up the middle for the clinching score with 4:28 left.
Kymanni Dennis had tied for Liberty at 7-7 in the first quarter on a 62-yard TD. Mongelli missed a pair of field goals in that quarter and Cosentino’s 7-yard score had Liberty up 14-7 at the half.
Mongelli’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Borchert equalized the game at 1414 in the third quarter. New Paltz vs. Spackenkill
At Kingston, Jimmy Verney ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead defending champion Huguenots.
The (8-1) Hugies took command in the first quarter as Verney scored on a 24-yard run three minutes into the game. After the (53) Spartans turned the ball over on downs at the New Paltz 45, Mike Pisciotta raced 55 yards on the next play to take a 14-0 lead.
It was 14-3 after Joey Guerriero’s 23-yard field goal got Spackenkill on the board. The Spartans drove to the Hugies’ 20 on their next drive, but Kenny Verney intercepted and Pisciotta had a 30-yard run to set up Verney’s 41-yard swing pass TD to Axel Rodriguez.
Dhyquem Lewinson scored on a 20-yard run, but Verney answered with a 55-yard TD sprint to have New Paltz up 28-10 after three quarters.
Aidan Hoffman’s interception return for a TD made it 35-10 with 8:44 left. Lewinson scored on a 53yard run and the Spartans recovered an onside kick, but could not get closer. Chester 24, Ellenville 0
At Kingston, Chester ended Ellenville’s quest for its first Class C championship in eight years. The Hambletonians held (5-3) Blue Devils throughout, shutting them out for the second time this season. Chester won the first meeting 6-0.
Chester had an 8-0 halftime lead thanks to Anthony Battiato’s 2-yard TD run late in the first quarter. The team took the second half kickoff and eventually made it 16-0 on Joe Battiato’s 16-yard pass to Josh Delgado.
(7-2) Chester gets John S. Burke Catholic in the title game 7 p.m. Saturday at Dietz. Burke 65, Pine Plains 14
At Middletown, David Ross ran for 115 yards and four touchdowns and Heath Hoovler threw for three TDs to lead defending Class C champion Burke back into the finals. The (7-1) Eagles have won seven straight heading into the championship.
Burke scored 34 points in the first quarter with Ross capitalizing on two Pine Plains fumbles in the first 2:30. Short punts then led to a Mark Przybocki TD run and the first of two Hoovler touchdown passes in the quarter.
Ross tallied twice in the second quarter as Burke built a 55-7 halftime lead. Hoovler threw his third TD and, with the second string in, Colin Shust kicked a 42-yard field goal in the third.
The (5-4) Bombers scored on Andrew Holsapple’s 46-yard pass to Matt Beam early in the second quarter and Calab McCaul’s 9-yard run in the fourth. Cornwall 49, Roosevelt 0
At Kingston, Kieran Kreider threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns as six-time defending champion Cornwall advanced to the Class A finals with an easy semifinal win Friday over Roosevelt at Dietz.
Kreider was near perfect, completing 15-of-16 passes for 230 yards and two TDs in the first half and finished with a 24-for29 night.
Ian Engenito caught two TD passes and also scored on a 1-yard run for the Green Dragons. Amin Woods rushed for 74 yards and a score for unbeaten (8-0) Cornwall, which plays Port Jervis for the title 7 p.m. Friday at Dietz.
Roosevelt, which beat Saugerties in the quarterfinals, finished the year at 5-4. Red Hook 21, Wallkill 20
At Wallkill, Dylan Bayliss completed 12-of-19 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown to Matt Hunziker and Alex Nestel rushed for two TDs to lead Red Hook Friday.
The Raiders finished the season with a 2-7 record. Wallkill concluded with an 0-9 mark.