New Paltz advances to Class B title game
Huguenots roll to 35-13 win over Liberty to reach Section 9 final against Marlboro
Call it a variation on the two-minute offense.
New Paltz High’s football team scored twice in the final two minutes of the first half Saturday, snapping a 7-7 tie and propelling itself into the Section 9, Class B championship game with a 35-13 victory over Liberty.
“We came out and set the tone. We played well on special teams, on offense and defense,” New Paltz coach Tom Tegeler said. “These kids are good and I believe in them.”
The (7-1) Huguenots will play five-time defending champion Marlboro, a team they beat during the season, for the title 7 p.m. Friday at Dietz Stadium.
Jimmy Verney powered the attack for New Paltz, rushing 20 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns and completing 6-of-9 passes for 109 yards and one TD.
Liberty was driving to break the tie with 2:08 left in the half, but Raliegh Ranne fumbled on the 5 and Verney recovered. On the next play, he swept right and raced 95 yards down the near sideline for a backbreaking touchdown.
“I came around the edge, saw a wide open hole and just took it,” Verney said.
Kumar Singh broke up a deep pass attempt by the In-
dians and they went threeand-out on their next possession. The Hugies got the ball back with 23 seconds left. Two plays later, Verney got drilled in the chest by defensive end Brett Fiske, but he found Christian Burda for a screen pass in the middle. He emerged from a crowd and scrambled 42 yards for a TD with no time left on the clock.
“I dropped back, saw the whole defensive line coming towards me and I saw Christian open up,” he said. “I dumped it to him and he just took it up the sideline, made a great move at the end and got in.”
“I ran the swing play before in a couple of games,” Burda noted. “I realized that I ran that up the middle, but I knew that the outside would be open because I saw it on film.”
“The defense was playing great. We knew if we were going to win this game, we were going to have to put some points up before the half,” Verney said. “It gave us a lot of momentum.”
New Paltz carried that momentum into the second half, marching 64 yards on 10 plays. Verney ducked under a defender’s grasp and scored on a 5-yard run. His 2-point conversion pass to Brian Kenney made it 28-7.
The Huguenot defense held Roy Penn-Cosentino, who ran for 371 yards and six TDs in a quarterfinal win over Red Hook, to 93 yards on 21 carries. New Paltz forced and recovered three first-half fumbles. Hunter McVea’s interception at the end of the third quarter was cashed in on Burda’s 9-yard TD run in the fourth.
Strong safety Joey DiMarco, who had 11 tackles, was named Defensive Star of the Game. Guy Soumah had 10 tackles. Verney put New Paltz ahead on a 27yard TD run 3:22 into the game. Raliegh Ranne tied it on a 1-yard run midway through the second quarter. The (7-2) Indians didn’t score again until Carter Harman’s 8-yard pass to Zacharias Fitzpatrick with 6:36 left to play. Liberty 0 7 0 6—13 New Paltz 7 13 8 7—35 First Quarter NP—J. Verney 27 run (Soumah kick) Second Quarter L—Ranne 1 run (Olmo kick) NP—J. Verney 95 run (Soumah kick) NP—Burda 42 pass from Verney (kick blocked) Third Quarter NP—J. Verney 5 run (Kenney pass from J. Verney) Fourth Quarter NP—Burda 9 run (Soumah kick) L—Fitzpatrick 8 pass from Harman (kick blocked) —— Rushing L—Penn-Cosentino 21-93, Ranne 10-45, Krebs 1-3, Fitzpatrick 1-(-)4; NP—J. Verney 20-181, K. Verney 5-60, Burda 7-34, Nittolo 2-11, McVea 2-10, DiMarco 6-1. Passing L—Krebs 3-4-1, 33 yards, Harman 2-2-0, 28 yards, Penn-Cosentino 0-1-0; NP—J. Verney 6-9-0, 109 yards. Receiving L—Fitzpatrick 2-25, Miranda 1-20, Wilson 1-16; NP—Burda 2-59, Kenney 3-48, Singh 1-2. Team records: Liberty 7-2; New Paltz 7-1. No. 1 Cornwall vs. No. 3 Goshen at Middletown, 7 p.m. —— CLASS B Quarterfinals Oct. 21 Marlboro 28, Spackenkill 13 Oct. 22 Liberty 63, Red Hook 12 Semifinals Oct. 29 Marlboro 17, O’Neill 6 New Paltz 35, Liberty 13 Championship Nov. 4 Class C Semifinals Oct. 24 No. 1 S.S. Seward, bye Millbrook 4, Pine Plains 1 Finals Oct. 26 S.S. Seward 3, Millbrook 2 —— Class D Finals Oct. 25 Mount Academy 1, Coleman Catholic 0 ——