Maine-Endwell football faithful would assuredly have been forgiven had, midway into the highest-stakes game of 2011, they silently wondered of their heretofore trusty defenders, "Who are these lads and what have they done with our Spartans?" Burnt Halls-Ballston Lake led 20-7 Friday against a unit that had permitted a second TD three times in its first 11 games, and which had rationed those first 11 victims a 7.6-per-game average. Yardage gained? An astounding 289 on Burnt Hills' side of the sheet. In a 15-or-so-minute segment connecting the first two quarters, Burnt Hills ripped off gains of 64, 81 and 62 yards, with 17-, 18- and 15-yarders sprinkled in against an M-E squad that prides itself on refusal to surrender big plays. And so halftime came and went, M-E turned its opening possession into highly necessary points, but Burnt Hills' offense popped back on the field and summarily banged out 30 first-down yards to M-E's 29. Thereafter, with M-E defenders in what had to be -- spoken or otherwise -- full crisis mode? The Saratoga County squad, making what has become damn-near an annual Week 13 pilgrimage to the Dome, had its offensive intentions char-broiled by an M-E defense that summoned pride or talent or regained focus -- presumably a conglomeration of all. Defense had a huge say in this 27-20 win and accompanying Class A state championship. Second-half defense, anyway, the brand that allowed 43 yards and whacked Burnt Hills for negative-yardage on eight downs. Game MVP? Jake Haddock, it says here. That is offered neither haphazardly nor with a drop of disrespect to Luis Uceta, without whom M-E does not win. Uceta was recognized as MVP by a committee of state football officials in the wake of a 16-rush, 117-yard outing that featured a difference-making 47-yard dash to open the second half to go with some heads-up work in the defensive secondary. Understandable, the MVP choice. Brings to mind former M-E coach Regan Beers and the way he would summon groups to run calf-stinging hill-climbers during practice. "Hogs up!" he'd bellow, and a shriek of the whistle would send the linemen running. "Glory boys up!" he'd call, and the backs and receivers would be on the big boys' tails. It's the way it is, that's all. See, center/defensive tackle Haddock does his work in scrums and piles and any other kind of masses of large-bodied teen-agers where it gets nasty and painful and where camera lenses tend not to follow. At times, he's grinding on his belly, other times while being double-teamed keister-to-turf. What he does ain't pretty, ain't glamorous, and therefore he is soft-tossed Most Valuable Defensive Lineman acknowledgement. The guess here is, that's just fine with him, and he's the first to high-five Uceta. Haddock no doubt did his fair share at the center position, particularly with his Spartans rushing for 207 second-half yards. But most noticeably, he was spectacular on the defensive front, making it appear as if maybe, just maybe, there was more than one white jersey No. 51 out there doing the grunt work. Most spectacular short-term defender? No doubt, M-E sophomore linebacker Darnell Woolfolk. That kid's contributions, on the three plays following Daniel Porter's 30-yard gain on Burnt Hills' first offensive play of the second half, went a little something like this: First down from M-E's 29, Woolfolk forcefully disengages himself from a blocker in order to deck Thomas Ruppel for a 3-yard loss. Second-and-13, Woolfolk and Haddock combine to fell Ruppel for zero gain, and on third down, Woolfolk chases down Ryan McDonnell for a sack 15 yards deep in the backfield. High-quality work, to be sure -- and by a sophomore, no less. From there, it was team defense at its finest, with 244-pound tackle Haddock the leading man. Has the big man played a better defensive game? "I don't think so. I felt pretty good that game," he said, calling upon equal parts honesty and humility. "If he can play better than that, then he's a scary, scary guy," coach Matt Gallagher said. "He's the real deal." "Huge, huge," Woolfolk said of his big buddy. "He kept the offensive line straight, and on defense he held his spot, kept everybody going, kept their heads up." Haddock's highlights, on the way to M-E closing out the program's second state title and first since that gotta-be-kidding path to 2004 supremacy: Haddock and T.J. Davis head the charge to bang Porter after a 1-yard gain ... Haddock dives from behind for a solo stop that dropped Ruppel for a 4-yard loss ... He closed in on Josh Quesada and finished him for a 2-yard loss ... He teamed with David Zielewicz for a 3-yard sack. With Burnt Hills in possession one last time and 42 seconds remaining, Haddock wrapped-and-sacked McDonnell for a 13-yard, first-down loss, and just for kicks, gave the QB a how-do-ya-do, fourth-down send-off in the form of a belt upon delivery of a pass that Uceta broke up in the secondary. "Everything kind of seemed to fall into place," said Haddock, who closed with five tackles for losses -- the same as Burnt Hills' entire team. "I felt pretty good today. Their offensive line has a little bit wider split, which I like, the other playoff teams really haven't been having that. "Just the splits, how I felt, the crowd -- everything came together and made it easier." M-E's defense as a whole, post-halftime plus one play, executed exquisitely. From Haddock and Woolfolk to Robert Allen and Sean Barrett to Nick Sorrenti and all the rest, they came upon something that didn't seem to be there early on. Oh, another M-E youngster of high value in the big picture? Punter Colin Reynolds was superb, delivering his five boots in field-flipping fashion to the tune of a 50.6-yard average. Go ahead and find another high school punter with that stat line, but dig hard. To go with that, he did some Grade-A defending, some at linebacker and some up front, knee-deep in the interior. "I just put everything I had into kicking it, and I ended up punting it as well as I have all year," Reynolds said. "He changed the game for us a couple of times. It's not the first time he's done that," Gallagher said. All together, offense, defense and special teams, M-E persevered, through an uncharacteristic halftime deficit and in the face of a been-there/done-that group from Burnt Hills. "We definitely showed heart and we definitely showed class," said Sorrenti. "We got the job done and we won the state championship."

PRESS & SUN

After as forgettable a half of footballas it had played all season, a remarkable second-half turnaround ensured this season as one to remember for Maine-Endwell.

Nick Sorrenti scored three second-half touchdowns as M-E scored 20 unanswered points to rally for a 27-20 victory against Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in the Class A state championship game Friday at the Carrier Dome.

Down 20-7 at halftime, M-E took the lead when Sorrenti plowed in from 3 yards out for a touchdown and Stephen Pham added the PAT kick with 10:26 remaining in the fourth quarter to put M-E up 21-20.

But there was still work to be done for M-E (12-0).

Burnt Hills (11-2), the Section 2 representative, reached the M-E 28-yard line on its ensuing possession following a 26-yard pass from Ryan McDonnell to William Chapman.

However, Burnt Hills lost five yards on its next two plays and following a McDonnell incompletion, McDonnell was forced out of bounds for a 2-yard loss by Robert Allen on fourth-and-15 to give M-E the ball with 4:29 remaining.

M-E picked up a pair of first downs -- the second of those coming on a gutsy fourth-and-4 play from the Burnt Hills' 39 on which quarterback Kyle Gallagher gained 11 yards on a keeper -- before Sorrenti scored on a 29-yard run with 43 seconds left to make it 27-20.

Burnt Hills had one last chance to tie or win the game but after a Jake Haddock sack of McDonnell for a 13-yard loss on first down from the Burnt Hills' 31, McDonnell threw three incompletions, the last of those a deep ball batted away by Luis Uceta near midfield with two seconds remaining.

"It's the greatest feeling I've had in my life," said M-E's Luis Uceta, who ran for 117 yards and a touchdown in earning the game's Most Valuable Player award determined by state football officials. "It's such an accomplishment for our team, the hard work we've put in. It's amazing."

It is the second Class A state title for M-E. Its previous title was in 2004.

A championship appeared unlikely after a first half in which M-E was outgained 289-78. After M-E scored on its opening drive following a Burnt Hills turnover -- Uceta's 5-yard touchdown run giving M-E a 7-0 lead 3:40 into Friday's contest -- it was all Burnt Hills the remainder of the half.

Burnt Hills held M-E to 10 yards offense and nary a first down the rest of the first half. Meanwhile, Burnt Hills scored 20 straight points to close out the half, bolstered by a trio of big plays;

» A McDonnell screen pass to Eric Dillon that went for 64 yards to the M-E 6. Three plays later, McDonnell hooked up on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dillon to knot the score at 7 with 1:56 left in the first.

» Daniel Porter's 81-yard touchdown run off a trap play up the middle before making a cut to the right and outsprinting several M-E defenders for a score that put Burnt Hills ahead, 13-7, with 4:55 left in the second.

» A 62-yard run by Josh Quesada to the M-E 3. On the next play, McDonnell tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tom Ruppel to make it 20-7 with 57 seconds left in the second quarter.

Suffice to say there was plenty of soul-searching in the M-E locker room at halftime.

"I was pretty nervous," Kyle Gallagher said. "There wasn't much that worked in the first half."

Added M-E outside linebacker Darnell Woolfolk: "That was a huge eye-opener. We knew we had to step up our defense and not let our heads hang."

Mission accomplished.

Uceta gave M-E a much-needed boost to start the third quarter, his 47-yard run on M-E's first play from scrimmage to the Burnt Hills' 18 setting up Sorrenti's 4-yard touchdown run that brought M-E within 20-14 with 9:26 left in the third quarter.

It appeared Burnt Hills might regain momentum when Porter ripped off a 30-yard run on Burnt Hills' first play of its ensuing drive to the M-E 29.

But M-E forced a punt three plays later when Woolfolk sacked McDonnell for a 12-yard loss on third-and-13 from the M-E 32.

M-E failed to score on its next possession, but did so on its following possession when Sorrenti's 3-yard touchdown run capped a nine-play, 39-yard drive to put M-E ahead to stay. The key play was a 7-yard, something-out-of-nothing run by Uceta on third-and-5 at the Burnt Hills' 34.

"I told our kids the first four minutes of each half are the biggest," Burnt Hills coach Matt Shell said. "If you have momentum you want to keep it, if you don't have it you want to get it.

"They came out and were able to get it, and they were able to ride that momentum out the rest of the game."

Switch to new offense triggered state title run

So, you coach your team to the program's first Section 4 footballchampionship in six years, and given an abundance of returning talent, the obvious next move is ... ?

Why of course, virtually gut the offensive philosophy, start anew -- and follow that 2010 sectional title by rolling unbeaten and top-ranked into the 2011 Class A state final.

Fourth-ranked Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (11-1) stands between Maine-Endwell (11-0) and the second state football title brought home to Broome County's version of Sparta. The championship game is to kick off at 2 p.m. Friday in the Carrier Dome.

The boys from Schenectady County have been preparing diligently to defend the confounding throwback of an option offense installed by M-E in the wake of a 7-4 season that concluded with a summoning to the woodshed for a 40-14 smack-around by Whitesboro.

The notion of an offensive overhaul crept into the picture when Maine-Endwell's power approach of 2010 encountered foes crowding the line of scrimmage with eight or nine defenders bent on stopping the run they were damned sure was coming.

"They said, 'If you're going to beat us, you'll have to block us all,' -- and we couldn't," said Matt Gallagher, fourth-season head coach of the Spartans and long an admirer of option football.

"Our coaches talked about it and said, we just don't have the size to run the power game that we've been running for a couple years. So we decided we'd go with the option. We wanted to put this team in the best position possible to win the things that they wanted to win, and we didn't think that we could do it the other way.

"We decided we have a great fullback, we have great tailbacks -- now A-backs -- and we thought we had quarterbacks who could do it. We had very smart linemen, not the quickest of kids but kids who were strong."

M-E's brand of option football closely resembles that which Chenango Valley instituted in 2010 and led to a program-record 10 wins and a Class B state semifinal berth. Both offenses are rooted in Annapolis, Md., Atlanta, Ga., or -- more accurately -- between the ears of Paul Johnson, former Georgia Southern and Navy coach and current Georgia Tech boss.

"The Master," is how option-offense aficionado Kelsey Green has labeled Johnson. All Green did before relinquishing the head coaching post at Chenango Forks was oversee teams that, from 2001 to 2007, went 84-6 and appeared in six state finals.

And yes, time was when a younger Matt Gallagher picked the brain of the wily veteran.

M-E's base look: Five interior linemen, two split ends, two slotbacks (A-backs) aligned just outside and a smidge behind the tackles, a fullback locked and loaded tightly behind the quarterback.

Typically, an A-back is sent in motion pre-snap. The quarterback, having done a relative speed-read of the defensive alignment, decides whether to hand off to the fullback, keep the ball himself or pitch to the A-back.

Most certainly not every play run by the Spartans is of the three-option variety, and an element of the power offense of yesteryear remains in place. But option is the prevailing theme.

In the case of M-E, primary ball carriers are fullback Nick Sorrenti, A-backs Luis Uceta and Justin Jacoby, and quarterback Kyle Gallagher. Together, Sorrenti, Uceta and Jacoby have accounted for 2,483 rushing yards.

In terms of rushing style, Sorrenti is the brute, Uceta the speediest and most graceful of the bunch, and Jacoby the quick-footed plugger who wrings every tiny drop of production from his 5-foot-8, 175-pound frame.

Kyle Gallagher, an ever-improving 6-foot-4 sophomore, is the baby of the bunch. He operates the offense proficiently now, but presumably has flashed but a wee hint of coming attractions.

"And it's hard to stop four different people," coach Gallagher said.

"In my mind, it's a great offense for the people that we have. It allows you to get the ball to the right people; you can block it differently to get it to the people you want to get it to. It's designed for doing exactly what it did against Aquinas, not having to block certain people but just reading them."

Oh, right, Aquinas Institute, the extraordinarily large and talented Rochester heavyweight that was to have shoved M-E around and stolen the Spartans' lunch money on the way to, say, a four-TD runaway last Friday.

Whoops!

M-E 19, Aquinas 16 only further validated the worth of the Spartans' 2011 modus operandi.

"There's no way we'd have beaten Aquinas trying to run the football the way we did last year. Who's going to move those guys?" coach Gallagher said.

The guys doing the moving -- or baiting, or avoiding, depending on a given opponent or defensive front --are center Jake Haddock, guards Kenny Fitzpatrick and Adam Shelepack, and tackles Tyler Shelepak and Matt Carden. That crew's 233 pounds per teen-ager, while indicative of no dietary deficiencies, will strike fear into no state-playoff opponent at the Class A level.

"The offense is also designed kind of for the undersized. We're not small, but ... " coach Gallagher said. "And we have very, very smart kids. What we do on top of everything is a lot of adjusting at the line, and they all pick it up nicely."

"We've got four guys who can run the ball on any given play," Jacoby said. "Stop one guy, then you've got to worry about the next one. Stop him, you still have another one to worry about. Stop him, and we still have the quarterback to run.

"You've got to play assignment football against us, and that's tough."

As the date that we have all been waiting for draws near, we for the first time since 2004 look forward to enjoying our turkey day knowing that the following morning promises yet another day of football. Only this time, when the final whistle blows we just may be New York State Champs. With Maine-Endwell still receiving awe-filled praise from individuals throughout the New York State football community for putting Aquinas’ season to an end, coaches Gallagher and Crooks are already knee-deep in film, demystifying some of the trade secrets that Burnt Hills will arrive at the dome with. While no team that has found themselves this deep in state competition is weak, bolstered by our victory over a very polished Aquinas, we must appear to every onlooker as the team to beat and a healthy favorite in this contest.

Still, Burnt Hills is a team that has made its mark this season building its success largely on the backs of its seniors dressing at least twenty of them. There skilled positions, however, like Maine-Endwell are comprised almost exclusively of juniors. The first of which is quarterback, Ryan McDonnell (15) entered this season uncertain of his starting position. He has since been hailed as a solid commander of the offense that is able to both execute fundamentally and is a highly adaptive learner. A testament to how well he is able to adapt and overcome was seen in their last meeting against Amsterdam where they punished the Saratoga based team 58-27 avenging an earlier season loss. Despite some fairly nice numbers in the air, Burnt Hills is not at team that hangs its hat on its passing capability. While McDonnell is not unable to pass, it’s his running-backs that have delivered the team to the state championship game. There are two primary backs that will be administering the ground and pound for Burnt Hills, both of which posted big numbers in their semi-final bout against Cornwall. Senior running-back Thomas Ruppel (21) rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns, while Daniel Porter (4) rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown. The Spartans (from Burnt Hill) are able to utilize a two pronged attack with these runners, typically commissioning Ruppel on counters and other such runs around the end reserving Porter for runs up the middle, draws and off-tackle plays. What’s nice about their style of running is its simplistic beauty. One example of a play that Burnt Hills has leveraged over the season that has earned them big yardage, but doesn’t require a Harvard PHD to understand is a Daniel Porter run up the middle. There’s really nothing tricky about it; the center shoots straight out and takes on the middle linebacker, while the guards cross-block each other’s regularly scheduled opponent. 2 steps behind the cross-block is Porter shooting straight through the confusion. As predictable as this play seems to be, each time it’s made an appearance on game films, a substantial gain, if not a touchdown has typically been the end result. Alternatively, Maine-Endwell outside defenders will have to stay close to home in the event that the speedy Ruppel comes barreling around the end.

Receiver, Eric Dillon (8) is another very athletic junior fleshing out both sides of the starting roster. He too comes off a big semi-final game against Cornwall having carded an interception, recovering an onsides kick as well as a plethora of tackles at d-back. Dillon represents perhaps the finest athletes on the Burnt Hills roster where impact plays are concerned. As the playmaker on both offense and defense, the Maine-Endwell coaching staff would do well to be especially mindful of this player. Some other noted tough guys that are sure to contribute for Burnt Hills are defensive back Jack Guba (27), two-way lineman Nick Crocetto (57) and Nicholas Marchesiello (51). Senior linebacker Dylan Wydronkowski (44) is sure to be a menacing force in the Burnt Hills defensive secondary as well, serving his team as a very tough and nose-for-the-action type of player. He will captain the defensive sets that oppose M-E and should prove to be a worthy adversary to our Spartans.

While this team is clearly not Aquinas, they may actually resemble something a bit more scary; ourselves. Like Maine-Endwell, when this team sees that plays are working, they stick to those plays. While it seems painfully obvious that a team would do so, for whatever reason this has not been the case of our past three opponents, starting with the disappearance of Cheslock in the U-E sectional final. Where did he go? One minute he is the single biggest threat to the future of Maine-Endwell football, burning up yardage with every touch, next thing you know, in the second half he’s not even on the field. Even stranger, the following week, the ESM coaching staff decided that it would be somehow better to rely on the 30-yard sideline bomb that Johnson (while a heck of a qb) simply could not put on target, instead of opting for the 15 yards that Johnson and Barton were routinely earning on the ground on the first and second down of every ESM possession. Amazingly, they never gave up on the ill-fated pass-play. Incompletion after incompletion, they went long through the air and found nothing but turnovers or loss on downs. Almost as if to prove to us that they could actually complete the thing, they finally got it right and landed a 35-yard hailer on the 2-yard line. Yes, they scored the touchdown, but had so little time left on the clock that the whole display may as well have been academic. Finally, and probably this author’s vote for the biggest doozie, the Aquinas “Look at me, I’m Dan Marino” passing debacle on what would prove their final drive of the season. This one still has many a coach and spectator scratching a dizzied head. Despite having among the top running-backs in the state, for whom we had very little answer for and for whom was averaging no less than 11 yards a carry, the go-to play from the 5-yard line to win the game, on third and goal is a boot pass to the right hash of the field. With both receivers well covered and running out of room on the right, there was only one place left for Benedetto to run and that was straight back - Seven-yards to be exact. After the ensuing T.J Davis \ Jake Haddock sack, Aquinas was then faced with an even more daunting do-or-die 37-yard field goal attempt from the wrong side of the field. One could argue that the coach was worried that the M-E defense had just grown too keen for Lombardi as we had held him to 1 yard in his previous two carries (3-yard gain, followed by a 2-yard loss). However, a runner like Lombardi will not be stopped three times and he had two more tries to pound it into the endzone.

Burnt Hills seems to have a better command of their senses, keeping the ball out of danger and like our own Spartans, they don’t appear to fall victim to adversity and are able to redeem their own mistakes in dramatic fashion. While they don’t often use it, they are plenty able to pass in the flat and reserve two nicely equipped weapons for ground strikes.To stop the Burnt Hills ground assault, Maine-Endwell is going to need to stack the box a bit more and be ever watchful of the Porter power which seems to be, like our own Sorrenti gutter, among their bread and butter plays. They however, will certainly have their hands full. Now, officially the New York State Nasties, Maine-Endwell is firing on all cylinders with a plainly sick cache of weaponry in its arsenal. Leveraging 4 very good running backs, M-E has proven beyond a doubt that their running game as well as their defense is second to none in New York State. Come Friday evening, Burnt Hills may very well know what that means.

Maine-Endwell has marched on to the field for every game, played fundamental football and disassembled each opponent’s most dangerous attributes. While every team has a little something different to offer, Maine-Endwell has remained steadfast their game plan, which consists of a little old-school toughness, a lot of talent, and a dizzying ability to remain completely unmoved by the adversity and drama unfolding in front of them.

Amazing is a word that defines what we cannot otherwise conjure up the appropriate words to define. The Spartans have kept us in a state of constant amazement over the course of eleven games this season, but none more than in last night’s victory over Aquinas. Maine-Endwell opened the game by receiving the ball on their own 25–yard line where they then proceeded to march down the field much in the same manner as they had done one week before on the opening drive against East Syracuse Minoa. With an alarming degree of ease, the Spartans cut through the Aquinas defensive line as if Kyle Gallagher was Odysseus himself and the remainder of the Spartans were the Argonauts negotiating their way around the labyrinth of Polyphemus. That is until they fumbled the ball on the Aquinas 25-yard line. On Aquinas’ first possession, the “luck of the Irish” oddly enough, fell in the Spartans favor when the otherwise infallible tailback Billy Lombardi (44), tripped over the 30-yard line on his way to what was certain to be an unchallenged touchdown. Unscathed for the moment, Maine-Endwell took the ball back and repeated what they had done on their first possession only to fumble yet again, this time painfully enough, coming within spitting distance of the Aquinas endzone before turning it over.

Okay - - so that in itself isn’t necessarily “amazing” in the average game, but as we now know, this was no average game. Teams – good teams that have played perfectly against Aquinas have found themselves down by 28 points at the close of the first quarter. Yet somehow, after gift wrapping and giving the ball back to Aquinas on two successive “near score” possessions, Maine-Endwell still found that they were in the game. Not only were they in the game, but they were beginning to pick up momentum. Although the next Aquinas possession saw Lombardi pound in a touchdown after six carries, one of which broke through the middle for over 25 yards, the Spartans were beginning to find the MOJO that was working against the Little Irish. Allowing two scoreless possessions to burn down the clock, M-E finally pieced together a drive which ended with Sorrenti bulling back both Jones (74) and DiLaura (89) four-yards into the endzone. Pham’s PAT would knot the score at seven.

Aquinas, who traditionally has reserved the ability to score at will, who is the number one team in the state, who is a team that’s been crowned New York State Champions on five occasions since 1998, not only could not capitalize on two critical mistakes made by the Maine-Endwell, but realized for the first time in years perhaps that they were in very real danger of this becoming a game. Maine-Endwell went on to contain the dangerous receiving efforts of both Jahmahl Pardner (11) and Taylor Byrne (10) along with Jake Vogl (7) and Alonzo Turney (3), to all but shut down the Irish air game – well, relatively speaking. Quarterback, Cory Benedetto (17) was held to only 124 yards on 10 completed passes, which is in stark contrast to his average 172 yards per game. Against Sweet Home and McQuaid alone, the Little Irish racked up over 320 yards of passing and six resulting TD’s. On an interesting side note, Aquinas’ only other loss at the hands of Erie Pennsylvania’s Cathedral Prep, saw Benedetto only able to throw for 123 yards and suffer a very similar 16–13 defeat.

However, what everyone manning both the Maine-Endwell sidelines and bleachers needed to remember was that we were facing a very explosive team that reserves the ability to launch huge plays from any position on the field at any time. After both teams scored additional touchdowns, each with failed extra points, it became clear that this contest was going to be up for grabs. After a close-but-no-cigar offensive drive ended in a 3-point go-ahead field goal for Aquinas, the Spartans laid out for everyone in attendance what makes them so special. On the very next play, Luis Uceta restored the Spartans back to health by running back the ball from his own 12-yard line to the Aquinas 4-yard line off the Aquinas kick-off. Following up Uceta’s heroic carry a few plays later was what is certain to grab votes for the most critical play of the game. Following two stifled rushing attempts, one of which dropped the Spartans back 7-yards, the tenacious Justin Jacoby dug deep into his soul and found a splinter of a light off the right shoulder of the blocking Matt Carden to pick up an off-tackle TD which placed M-E on top for the first time in the contest. The most impressive part of this run however, was the manner in which Jacoby entered the endzone. Once again faced with a do-or-die 7-yard play, Jacoby not only scored the touchdown, but ran over two very gifted defensive backs to do so. It’s worth noting that anything less than the efforts put in by Jacoby on this run would have been stopped 3 yards short of what proved to be the game winning points.

Finally, with eight minutes remaining on the clock, Aquinas began a drive that would erase 5 of those. Although perfectly engineered, the one thing that they needed to do was place at least 3 points on the board to force overtime. Despite Lombardi tearing away from the pack and earning what seemed like 20 yards at a carry, once inside the 30-yard line Aquinas seemed unable to make forward progress. After a couple of ill-fated plays forced Benedetto to pass, T.J. Davis then stepped up to meet his date with destiny. As he wrapped his arms around the waist of Benedetto, he felt the assistance of Jake Haddock flying in from the top to bury the Aquinas quarterback 7-yards behind the line of scrimmage. Following the failed field goal attempt, all that remained was for Kyle Gallagher to hold on to the ball for a couple of plays and take a knee.

As Gallagher’s knee touched the turf to bleed the final seconds from the clock, “amazing” was all that anyone, including Aquinas, could say. While M-E was obviously overjoyed, Aquinas appeared to be a team that had just arisen from 5-year coma. Not a person in attendance could put into satisfactory words what had just just happened, defining perfectly the true meaning of the word. However, there are times and events in life that need no technical explanation. Indeed, the beauty inherent in such moments lies in the very fact that we cannot define them or explain them away. This is the gift that the 2011 Spartans have given all of us and we are not burdened by trying to say in one sentence or paragraph what makes them so special.

Instead, when someone asks the question, we may simply state, “They are amazing!”

Congrats boys!
TJM-

PRESS & SUN
Written by Kevin Stevens

EAST SYRACUSE -- Maine-Endwell believed, and overcame, and next will chase the Class A state football championship.

The Spartans wiped away their third and final deficit when Justin Jacoby rushed 7 yards for a touchdown with 6:58 remaining Friday night, putting up the last points in a masterful 19-16 semifinal victory over top-ranked, defending champion Aquinas Institute of Rochester.

Aquinas' final hope was snuffed out when a 37-yard field goal attempt by Taylor Byrne fell short and right of the mark with 84 seconds remaining. That came one play after M-E junior T.J. Davis sacked quarterback Cory Benedetto for a 15-yard loss back to the Lil' Irish 20-yard line.

Ahead for M-E (11-0) will be a title-game showdown against Burnt Hills, scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at the Carrier Dome.

Fullback Nick Sorrenti closed with 114 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Jacoby with 65 yards and two TDs for the Spartans. Sophomore quarterback Kyle Gallagher added another 73 rushing yards, four of his gains going for 13 yards or more.

"We took down the No. 1 team in the state, and hopefully we take that spot," said Sorrenti.

"What mattered was our 45 guys believed that they could -- and they went out and did it," Spartans coach Matt Gallagher said. "That was an unbelievable football team that we just beat, which makes it all the more impressive that our guys came together and got it done."

Aquinas (10-2), a program that has produced five state championships since 1998, took its final lead when Byrne converted a 41-yard field goal on a fourth-and-16 play with 8:31 to play in the game.

But M-E's Luis Uceta fielded the ensuing kickoff at his 12-yard line, cut toward the left sideline and raced to Aquinas' 5. Two plays later, Jacoby dashed on a right-to-left rush for the TD. Stephen Pham's PAT kick was wide left, leaving M-E up by 19-16.

Aquinas' Luciano Pietropaolo returned the kickoff 29 yards to M-E's 47, and the reigning champions were in business with 6:48 to play.

Billy Lombardi, who ran 28 times for 237 yards, did the bulk of the work as the Lil' Irish advanced to M-E's 5-yard line in 10 plays -- with an 18-yard Benedetto-to-Jahmahl Pardner pass thrown in.

On third-and-goal, Benedetto dropped to pass, took his time surveying the field -- but was felled by an aggressively charging Davis. What would have been a relative chip shot gave way to a 37-yard field goal try.

"I just knew that right off the ball their tackle would pull, and I would just run as fast as I can to try to get the quarterback," said Davis, 5-foor-11 and 180 pounds. "Our cornerbacks did a good job of covering their receivers. (Benedetto) hesitated; I just got to him and pulled him down."

"Unbelievable," Sorrenti said of the play. "We just stayed back, watched the pass, and T.J. got a great jump on the ball. He timed it up awesome."

M-E then gained one first down, allowing Gallagher to twice drop to a knee to run out the clock.

The Spartans committed a pair of critical first-half turnovers, at Aquinas' 25-yard line just under four minutes into the game, and on their next possession, at the Lil' Irish 8-yard line with a bit under four minutes to play in the opening quarter.

The Lil' Irish followed the second miscue by driving 92 yards on nine plays, with Lombardi taking a toss right and going 4 yards for the game's first points. Alex Bianchi added the PAT kick and it was 7-0 two plays into the second quarter.

The teams then traded punts, leaving M-E the football at its 41-yard line 5:24 before halftime.

Sorrenti started with a 16-yard gain and completed the drive by muscling his way -- back to the goal line, legs a-churning -- to finish a 5-yard scoring run 2:56 before halftime.

But Aquinas responded, going 71 yards in five plays for a 6-yard Lombardi scoring rush 45 seconds before halftime for a 13-7 advantage.

M-E made it 13-13 with a highly impressive 83-yard drive polished off by a 19-yard scoring rush by Jacoby, who found space near the left sideline and crossed the goal line with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.

Uceta then bounded a mid-range kickoff that Davis -- there's that name again -- sprinted to cover at Aquinas' 36-yard line. Though the subsequent possession ended on a fourth-down incompletion, field position gained against a potent opponent was of high value.

It has been speculated for several years and now the moment is finally here. The dreaded Aquinas Institute of Rochester awaits. This Friday night, at East Syracuse Minoa Stadium, the Spartans will look to knock off the number one ranked team in the state. So are they a paper lion? Probably not, but their scouting report may just be a bit more hype than the team when compared to Maine-Endwell.

Weighing in with the most impressive skills and stats on this team is tailback, Billy Lombardi (44) who currently has a verbal commitment to Penn State for Lacrosse. If this team is overhyped, he certainly is not! Lombardi routinely rushes for over 150 yards and in his senior season has rushed for a total 1,910 yards and counting. He shares the same qualities of many other great running backs that have come out of New York State in recent memory including Jordan Thomas (U-E), Austin Dwyer (Hornell), Jamar Smith (Binghamton) and Jordan Frysinger (Corning). Standing 5-7, 192lbs. his compact power serves his running game. There is no way around Lombardi, he will run the ball and if allowed, he will hurt the average team. M-E will have to be especially aggressive and finish every tackle on this kid, or he will turn out yardage. Backing up Lombardi is West Point-bound fullback Marc Pettrone (5). While Lombardi will handle nearly all of the ground and pound, Pettrone is another extremely athletic force that can run the ball with power. Similar to our own Nick Sorrenti, Pettrone doubles as a linebacker and is exceptional at the position, winning the section 5 defensive player of the year in 2010. Max Preps has him currently ranked at the number 2 linebacker in the state. Maxpreps, however, doesn’t have Nick Sorrenti in their database. Also standing out on the Aquinas defense is Notre Dame-bound Jarron Jones (74)who starts at defensive tackle. Jones represents the blue chip prospect that colleges love to look at. Like Dequan Jones of Johnson City, Jarron Jones has long arms and great feet. He, however, stands 6-6, where Dequan Jones was only 6-4. While on paper, Jones appears to be the “real thing,” scout films place him firmly in the “lot-to-learn” category. What’s known for certain is that Jones has not been forced to contend with the likes of a Tyler Shelepak yet this season, but is sure to be a major presence on the Irish defensive line none-the-less.

Leading Aquinas on the offense is senior quarterback Cory Benedetto (17). Benedetto completes this his senior season ranked as the number 3 overall passing quarterbacks in the state. His 1,891 yards of passing are a testament to how well he delivers the ball. Built more like a linebacker, Benedetto’s 6-1, 200lb. frame makes him that much tougher while sitting in the pocket. Already protected by a considerably good offensive line, Bennedetto is able to pick apart defensive secondary’s, but typically finds one of two receivers; either Taylor Byrne (10), or Jahmahl Pardner (11). At 6-2 Byrne is plenty tall enough to get the grab, but his athleticism far outweighs his physical attributes. Similarly, Jahmahl Pardner has equally impressive hands and is a danger after catching the ball. What makes Aquinas so proficient at posting huge numbers is this trio. When Benedetto works out of the shotgun and sends these two receivers downfield, few teams have been able to as much as stay within 14 points in a single quarter.

Unfortunately, this is the area that Maine-Endwell has had to work on the hardest in the 2011 season. While their tireless work has paid great dividends, they have not seen a team that airs the ball as well as Aquinas. Those young Spartan secondary minders will be forced to have nothing short of a career day to stay with Pardner and Byrne. Anything less will result in a trip to Basketball practice.

DIRECTIONS TO EAST SYRACUSE MINOA
HIGH SCHOOL / KIRKVILLE ROAD FIELDS
6400 Fremont Road, East Syracuse, NY 13057
Rt 481 to Exit 5 EAST, proceed 1.4 miles to light (intersection of Fremont and Kirkville Rds). Turn left onto Fremont Rd, school is directly on right. Main Athletic complex and parking is on North side of school. Kirkville Road fields: Stay straight on Kirkville Rd, go through the light and proceed a short distance to the 1st curve. Fields are on right.

If it was 1972 and this was To Tell the Truth, I picture Luis Uceta in a bell-bottomed leisure suit and platform shoes step up to accept his award for being the “true Spartan.” Sporting his characteristic “dentine grin” and Michael Jackson swagger he’d then blow away the crowd by giving all of the credit for his winnings to his fellow Spartans. This is pretty much the manner in which he received accolades after his fearless performance Saturday against the “other Spartans.”

Uceta, along with the rest of the MAINE-ENDWELL Spartans, displayed their love and selfless dedication to their sport, working together to all but shutdown ESM this past Saturday. In fact, were it not for a fourth-quarter hail Mary, one of which failed in three previous attempts, East Syracuse very well may not have placed a point on the board at all. Their victory Saturday has placed Maine-Endwell in the semi-final of the New York State tournament, in which they’ll face the number-one ranked Aquinas Little Irish this Friday in East Syracuse Minoa. Before even contemplating the Aquinas matchup, however, Saturday’s win warrants at least a brief (or not so brief) reflection on how far this team has come since this first day of practice. While the core of the Maine-Endwell faithful has been waiting patiently for this team to arrive at the varsity ranks and realize their monstrous potential, the remainder of the Section 4 sports community might not have been so willing to hand them an undefeated regular season, much less a regional championship. In the defense of all of those M-E nay sayers, Maine-Endwell’s roster is literally littered with juniors, which typically indicates a weak senior football class and thus, a weak football season. All one needs to do to incite a change of heart, however, is watch film of any of the Spartans last five games.

The manner in which Maine-Endwell has dispatched their previous five opponents, demands the attention of every team in the state, regardless of rank or past exploits. Leveraging the considerable talents of nearly twenty juniors, a handful of sophomores, a few seniors and a couple of freshmen, coach Gallagher has fielded among the finest football forces in New York State and contrary to some early season miscues for which we may file under the heading “ youthful exuberance, “ this team has since matured into an out-and-out megalith. While the obvious stand-outs continue to take up all of the real estate on the local sports pages and indeed this website, it is the consistently rugged play of every individual on this team that makes the 2011 Maine-Endwell football squad what it is. Some of the Spartans that have turned in nothing short of heroic blocking and defensive efforts this season are seniors Kenny Fitzpatrick, Robert Allen, Marshall Tallon, and Heath Ferris. Most notably out of the senior class, however, is the emergence of senior free safety and captain, Sean Barrett. Barrett has carded over 50 tackles in only 5 games this season after being restored to the position. His tireless dedication to improving at his position and keen penchant for seeing and stopping plays has placed him on par with the finest defensive agents in the state. Juniors Matt Carden, Lawrence Gulliver, Tyler and Adam Shelepak, Colin Reynolds, along with sophomore Seren Cody have also performed up to the level of their considerable potential and proved to be the power pistons of the Spartan machine. Standing out among this crowd is co-captain junior, Jake Haddock who proves game after game that he is not only among the strongest men in the area, but is a serious candidate for next-level football.

However, it’s not new news to say that M-E was going to field a very strong defensive four or seven. What was not clear at game one of the 2011 season was just how rapidly the Spartan defensive secondary would evolve into the ravenous pack of wolves that they've become, terrorizing some pretty special throwing teams along the way. Emerging from the shadows of the nasty four, T.J. Davis, David Zielewicz, Bob Allen and Darnell Woolfolk, are corners Steven Eggleston, Marshall Tallon and Alec Wisniewski, as well as the already seasoned Uceta and Barrett. Steven Eggleston, Marshall Tallon, Alec Wisniewski, Luis Uceta and Sean Barrett have exploded into the consciousness of the M-E fan by escalating their game-time intensity to levels off the chart. Probably the best testament to this statement was the manner in which these five disabled both the Union-Endicott and East Syracuse Minoa passing game. It’s safe to say that the only thing many of the receivers from either team remember from each game was the blinding blue Uceta flash snatching the ball from them, or the gilded number 5 of Barretts shoulder pad about to be stamped into their solar plexes. On the other hand, both Davis and Zielewicz, along with Allen and Woolfolk have been and continue to be a relentless crusher of dreams to quarterbacks and tailbacks looking to live out their first fantasies of gridiron glory. They have stomped heads with the best of them and only get hungrier with each game. They have proven that if you’re lucky enough to get past the Shels and Haddock, your prize for doing so is a considerably violent punch in the face. Now, however, Maine-Endwell can also boast a fully featured set of fleet-foots to pick and stick wide receivers with alarming regularity.

That said I would be remiss if I overlooked the outstanding manner in which our strikers have answered football’s call of destiny. During the post-game interview following the East Syracuse Minoa victory, junior running back Justin Jacoby said, “on a good day, I’m 5-8.” What we know to be a solid truth is that it’s a good day if we have Justin Jacoby running the ball for us, regardless of his size. What’s far more important than the size of his body is the size of his heart! Factor that into the equation and Jacoby becomes 12 feet tall! After packing on nearly twenty pounds of muscle in preparation for this season and battling with his own seemingly demonic quest for football perfection, the typically fiery Jacoby, under the guidance of coach Gallagher has eased into a very well-balanced and disciplined rushing back. In fact, I’ve come to look forward to witnessing his fire when he chooses to unleash it as he did this past Saturday.

Next to him in the backfield is the notoriously rubberized and always elusive Luis Uceta. Teamed up with Jacoby and Sorrenti on Saturday night, it’s a wonder that anyone ever touches this team. Carding two of the three touchdowns scored against ESM, Uceta took a beating for the ages, yet still popped back up to his feet with a smile as if to say, “thank you sir, may I have another.” The problem for those issuing the pain on Uceta is that in-between the “thank-you-sirs,” Luis scores touchdowns and swipes interceptions and as both U-E and ESM sadly discovered in the past two successive weeks, he typically swipes the game in the process….

Where Luis and Justin are not, you can be sure that Nick Sorrenti is! Among the most impressive and shining attributes adorning the Maine-Endwell offensive is the unbridled power that fullback Nick Sorrenti injects when exploding through the middle. A true rarity for High School teams anywhere, M-E has this most deadly of weapons when the sides are not being torn up by Uceta and Jacoby. Not a single team that has met this facet of the Spartans play has been able to stop it, including Whitesboro in last year’s regional contest loss. While some things worked against Whitesboro, the only portion of the M-E offense that truly scared them was Sorrenti bulling his way through the middle. This year, that threat is nastier than it’s ever been. A healthy Nick Sorrenti will carry on his shoulder the average linebacker and a few of his closest friends down the field with him. He cannot be arm tackled and to add to an already scary dossier, he has great hands and quick feet to complete passes that are directed to him from time to time.

The two final pieces of this perfect puzzle were installed toward the end of the regular season by moving sophomore Kyle Gallagher to quarterback and promoting Stephen Pham to varsity place kicker. Kyle Gallagher exploded onto the scene and immediately used his size, arm, and smarts to throw for over 400 yards and 6 touchdowns in only five contests. It’s worth noting that among his favorite targets Uceta, Woolfolk, Sorrenti, and Tallon, Gallagher also finds the hands of his own brother, freshman wide-out Adam Gallagher who has scored on a couple of Kyle Gallagher passes.

Finally, Maine-Endwell has answered the long awaited question; WHY DON’T WE HAVE A PLACE KICKER?
Well, we did….only when we asked the question in 2008; he was only twelve years old. Freshman Stephen Pham has been slamming em’ through the uprights since his days in the pee-wee’s. Now, while still only a ninth-grader, his leg has developed into a true place-kicking sensation who is well on-track to giving U-E’s Brandon Diorio a run for the money or more. Since his varsity debut against Johnson City, Pham has been perfect on extra points hitting 13 to date, 8 of which were booted during the Horseheads playoff game alone, while missing only one 30-plus yard field goal attempt. It’s a pretty good bet that “Phammer the Hammer” will see the Spartans through many a close match - Perhaps sooner than we think.

So with all of this said, the one thing that nobody has ever really considered is that maybe, just maybe, we are the best team in New York State. While Aquinas will be there to help us determine the reality of that statement come Friday night, there’s never been a doubt of who the best team is among the ranks of those names presented above. And they love proving it!

PRESS & SUN BULLETIN
11-13-2011
Written by Kevin Steven

Make it six consecutive Maine-Endwell opponents denied a two-digit scoring output.

M-E struck for two Kyle Gallagher-to-Luis Uceta touchdown passes in a four-minute segment of the second quarter and went on to a 21-7 victory Saturday night against East Syracuse Minoa, advancing to next weekend's Class A state football semifinals.

In this case of Spartans vs. Spartans, unbeaten Maine-Endwell gained the upper hand through the air but locked up its 10th win by relying on a run game yet to be contained and a defense executing near peak efficiency.

This was no slouch of an opponent. Rather, it was a sixth-ranked, 10-0 ESM outfit that stepped off the bus at Alumni Stadium averaging 44.9 points per game and allowing 9.4. And so, who would have figured M-E defenders pitching a shutout through the first 42 minutes and change?

ESM got on the board when quarterback Tyler Johnson sneaked in from the 1-yard line with 5:40 to play. That came two plays after Buddy Frigon made a remarkable leaping grab over a defender to complete a 55-yard pass play that, along with half-the-distance penalty assessment, left the football at the 2-yard line.

That sequence aside, M-E defended in superior fashion to round out 4-for-5 quarterfinal success for Section 4 against Section 3 opposition.

Next comes a semifinal scheduled for 8:30 Friday night against reigning state champion Aquinas Institute of Rochester, to be played at East Syracuse-Minoa.

M-E closed with 292 rushing yards, 119 produced by Justin Jacoby, 64 by Uceta -- to go with 51 receiving yards -- 58 by Nick Sorrenti and another 45 from Gallagher.

Get the picture?

"Stop one guy, then you've got to worry about the next one. Stop him, you still have another one to worry about. Stop him, and we still have the quarterback to run," Jacoby said of his squad's ground game. "You've got to play assignment football against us and that's tough."

"We have a great offensive line, and anyone in the backfield can for run for a big gain at any time," Gallagher said. "That's what makes it so effective."

Sprinkle in a dash of forward pass and watch the rush game become that much more potent.

That's what M-E did in the second quarter, when 6-foot-4 sophomore Gallagher made good on all of his three throws for a 70-yard aggregate.

The first one, three plays into the quarter, was a ball sent maybe a dozen yards that Uceta coaxed in before accelerating up the right sideline to complete a 46-yard scoring play for the game's first points.

That completed a 57-yard drive that began after Uceta intercepted a pass with 64 seconds to play in the opening quarter.

M-E's next score was similarly rooted in defense, this time a stellar individual effort by Jake Haddock.

On a first-down play from ESM's 40-yard line, quarterback Johnson mishandled a snap from center -- and Haddock blasted through a gap to manhandle his way into possession at ESM's 38.

A seven-play drive that followed brought a 19-yard Gallagher-to-Sorrenti dump-off, and concluded with Gallagher rolling right and zipping a dart to Uceta in the end zone. Uceta, all 150 pounds of him, maintained possession despite a frightening wallop from defender Jeffrey McDuffie.

Freshman Stephen Pham tacked on the PAT and it was 14-0 with 6:54 to play in the first half.

ESM proceeded to take its next possession 35 yards to M-E's 33, only to have a third-and-15 pass from Johnson picked off by M-E sophomore Alec Wisniewski barely inside the end zone's back boundary 2:18 before halftime.

In fact, ESM took the football one more time in the quarter and had fourth-and-2 from M-E's 14-yard line. But Johnson was thumped for a 2-yard loss by the T.J. Davis-Sean Barrett duo.

A scoreless third quarter brought one M-E drive that knocked seven minutes from the game clock only to be extinguished at ESM's 7-yard line. But M-E defenders again put the offense in position not long thereafter.

Sophomore Darnell Woolfolk recovered a fumble at ESM's 49-yard line 1:47 into the fourth quarter. The seven-play M-E drive to follow brought rushes of 18 and 17 yards on successive plays by Gallagher and Jacoby, and concluded with Jacoby cutting sharply through the meat of the defense to complete a 12-yard touchdown rush with 6:38 remaining.

"That's a great football team, they were 10-0 for a reason, which is why there's even more pride in beating a team like that," M-E coach Matt Gallagher said.

"We're not in Kansas anymore.."

The 10-0 East Syracuse Minoa Spartans come equipped with a variety of weapons in their arsenal and use them with a great deal of aptitude. Returning 22 seniors from last season, this is both a mature team as well as a skilled team, beginning with their top senior, quarterback Tyler Johnson (10). Johnson is currently in his third year as the starting quarterback for ESM and his experience is spattered all over the statistics wall. He closed the regular season and sectional playoffs completing 75 passes in 122 attempts and picked up 1,648 yards doing so. A needle point passer, Johnson is also an extremely athletic runner and sporting a 6-1, 175lb. chassis, could easily double as a tailback or wide-receiver. Coach, Kevin DeParde has allowed Johnson to use his vision and leadership to steam the ESM offensive engine and it has been largely Johnson's dynamic play making ability that has allowed the Spartans to walk over every opponent in Section 3. While he is certain to be a large presence behind the ESM line, Maine-Endwell must key on every move he makes, especially when he drops back to pass.

Like our own Spartans, Minoa also leverages at least two quality running backs to pickup yardage on the ground. Their leading rusher, Jordan Barton (24) has used his feet to pound out a solid 755 yards of rushing on the season and at 5-8, 170lbs. possesses a simlar running style to that of our own Justin Jacoby. Picking up 153 yards in round one of the section 3 playoffs and another 93 yards against Whitesboro in the championship game, we can expect to see some carries from Barton this weekend. Just behind Barton is Jeffrey McDuffie who can also move with the ball. Looking more like our own Uceta (minus a couple of foot-speed points) his 6-0, 165 lb. frame will not be simple to bring down either. Rushing for 638 total yards on the season he, along with Barton will definitely keep our defensive agents jumping.

In the air, Maine-Endwell will have to be ever mindful of senior wide-receiver Bob Campese (5), who appears to be Johnson's favorite target completing passes for 774 of Johnson's total 1,648 yards, 10 of which went for touchdowns.

As for our own Spartans, like ESM, Maine-Endwell is able to score on anyone. Running a newly refined triple option, coach Matt Gallagher may select from a number of talents to get the job done. As M-E's overall rushing stats show, their total numbers are very well distributed over as many as five running-backs. ESM will also have to prepare for the arm of a quarterback that is very reminiscent of their own in Kyle Gallagher. Gallagher too, has proven that he can find receivers under pressure and has posted very impressive numbers in only a handful of starts in this, his sophomore season. Finally, coach DeParde will be forced to contend with a top notch defensive unit that has held all section 4 contenders to under 60 points through 9 games and much of those points were scored on M-E's second and third teams. Led by the tenacious senior free safety Sean Barrett, M-E will sure to have ESM in sharp focus come Saturday.