Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011: Friday's New York football recap

   Leading off today: The large-school landscape in Section 4 changed in a hurry Friday night as Binghamton piled up 488 yards and defeated Corning, ranked ninth in Class AA by the NYSSWA, 47-26.

   The Patriots cashed in three fumbles in handing Corning its first loss since the district consolidated East and West high schools before the 2010 season.

   J.J. Jones ran 21 times for 260 yards (212 in the first half) and three touchdowns for Binghamton (1-2), while QB Andre Yevchinecz ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns out of the no-huddle offense.    Corning fumbles at their own 1 and in the Hawks end zone handed Binghamton a pair of first-half TDs en route to a 28-14 advantage.

   The schedule doesn't get easier for Corning, which plays next weekend at Aquinas, the defending NYSPHSAA Class A champion.

   Air raid: West Genesee's Matt Naton threw for 405 yards a 44-14 victory over Fayetteville-Manlius on homecoming night in Camillus. Naton was 14-for-19 with four completions for more than 50 yards as the Wildcats rolled up 575 yards of offense.    Brothers Naesean (14 carries, 123 yards) and Sean Howard (3 catches, 86 yards) combined for five more touchdowns, upping their season total to 20.

   Stunning finish: Ithaca sophomore lineman Matt Fricke picked up a Little Red fumble and ran 30 yards for a TD with no time left to beat Vestal 33-30.

   Trailing 30-27 with :02 to go, Ithaca handed the ball running back Tyrel McKoy (187 yards and two TDs), who was hit in the backfield and lost the ball. Fricke emerged from the scramble with the ball and ran past several defenders, some of whom thought the play was over.

   "I just saw the ball on the ground and I knew not to put my knee down," Fricke told The Press & Sun-Bulletin. "I just picked it up and ran."

   Potentially costly win: Victor junior running back Tommy Wagner carried 25 times for 307 yards and two TDs in a 21-13 win over Honeoye Falls-Lima, but he was taken from the field on a stretcher with 1:30 to play with an unspecified leg injury, The Daily Messenger reported.

   The Blue Devils are ranked 12th in the state in Class A.

   Wagner scored on runs of 77 and 90 yards.

   Norwich steps up: A week after a disappointing loss to Sidney, Norwich pulled off its first win over Chenango Forks since 1999.

   Grant Brightman ran for two TDs and the defense forced four turnovers in a 20-7 victory in the heavy rain that covered much of the state.

   Chenango Forks, a two-time NYSPHSAA Class B champion ranked 12th in Class C, slipped to 2-2 for the season.

    "I have so much respect for their program," Norwich coach John Martinson said of the nine-time Section 4 champions. "So you knew how much it meant to these kids."

   South Park, too: Buffalo South Park scored a 16-3 win over Amherst, ranked 13th in Class A, sparked by linebacker Edgardo Berrios' 64-yard interception return after he sniffed out a wide receiver screen. Dylan Van Volkenberg wrapped up the win with an interception with two minutes left.

   "Last year being our first year in the section, we won a couple games, but they were games that we should have won," South Park coach Tim Delaney told The Buffalo News. "I don't think anybody expected us to win this one. Everyone was talking about Amherst's big showdown with Williamsville South in Week 7. They weren't talking about us."

   Streak snapped: Salamanca forced three turnovers and held Southwestern to 79 rushing yards in defeating the Trojans 21-10. Tanner John rushed for 159 yards and threw for three TDs.

   Southwestern hadn't lost in the regular season since Oct. 12, 2007.

   Fast start continues: Derick Fera ran for one TD and threw for another as Lyons edged Marcus Whitman 28-21 in one of the few Week 4 battles between ranked teams.

   The Lions picked off two fourth-quarter passes to hang on.

   Lyons is ranked 19th in Class D and Marcus Whitman 14th in Class C by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

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   Section 2 rallies: Hudson Falls rallied from a 13-0 deficit to earn a 20-19 triumph against Cobleskill-Richmondville, ranked 18th in Class B. QB Noah Valastro was 7-for-9 for 106 yards, including a 54-yard play to Justin Mallory in the fourth quarter to build a 20-13 lead.

Lake George rallied from two TDs down in the fourth quarter to beat Salem 20-14 in overtime. John Stranahan intercepted a Salem pass on the 2-yard line in overtime after Marty Zivica ran for an 8-yard TD in the first possession of the extra period.

   Zivica ran 24 times for 95 yards and all three Lake George touchdowns.

   Clutch kick: Matt Iorlano's 31-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter gave Wallkill a 10-7 win over Cornwall in the rematch of last year's Section 9 Class A final also won by Wallkill.

   The Panthers have beaten Cornwall three times in a row by a combined six points.

   "It feels great to prove myself and show everyone I can do this," Iorlano, who also plays varsity soccer and only started kicking three months ago, told The Times Herald-Record. "I just told myself 'Make the kick.'"

   Sayville still unbeaten: The rain stopped, but Steven Ferreira didn't. Sayville's third-year quarterback threw for four touchdowns as the Golden Flashes, ranked sixth in Class A, defeated Westhampton 32-18 to remain unbeaten.

   Ferreira completed 14 of 23 passes for 261 yards, including a 66-yard play to Tom Hannan early in the first quarter.

   Massive efforts: Justin Patterson carried 25 times for 301 yards and three TDs as Alden rolled past Albion 40-14.

   Pearl River's Connor O'Sullivan kicked a 52-yard field goal just before the half during the Pirates' 25-0 win over Panas.

   LeRoy's Tommy McQuillen rushed 34 times for a school-record 336 yards and six touchdowns to power the Oatkan Knights past Batavia 48-35.

   Junior Tomasz Filipkowski ran 18 times for 216 yards and four touchdowns to lead Greenport-Southold past previously undefeated Stony Brook 41-16.

   A parting thought: It's indisputable that the quality of New York football has improved since the NYSPHSAA state tournament became a reality in the 1990s. Having the state's best teams play 12-and 13-game seasons has given players and schools more opportunities to develop across the board.

   For all the gains, though, we can't kid ourselves. New York football is still generally far behind Ohio and Pennsylvania regardless of what various national rankings might say at any point in time. And don't even think of dragging Texas and Florida into the conversation, because New York in not in that league -- literally and figuratively.

   If you dispute that, look at the score from Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep vs. Canisius, a pretty decent Western New York squad.

   It was 37-0. At the end of the first quarter.

   Erie Prep, coming off a disappointing 9-5 season, went on to a 58-28 victory to improve to 3-1.