Leading off today: Call it the lost weekend for state-ranked teams. Twenty-nine of the 105 teams ranked last week by the New York State Sportswriters Association took losses in Week 5, led by No. 1 Rush-Henrietta and eight other Class AA squads.
Senior Dominick DeLucia continued his relentless assault on opposing defenses, carrying 45 times for 210 yards Saturday as No. 16 Pittsford beat the Royal Comets, defending NYSPHSAA champions, 17-13.
Pittsford senior Grant Heyman was an all-around contributor, going 8-for-14 for a modest 80 yards at quarterback but also picking off two R-H passes and kicking a 38-yard field goal. His interception early in the second quarter at the R-H 24 set up Delucia's 2-yard run for a 7-0 lead.
Two other top-five large schools also lost to unranked opposition. John Jay-East Fishkill took down No. 4 New Rochelle 14-0 on Saturday and Erasmus Hall edged Tottenville 14-13 on Sunday. New Rochelle had last been shut out in 2005 and had been unscored upon through three games this fall.
"We shocked the section today," JJEF QB/DB Danny Bogucki told The Journal News after intercepting a pair of passes. Bogucki worked a 56-yard screen pass to Dale White and then a 5-yard TD pass to Tom Hagan in the first quarter. . On the Patriots' first possession of the second quarter, Hagan caught a 37-yard pass from White on an option to set up Bobby Henderson's 1-yard TD.
More Class AA: There were five head-to-heads between ranked Class AA teams this weekend, with two in Western New York.
Chad Kelly (15 of 27, 277 yards and four TDs) connected with Kyle Briggs for two fourth-quarter TD passes as No. 12 St. Joe's edged No. 15 St. Francis 27-20 in a rematch of last year's Monsignor Martin Association championship game.
Briggs caught eight balls for 127 yards. His 25-yard scoring catch on a fourth-and-14 play put St. Joe's up by 27-13 with 2:10 to play.
The game was marred by 28 penalties evenly split between the teams.
In Section 6 action, No. 6 Orchard Park steamrolled No. 17 Clarence 44-13. Okoya Anderson ran 14 times for 124 yards and scored three TDs, giving him 15 for the season.
If there was an upset that fans should have seen coming, it may have been Sachem North, fresh off a quality win vs. West Islip, toppling No. 19 Longwood 35-27 to improve to 4-0 in Suffolk County.
Dalton Crossan (14 carries, 157 yards) scored his fourth TD on a 56-yard run with 1:35 remaining to seal the verdict. Crossan's brother Trent, the team's junior QB, exited in the third quarter with an injury to his right knee that left him on crutches and awaiting an exam by a doctor on Monday.
Rye back in sync: Rye shook off its nearly unprecedented 0-3 start to defeat No. 13 Horace Greeley 26-7 in Class A action.
"We had nothing to lose today," senior Jake Meyerson told The Journal News. "No one really thought that we could win."
Senior Joe Simolacaj scored two rushing touchdowns, including the clincher early in the fourth quarter.
Also in Section 1, John Jay-Cross River beat No. 6 Harrison 27-24 on Danny Caiola's overtime TD run after Roberto Bruno kicked a field goal on the first OT possession.
Down to the wire: Ronnell Jones (34 carries, 160 yards) scored on a 35-yard run with 4:00 to play to lead Floral Park past Class A No. 15 Lynbrook 7-0, leaving both teams 3-1 in Nassau County Conference III. Alex Cerrone hit Mike Nolan for a 35-yard completion to set up the TD.
Lynbrook turned the ball over on downs inside the Floral Park 10 three times in the loss.
Maine-Endwell still perfect in 'A': Justin Jacoby's 7-yard TD run with 3:20 left gave No. 14 Maine-Endwell its first lead of the night and a 26-20 victory over No. 18 Union-Endicott.
U-E drove to the Maine-Endwell 11 on its final possession, but Nick Sorrenti (100 rushing yards on offense) forced a fumble that the Spartans' Marshall Tallon recovered. The drive had started with a Tigers fumble recovery at the M-E 26.
