Leading off today: Senior Dylan Harrington picked off two passes in the final three minutes Friday, preserving
Irondequoit's 24-21 win over Sweet Home in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A football quarterfinals.
Freshman Jacob Sampson completed Irondequoit's comeback from a two-TD deficit in the second half by scoring the final points on a 22-yard field goal with 3:11 to play.
The Eagles churned out 285 rushing yards on 49 attempts to reach their first state semifinal game in program history.
Randolph advances: Randolph took a crucial step toward defending its NYSPHSAA championship as the state's top-ranked Class D team held off No. 2 Red Jacket 19-12 in the quarterfinals in Buffalo.
Devyn Nelsen ran 82 yards for the go-ahead score and then hauled down the clinching late interception at All High Stadium. Randolph had defeated Red Jacket 49-0 a year ago in the most lopsided Western Regional game in tournament history.
After a first half that saw just 162 yards of total offense, Red Jacket's Sean Sheets ran 58 yards for a score 56 seconds into the third quarter to go up 12-7. One play after the ensuing kickoff, Nelsen (21 carries, 144 yards) went 82 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown that put Randolph up 13-12.
Randolph added to the lead on a 10-yard pass from Bryce Morrison to Mason Bolsey.
"That Red Jacket team, I'll give it to them, they came to play," Morrison told The Buffalo News. "We knew it was going to be a fight. I didn't know what our team would do when we got down, but we responded."
Morrison finished 7-for-9 for 63 yards and the touchdown.
Randolph advances to the semifinals against Tioga for the third straight year. Tioga advanced with a 46-22 win over Dolgeville as Brad Jump and Jesse Manuel combined for five touchdowns in the first half.
Manuel and Jump combined for 65 yards on their first drive, and the latter scored on a draw for a 6-0 lead. After Tioga recovered an onside kick, Manuel ran 44 yards to the Dolgeville 1 and scored on the next play.
Jump scored on a 2-yard run with 5:56 left in the first quarter for a 20-0 lead.
Schalmont coasts: Seniors Nick Gallo and Hunter Gac each ran for three touchdowns as Schalmont posted a 60-20 win over Peru in the Class B quarterfinals.
Next up, the Sabres face Marlboro a year after beating that Section 9 team 66-0 in the semifinals.
"In the back of our minds, we have Maine-Endwell (which beat Schalmont 22-21 in the 2013 final); in the back of their minds, they have Schalmont," Gallo said of Marlboro. "They have a bad taste in their mouths from last year. I know I would. They are all competitors and hit hard. Their juniors last year told us after the game, 'We'll see you next year.' Don't doubt them. They'll be ready for us."
Island history: Dom Cassella returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, and Patchogue-Medford went on to a 38-22 win over Longwood, the state's sixth-ranked Class AA team, in the Suffolk I semifinals.
The Raiders (6-4) became the first No. 7 seed to beat a No. 1 and 2 seed in the playoffs in Long Island history.
"No one gave us a shot, no one," quarterback Rich Ciufo, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more, told Newsday. "We got off to a slow start this season but we always believed in each other. The offensive line was phenomenal."
Said coach Gary Marangi: "This is essentially our fourth playoff game. Our whole attitude has changed and we've been playing with an edge."
