Kicking off: The euphoria wore off in a hurry.
A week after a quality victory over traditional Western Pennsylvania power Erie Cathedral Prep, Canisius dropped a 50-26 football game to Monsignor Martin Association rival St. Joseph's yesterday.
Canisius, ranked 12th in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association, fell behind 23-6 in the second quarter and could not force St. Joe's into a punting situation all afternoon.
Quarterback Chad Kelly (seven carries, 169 yards) ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more in the victory, and Nick Hall rushed for 106 yards and threw for a score off a halfback option play.
"We talked all week about, 'We're the only ones that think that we can do this,'" first-year St. Joe's coach Dennis Gilbert told The Buffalo News. "We've put a ton of work in the offseason and the summer. They've dedicated themselves."
First down: Senior Tyler Heuer completed 13 of 18 passes for 297 yards and six touchdowns as Oceanside steamrolled East Meadow 48-7 on homecoming weekend. Heuer's sixth scoring strike, a 34-yarder to Jim Keane with 7:13 left in the third quarter, broke the school's single-game record set in 1988 by future NFL QB Jay Fiedler.
Oceanside is off to its first 4-0 start since 1977 -- which is the last time the Sailors won a Section VIII division championship -- in large part due to Heuer's 15 TD throws and six runs for scores.
"He put in a lot of time in the offseason and he's developing his reads much better," Oceanside coach Rob Blount told Newsday. "He checked down a few times and made the right read."
Second down: The East-West merger at Corning has to be considered a success. The Hawks, ranked 13th in Class AA, broke open a six-touchdown lead and beat Union-Endicott 41-21 to improve to 5-0.
Corning scored on runs covering 65, 54, 97, 1, 68 and 45 yards in the first three quarters. The 65-yarder came three plays after Jordan Frysinger's 80-yard burst for an apparent TD was called back by offsetting penalties. Frysinger later scored from 54 and 97 yards out.
Frysinger ran eight times for 171 yards, and QB Brandon Griffin chewed up 184 yards on the ground.
"They're good, they're as advertised," U-E coach Shane Hurd told The Press & Sun-Bulletin. "It's going to take a great effort from someone."
Halftime: The news went from bad to worse for Albany Academy.
Junior three-year starting QB Hunter McCarthy found out this week that the knee injury he suffered vs. Hudson on Sept. 16 has ended his season. On Saturday, the Cadets -- ranked No. 3 in Class B and poised to move up after a loss by No. 2 Westhill -- dropped a 35-23 decision to Bishop Maginn, which was powered by a pair of TDs in the final 2:40 of the first half.
McCarthy told The Times Union that two doctors concur he has a torn ACL, torn meniscus and strained MCL. It adds up to surgery near the end of the month that will result in him also missing basketball season and almost certainly a portion of the baseball schedule.
"This is definitely disappointing,” he told the paper. "I will definitely be trying to encourage the guys that are playing and help them in any way I can."
Third down: If there's a more unpredictable group of teams than Class A in Section 1 then I'd like to see it. With tremendous depth at the top, it seems as though at least half of the teams regarded as the top six at any particular moment in time lose.
Yesterday, a short-handed Yonkers Roosevelt beat No. 15 Rye 19-15 with the help of Kevin Outlaw's strip-sack at the Roosevelt 7 with less than a minute to go. Outlaw, normally a 6-foot-3, 180-pound receiver, was filling in on defense to shore up an injury-depleted lineup.
"That's what this team is all about," coach Mike Meade told The Journal News. "I haven't got many, but I've got a few good men. We're like the Marines."
Quarterback Alton Ritter completed 13 of 17 passes for 160 yards and three first-half TDs in Roosevelt's third straight victory since an opening loss to Harrison.
Nyack fullback Donald Davis, who ran for 278 yards and three touchdowns last week to upend Rye, was limited by a foot injury suffered on Nyack's opening possession. He carried once early in the third quarter and did not return to play on either side of the ball after that.
Fourth down: An injury to starting QB Andrew Bashford on the first series of the game couldn't derail East Rockaway in its 40-27 win over Clarke as senior Mike Castellano ran 27 times for a career-high 241 yards and scored on a 12-yard rush and a 41-yard punt return.
