Kicking off: Oh-ver and oh-ver and oh-ver again.
Peru and Plattsburgh played four scoreless quarters of football yesterday and then six rounds of additional offensive futility before host Peru crossed the goal line in the seventh overtime for a 6-0 victory in the Northern Football Conference.
Junior running back Alex Cederstrom's 8-yard run accounted for the day's only points as Peru extended to 33 years its unbeaten streak vs. Plattsburgh.
Cederstrom led all rushers with 52 yards on 14 carries on a day in which Peru totaled just 131 yards of offense and Plattsburgh had 100.
Peru was stymied on a fake field goal attempt in the second overtime and fumbled the ball away in the third OT. The Indians also threw an interception and missed a field goal in overtime.
Plattsburgh turned the ball over on downs after reaching the 1-yard line in the third OT and also missed a field goal, threw two interceptions and surrendered a fumble.
After Plattsburgh turned the ball over on downs in the seventh OT, Peru showed an I-formation for the first time this season, and Cederstrom banged the ball in on his third carry.
First down: Rye and Harrison never take their annual game casually. Yesterday's clash was of the epic variety that likely will take their rivalry to new levels for years to come.
Rye went on a 14-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass from Connor Eck to lanky receiver Brian Pickup, who wrestled the ball away from a defender with 15 seconds to play. Eck then ran in a two-point conversion for a 21-20 victory -- their eighth straight in a series that goes back 80 games.
"I can't summarize this," Eck told The Journal News. "It is nuts."
Harrison, ranked fifth in Class A by the New York State Sportswriters Association, had taken a 14-7 lead on two Tanner Knox TDs. No. 12 Rye drove 13 plays and 77 yards on its first possession after halftime to cut it to 14-13 on Eck's 1-yard run, but the extra point was blocked.
Harrison scored on a halfback-option throw of 37 yards from Charlie Drago to James Tirella midway through the fourth quarter to set the stage for Rye's winning drive.
After the TD to cut the deficit to 20-19, Rye coach Dino Garr barely hesitated to put the ball in the hands of Eck -- and interesting choice since the QB had 10 stitches removed from his throwing hand on Wednesday.
"I don't think he threw as well as he could, but he's a winner," Garr told the paper. "He's just a great leader. That's why we went with him."
Second down: Section 1 Class A remains as nutty as ever, with No. 18 Poughkeepsie losing to John Jay Cross River and No. 20 Roosevelt stumbling against Eastchester 33-25.
Consequently, Poughkeepsie and JJCR are 5-1 in the North League; Nyack, Rye, and Harrison are sitting at 5-1 in the South; even the non-playoff West development league couldb't go unscathed as Tappan Zee and Pearl River went 5-1,
Hime Rraci threw a TD strike to Jake Weil with under a minute to go in JJCR's 24-22 win.
Eastchester prevailed over Roosevelt 33-25 only after Tom Cirillo picked off a pass in the final minute. Rob Carinci (152 rushing yards) scored three touchdowns, including a 55-yard carry in the fourth quarter.
Third down: Senior tailback J.J. Rodriguez ran 19 times for 146 yards and the game's first TD to lift No. 14 Onondaga over No. 10 Sandy Creek 20-14 in a Section 3 Class D contest.
Onondaga did all its scoring before halftime, with linebacker Dan Southard returning a fumble 7 yards for a 20-7 lead.
"We couldn't move the ball with any real success in the second half, but a win is a win," Onondaga coach Jason Ryan told The Post-Standard. "We know we've got to do a better job sustaining offensive drives when the playoffs start."
Fourth down: Randolph had its way with Moriah in the 2009 NYSPHSAA Class D final despite having to play without outstanding linebacker Tyler Mendell because of a leg injury. If there's a rematch -- and Randolph is right on schedule following its 52-0 demolition of No. 9 Portville -- it could be Moriah that's at the manpower disadvantage.
Tom Ida ran 15 times for 168 yards for the No. 5 Vikings but left with a knee injury in the second quarter of a 40-14 win over Saranac. That development is on top of the fact that Starting tailback Wally Edwards was injured two weeks ago.
Third-stringer Zack DeSimone rushed for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown, and fullback Nick Gilbo added 77 yards and three TDs.
The Vikings defense finished with two interceptions and five sacks, two by Conner Rodriguez, although Ben Weightman did throw for 217 yards in the loss for Class B Saranac.