Football

Fire in the hole

Eldred finds a way to contain explosive Millbrook in a great non-league fall classic

By RICHARD A. ROSS

ELDRED, NY — When confronted with a blazing fire, there’s a protocol to be followed. First, contain it, and then fight back with a unified and coordinated effort. If you don’t, that blaze can turn into a conflagration and the resulting damage could not only be extensive, it could be fatal.

Such was Eldred’s dilemma as it desperately fought to contain the Millbrook Blazers. Led by Section Nine’s leading rusher Nick Finger, who would rack up 175 yards on 32 carries, Finger and company torched an Eldred defense that was caught off guard by a powerful running game, especially to the outside, fueled by a convoy of blockers.

Finger was not the only flame in the Blazers’ hurry-up-incendiary offense that would raze 236 yards on the ground before their final puff of smoke was extinguished on a bad snap in the fourth quarter, leading to Eldred’s winning score.

Act One: Firestorm

Millbrook got the ball first as Eldred deferred after winning the toss. Eldred had prepared well for the Blazer attack, but Millbrook’s first drive was an unstoppable march of 82 yards on 17 plays with Finger accounting for 44 of them. Senior Tom Wolfahrt came out sizzling, receiving a screen pass from quarterback Zach Roach with 4:45 remaining to spark a 6-0 lead. A sweeping run, featuring Darnell Cumming, accounted for a fiery 8-0 lead as Eldred hurried to regroup.

Millbrook’s place kicker Aidan Little was off at a soccer match and Millbrook’s kicking game suffered from his absence. A poor kick gave Eldred a short field, but Millbrook’s defense forced a three and out and looked to intensify the heat. Rather, it was Eldred’s defensive fire that was lit as Stan Smith recovered a Finger fumble, which set up Eldred’s first scoring drive, sparked by a 54-yard run down the right sideline by Chris Leader.

With 11:34 to go in the second quarter, Eldred scored on a one-yard keeper by quarterback Bryan Henry. A faked PAT kick morphed to a pass to Kojo Williams and the game was tied at eight-all.

But large fires are not easily extinguished. They crop up again and again.

Eldred was destined to come from behind once more.

On its next series, the Blazers took only eight plays to cover 65 yards to score. Wohlfahrt capped off the drive with a 22-yard run around the left end to give the Blazers a 14-8 lead. Finger ran in the two-point conversion and the burning Blazers led 16-8 with 8:38 left in the half. Eldred coaches fumed.

That fuming erupted into a sideline blaze as they watched Leader fumble away the kickoff into Cummings’ hands at the Eldred 31.

But great teams overcome adversity and Eldred is one of them. The Yellowjackets showed their mettle as they stopped Millbrook on a fourth and inches. Although Eldred failed to capitalize on its defensive coup and made it hotter for themselves as they had their punt blocked, their defense staved off Millbrook.

In one of the calls that coach Sean Keenan would later take responsibility for, Millbrook opted for a fake punt. But Roach was dropped for a one-yard loss, and the Yellowjackets swarmed in at the Millbrook 24. Making amends for his prior miscue, Leader galloped 19 yards on a screen pass from Henry with 22 seconds remaining in the half. A pass to Williams made it a new game at 16-all, as both teams went to talk it over at the half.

Act Two: A lick and a promise

Eldred’s intense hard hitting, and its rallying call of “Dietz in three weeks” to repay Chester, would define the game’s outcome. But great wins require an opportunistic defense.

Defensive guru John LiGreci has made his mark not only by thoughtful preparation for games, but also from the flexibility to adapt his team’s defense on the fly. Changing up from his initial scheme to attack the gaps in Millbrook’s tight Wing T, LiGreci went to a flex defense in the third quarter, spreading his defense to better cover Millbrook’s strength to the outside.

Eldred received and the newly fired-up ‘Jackets got their first lead of the day that began when Scott Hallock alertly flopped on a short kickoff at the Eldred 48. A 24-yard screen pass to Williams turned out to be fuel for Eldred’s ignition. Workhorse Kevin Prunka smashed it in from five yards out and gave Eldred a 22-16 lead with 8:26 remaining in the quarter. A bad snap forced kicker Bobby Warden to try for the two-point conversion that failed.

Millbrook flamed on again with Finger firing off a 60-yard touchdown run up the right sideline at 7:34 to tie it at 22. Without a place kicker handy, Millbrook tried for two, but Eldred stuffed the attempt and preserved the tie.

For five straight possessions, the two teams battered each other into a stalemate. Delivering punishing hits that would later prompt Finger to tell Eldred players, “You guys hit harder and show more respect than any team we’ve faced,” Eldred made the Blazers pay for every yard. Both defenses packed the line of scrimmage daring each other to pass.

In the fifth series since the last score, Eldred’s defense earned its stripes again. Holding a tiring Millbrook at bay, they forced a punt. A bad snap to punter Steve Conklin nailed him at the seven-yard line. Leader took it in from the one to give Eldred a 28-22 lead. This time, the bad snap bugaboo affected Warden, who missed the PAT with 9:01 still remaining in the game.

Eldred got a break when Warden’s hard kickoff ricocheted off a Millbrook player and Warden recovered it. Cued to run up yardage and eat up the clock, Eldred went back to its ground game, which was rumbling along until a Tom Compasso fumble was recovered by Millbrook freshman Peter Keenan at 7:49.

Not to be denied, Eldred’s defense shut down Finger and company for the rest of the way, following a fourth-down incomplete pass to Keenan. Expecting Eldred to take a knee, Millbrook was surprised to see running back Christian Martinez burst through for a big late-game gain. Eldred ended up at the Millbrook 10 as time expired.

Keenan credited Eldred for its gritty game and praised his team for its relentlessness. Millbrook hopes that Tri-Valley will defeat Sullivan West, the team the Blazers play the last week of the season. A win in that one could send the Blazers to Dietz. Kean was delighted with the win against a team that provided a great test for his squad, which is fixated on its own Dietz crusade.

Stat Epilogue

Eldred rushing: Leader, 13/120, had two touchdowns; Martinez, 8/47; Eldred total rushing 38/226.

Defensive standout Nick Simonelli had 18 tackles, giving him 100 for the season.

Millbrook rushing: Finger, 32/175; Wohlfahrt, 14/72; total rushing 62/236.

Millbrook (3-4) will play Pine Plains in a league fray, while Eldred (5-2) hosts Livingston Manor/Roscoe on October 19 under the lights in a league contest.

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