NYS Class D Quarterfinals

Shattered dreams

Eldred’s road to the Dome ends in tumultuous final-seconds loss to Haldane in regional final

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MAHOPAC, NY — Pain is an integral part of football. In the days following games, players feel the after effects of blows sustained in the hard-hitting contact of the fray. Being physically nicked up is something players accept and shake off, especially when they are abetted by winning’s healing tonic as they steel themselves for the next big game.

In Eldred’s case, that next big game was supposed to be at Dietz Stadium on November 16 in a New York State Class D semifinal. A win there would have sent them into the nirvana of a New York State championship game at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. A win against Haldane in the regional final on November 10 would have ended a Section Nine Class D drought that dates back to 1989.

But in the shocking denouement of a game that Eldred appeared to have won with its come-from-behind-fourth-quarter drive and inspired defense, that dream of creating history ended in a train wreck of unspeakable magnitude.

As the details are examined in the post-mortem, more questions than answers remain as to how this transpired. What won’t be in doubt, however, is how much it hurt.

Bruises, bumps, cuts and scrapes soon heal, but the wounds from losing a game that ends your season and shatters the dreams you have worked hard to realize are unspeakably hard to bear.

For Eldred, a team that was literally on the brink of winning its New York State Class D quarterfinal, those final 22 seconds will remain a bitter and incomprehensible blur as they try to make sense of what robbed them of a chance to finally enliven the section’s Class D dead zone that has endured since Delaware Valley beat Valhalla 18 years ago.

Two years ago, Eldred’s 40-7 loss to Tuckahoe extended that losing streak. Chester’s brutal loss to Tuckahoe last year added another layer of grief to the section’s small-school miasma.

But with state champ Tuckahoe being upset by Haldane (4-5) last week, this year offered a rare window of opportunity for Eldred and, by extension, the section’s smaller schools, anxious to add glory to the recent successes of their Section Nine Class A and Class AA brotherhood.

Following Kevin Prunka’s seven-yard touchdown at 7:33 of the fourth quarter, which propelled Eldred back into the lead at 14-13 for the first time since its early 7-0 first-quarter edge, Eldred seemed destined to win this one. Two big sacks by Scott Hallock were part and parcel of Eldred’s rejuvenated defense that forced Haldane to punt on a fourth and 23, deep in its own territory.

But Haldane had no intention of surrendering. Instead, a well-placed punt rolled all the way to the one-yard line, pinning Eldred dangerously close to a safety that could have cost them the game as the clock showed 4:31 remaining.

Eldred coach Frank Kean wasn’t worried, though. Shifting to an overloaded line formation that Eldred coaches had noted Haldane never adjusted to in games they had scouted against Chester and Tuckahoe, the Yellowjackets went to their bread-and-butter ground attack. Even before deploying the line overshift, Eldred had become successful, running the ball in the fourth quarter on Haldane, which seemed to be tiring.

Christian Martinez gave the ‘Jackets breathing room, as he toted it out to the six. Two plays later, leading rusher Kevin Prunka bruised his way to the 21 for a first down. Haldane quickly expended one of its two remaining time outs, as Martinez bolted it out to the 30 with 1:50 to go.

Haldane used its last time out, following another Martinez carry, and was forced to let Eldred dictate the terms of the Blue Devils’ funeral arrangements.

Prunka seemed to toll the first peal of Haldane’s death knell, with an eight-yard carry as the clock ticked down to 1:17.

But what happened next is virtually unfathomable.

Haldane’s defense stiffened and denied Eldred any further yardage leading to a fourth and two. Eldred coaches, confident that garnering the first down would end the game, elected not to punt the ball to force Haldane to come the length of the field with no time outs and under 30 seconds remaining.

Instead, they called for a flare play, sensing an opening to the outside, as Haldane packed the middle. In the haze and confusion of that quintessential moment, quarterback Stan Smith, calling the signals in his first game in place of the injured Bryan Henry, went right instead of left as the play was designed and was sacked by Haldane freshman Matt Giachinta.

Eldred still had a time out, but opted not to use it to set itself into a cover-two or cover-three defense to ward off a game-winning Hail Mary. Haldane came to the line. Quarterback and game offensive MVP, Robert Percacciolo, rolled out right and hit Giachinta, who made the grab in single coverage with a 35-yard pass in the end zone for the game-winning dagger with 22 seconds left on the clock.

Percacciollo’s two-point conversion run failed and Eldred was left with only the kickoff return and perhaps one play to reverse the damage. A return to the 45 and an ensuing fumble by Smith on Eldred’s last play told the final story in the words of poet John Donne:

“Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.” Tears and thrown helmets evinced the outward signs of an inner pain experienced mostly searingly by the team’s 10 seniors. Only a week prior, Eldred had exorcised the demons of Chester’s recent theft of their glory.

Now, they had to reckon with blue demons celebrating before their eyes, and the bitter pain of what ifs that would haunt them. Emotional team leader Kojo Williams told his team what they already knew. “We could have gone farther this year.” He expressed his love for his teammates and challenged the underclassmen to continue their efforts next season.

Coach Frank Kean told his team how proud he was of them and explained, “Some things are beyond our comprehension but were meant to be, nonetheless.” Kean’s belief in pre-ordained fate helps him, and those that ascribe to it, deal with the inexplicable. Others, who believe that we have more control over our own destiny, might agree with Shakespeare’s words ascribed to Julius Caesar, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

Destiny or human error? At this juncture, it matters not.

What does matter is that Eldred turned in a remarkable season that brought joy and pride to its fans and its community. Despite the loss, Eldred (7-3) is now the reigning Section Nine champion and has compiled an impressive 24-7 record over the past three years.

At the outset of the game, it seemed that Eldred was readily embarking on the winning path. Haldane won the toss and elected to receive, much to the Jackets’ delight. Their defense treated Haldane to a quick three and out. In its first series, Eldred caught the Blue Devils off-guard with a fake punt that Bobby Warden turned into a 28-yard romp for a first down. Using Eldred’s early advantage at the line of scrimmage, Prunka and Christian Martinez advanced the ball to the one. Martinez carried it in at 4:19 of the first quarter and Warden’s PAT made it 7-0.

But Eldred’s early success was soon undercut by a combination of Haldane’s speedy backs, Eldred’s over-pursuit, missed tackles and Haldane’s passes to the outside that beat Eldred’s cornerbacks. The result was an impressive 99-yard drive that led to a game-tying score of seven all on a five-yard pass from Percacciolo to Kyle VanTassel with only nine seconds remaining in the half.

Kean and his fellow coaches were upset at Eldred’s poor tackling and lack of blocking on offense that let Haldane back in the game, behind the running of speedy back Derek O’Dell.

Eldred ended the half on an inauspicious note, with penalties for roughing the kicker and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Eldred’s initial second-half drive showed fury as Prunka and Martinez benefited from Eldred’s line push. The drive began on the 25 and marched to the Haldane 27, when Martinez fumbled a pitch that Haldane’s Evan Campbell recovered.

Using that momentum shift, the Blue Devils rode O’Dell’s running, as they marshaled a 73-yard drive that netted a 13-7 lead with 3:06 remaining in the third on a Percacciolo one-yard keeper. Rafael Famighetti’s PAT went wide.

Eldred’s next drive began on its own 41, but stalled at the Haldane 25 after quarterback Stan Smith was dumped in the backfield and subsequently failed on a fourth-down pass attempt. Haldane took over, but Eldred’s defense answered the bell. Eldred seemed to take the lead with a punt-return touchdown by Kojo Williams from the Eldred 45, but it was called back as Gino Jones was flagged for holding.

Eldred took over at midfield as Tom Compasso and Martinez worked it forward to the seven. Prunka took it in for the go-ahead score, but as alluded to earlier, that 14-13 lead would not stand the test of time.

Haldane will advance to play Ticonderoga of Section Seven/Ten in the semi finals. Section Four’s Walton beat Onondaga 52-16 and will play Bolivar-Richburg of Section Five in the other semifinal.

Prunka led Eldred with 100 yards. Martinez had 80.

Visit riverreportersports.com for more stats and an album of game pictures.