Sectionals

The Kean-est of titles

Eldred delivers an avowed Section Nine title to retiring coach by thrashing Chester

By RICHARD A. ROSS

KINGSTON, NY — Frank Kean had just been lowered from the shoulders of seniors Buck Hallock and Zak Tyler after being elevated in more ways than one by Eldred’s commanding 45-6 victory over Chester for the Section Nine Class D football title. It was Eldred’s third title since 2005. But in Kean’s mind, this was the one that meant the most.

Hovering in that fragile borderland between unexpurgated joy and tears, the iconic coach addressed his beloved green vanguard, who took a brief break from their own ebullient celebration to listen to the coach they adore and respect. “It’s been a long time coming. You are the best team I’ve ever coached. Thank you so much,” said Kean, candidly admitting that he was on the verge of tears.

Kean, who is retiring in June and now in his 36th season of coaching football, wanted to share with his senior-laden team a final victory that would resonate for the ages. Beating Chester, the team that Eldred (9-1) met for the sixth straight year in the title game, was sweet, but the way in which it was done was pure ambrosia. Eldred’s defense thwarted Chester at every turn, while Offensive Player of the Game Bryan Henry’s passing stat line of 12/14/268 defines Eldred’s daunting air attack that found receivers Charles (Chas) Wolff and Matt Balcom for major strikes. Balcom took an early pass from Henry 51 yards for the opening strike after Eldred stopped Chester from capitalizing on an early Eldred fumble that looked like it might give Chester the first chance to score.

Ian Halloran’s 125 yards of rushing and two touchdown runs was another part of Eldred’s offensive onslaught, as was the play of kicker Bobby Warden, who was six for six on PATs, booted a 25-yard field goal, had a one-yard touchdown run and recorded a sack of Chester quarterback Matt Balzano.

But, in truth, this was a total team effort.

Eldred’s line played with furious abandon, blowing the Hambletonians away on both sides of the ball. Dylan Kulik had a key interception of one of Chester’s few successful drives as part of three Eldred-forced turnovers in the first quarter that led to a 17-0 lead with just 12 minutes gone in the game. Geno Jones and Zak Tyler recovered early fumbles, the first of which came when a Warden squib kick bounded off the turf and hit a Chester player before Jones pounced on it. Tyler landed on a ball coughed up by Chester running back standout Travis Mann. Travis Hay also recovered a Chester fumble just before halftime, giving Eldred a total of plus four in the turnover ratio in the first half.

By night’s end, that would be five, as Kulik picked up a ball fumbled by Chester on a kickoff late in the game and carried it to punctuate Eldred’s’ definitive statement of dominance. Eldred got touchdowns from Balcom, Bryan Henry, Halloran (2), Warden and Kulik.

Kudos to Kean and his staff including son Patrick, Eldred’s offensive coordinator who orchestrated the mix of air and ground weaponry, and John LiGreci, longtime defensive coordinator who schooled his team ably on closing the gaps and stopping Chester’s previous successful running game.

Eldred travels to White Plains High School on November 13 to take on Section One’s Tuckahoe in a Class D regional final. A win there would send them back to Dietz Stadium the following week to play for the right to go to the Carrier Dome for the New York State Championship. There are only eight Class D teams remaining in the state tourney at this juncture and Eldred, which was ranked fifth before its last regular season game, lost 7-6 to Burke, is now ranked 10th. That loss, which spoiled Kean’s bid for a perfect season, may have been the tonic that fueled Eldred’s furious assault of the team they so longed to defeat.

Just how great was this win? Listen to what players and coaches said

Buck Hallock: “We told our coaches what this game was going to be about. The scoreboard says it all, how we practiced hard and we just showed what we’re capable of doing.”

Ian Halloran: This is what we prepared for since day one. There’s nothing better than beating this team by 39 points. They’re a great team, don’t get me wrong, but when we come to play, no one is going to stop us, in my opinion. We spread them out and Bryan was throwing great today and our line was blocking. When we mix the pass and the run like we were dong it’s hard to stop.”

Bryan Henry: “This is the greatest moment.”

Zak Tyler: “It’s about time we came up big. This is awesome. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Chester coach Ron Stover: “Eldred played great. They wanted it more than we did. It was Eldred’s night.”

Liberty’s noble season ends with loss to Ellenville

Liberty played a tough defensive first half and nearly scored on a trio of dropped passes at the goal line just before the half when they trailed 12-0 to defending class champion Ellenville. The Blue Devils converted an early third-quarter interception to add another score on their way to a 27-0 win. Liberty’s dramatic comeback from a 1-4 start to its season that included the semifinal win over Sullivan West is detailed in the story entitled, “Equal Measures of Grace,” on sportsinsightsny.com. Brandon Tompkins was named the Defensive Player of the Game. Ellenville moves on to take on Section One’s Bronxville on November 14 at Dietz Stadium.

Visit sportsinsightsny.com for more details on the Eldred victory and an album of photos, “This Won is For You.”