New York State Class D Football Eastern Semifinals

A legacy for the ages

Eldred’s gallant effort comes up short

By RICHARD A. ROSS

KINGSTON, NY — In this life, we will all know loss.

There will be times when we let go of people we cherish or witness the closure to a hallowed time we never wanted to end. In those times, there will certainly be grief and tears.

But time will lessen that sense of loss and, instead, embolden fond remembrances and the blessings of having shared unforgettable experiences with people we can never forget.

So it will be for the Eldred football team that marshaled an uncanny effort against Moriah in the New York State Eastern semifinals. Outsized, outnumbered and far less experienced than the red-jersey Viking legion, Eldred went toe-to-toe, helmet-to-helmet and heart-to-heart with their stunned adversaries for 48 minutes and, judging from the reverential remarks made by Moriah players and their coaches following their victory, it was clear that their 22-13 win had come against a championship caliber team.

“They are a really good, hard-hitting team and we were fortunate to come out on top,” said Moriah standout running back Ron Schofield, his team’s winner of the Offensive Player of the Game.

Eldred tried with everything it had to continue its storied run for its coach Frank Kean, its school and community, but Moriah was just too much.

Eldred’s defense held the Vikings to one touchdown in the first half that came as a result of poor Eldred field position and a punt return that left the Vikings just a few yards to go for a TD. Eldred responded with a great drive fueled by a Bryan Henry pass to Matt Balcom and great runs by Ian Halloran.

Halloran was playing on a foot beset by an ailing turf toe and had been on crutches after the regional championship win. But the impassioned senior would break tackles and leap over defenders on his way to a 15/107 day that featured two TDs and won him the Eldred Offensive Player of the Game plaque.

But the first drive came up disappointingly short.

Eldred worked the ball to the six-inch line where the drive stalled. Early in the second quarter, a Halloran 21-yard run made it 7-6. Bobby Warden’s PAT was blocked and Moriah’s 7-6 edge stood as the first half ended just after Warden missed a 47-yard field goal with two and a half minutes remaining in the half. Eldred’s defense stopped an advancing Moriah as time expired.

The second half featured a hard-hitting battle. With 2:19 to go in the third quarter, Schofield scored on a two-yard run but Moriah failed on the conversion and now led 13-6. Eldred nearly capitalized on the same Wildcat pass play from Warden to Henry, but the ball glanced off the latter’s shoulder as he plummeted to the turf, injuring his toe. He had to come out of the game for medical attention.

Meanwhile, Balcom recovered a punt that went off a Moriah defender but Eldred couldn’t capitalize. On its next series with Henry still out, Schofield galloped 59 yards to make it 19-6. Again the Vikings couldn’t add the conversion.

Henry returned and threw an end delay pass to Balcom, who raced 74 yards to the one-yard line. Halloran scored just as the fourth quarter began and Warden’s PAT made it 19-13.

Eldred would have its chances again but couldn’t score. Meanwhile, its defense stopped Moriah time and time again until the Vikings’ final drive netted a field goal that effectively iced the 22-13 win. Henry’s final pass was intercepted and Moriah got its return ticket to the Carrier Dome on November 28, this time to face Section 6 Randolph that beat Section 4 Groton 61-6.

Eldred players were emotionally distraught, unable to see the long view of how far they had come with their school’s first-ever regional championship.

But Kean was proud and elated at how his team had delivered on its promise to win the Section 9 title and then went one step further with the historic win over Tuckahoe.

“They fulfilled a promise they made to me. I’m so proud of them,” he said. Looking back over the win against Chester for the Section 9 title and the regional win over Tuckahoe, Kean gracefully noted, “I couldn’t have asked for more. They gave me everything they had.”

Dylan Kulik was named Eldred’s Defensive Player of the Game for his 14 tackles. Moriah coach Don Tesar assessed the play of Eldred tackle Scott Hallock. “He’s the best we’ve seen. We had to double team him the whole second half,” he said. Hallock had 16 tackles and a forced fumble. Eldred finished its season at 10-2, sharing the honor as only the third Section 9 Class D team to reach this level. The Delaware Valley Eagles of 1994 and 1998 also lost in the semifinal round.

Eldred outscored its opponents 372-115 over the course of its historic season.

While the memory of the loss to Moriah is still strong, the enduring memory will be of Eldred carrying their beloved coach on their shoulders into the sunset of a glorious final season and a career that, along with his team’s final efforts, leaves behind a legacy for the ages.

For more about the game and the words of the players and coaches whose lives were immensely impacted by it, visit sportsinsightsny.com and look at the photo album that accompanies the story. Read next week’s River Reporter for which Eldred players were accorded awards at the Eldred Football Banquet.