It was a really good weekend for Section 2 this past weekend. Four of the five teams are moving onto the State Semifinals in Middletown. That fifth team ... they only lost to the two time defending state champions in Somers.
Through my coverage for the NFHS Network, I got to see the three games play out over at Shenendehowa High School on Friday and at Lansingburgh High School on Saturday. Here are my thoughts from the press box on the teams that played.
1. Schuylerville is gelling.
Schuylerville Head Coach John Bowen mentioned that the game against Lake George-Warrensburg was a wake up call for the Black Horses. The lessons they learned in that 30-28 loss have helped lead Schuylerville into their fourth trip to Middletown in 9 seasons, not counting the 2021 abbreviated spring season. The Black Horses dominated on offense and defense and held Gouverneur to under 100 yards, excluding the final drive from the Wildcats that was against the Schuylerville backups.
2. Landen Cumm is as advertised.
Landen Cumm ran for over a hundred yards, marking the 8th game out of 11 which the senior captain reached the century mark. Entering Friday's game, Cumm had over 1400 yards and 27 touchdowns and found the end zone three times to put him at 30 for the season. Whether it's short yardage down the middle or trying to find the outside edge, Cumm has the agility to hurt defenders with his cuts. And this isn't the only sport he excels at -- Landen Cumm has been a three sport athlete for Schuylerville for several seasons with their basketball and lacrosse programs.
3. Better showing for Averill Park vs. defending State Champs
Last year Averill Park was put to a stop immediately by Somers. That squad would go on to win their second straight state title, and Averill Park would go back to the practice field and weight room to prepare to try again. This year, Averill Park claimed their first Sectional Championship in program history (last year's trip to States was compliments of an at large bid that was given to Section 2 in the state's rotation), and used that momentum to gain an early lead against Somers. Averill Park even led at the half, 8-7...
4. Whatever was said by Coach Dematteo at the half worked
... But then coming out of the half, Somers took control away from Averill Park, scoring on a Miguel Iglesias 16 yard run to take the lead, and then padded it with 2 more scores to come away 29-8. Credit Averill Park for fighting hard, but Somers looked every bit the two time State Champions in that second half. And congratulations to the Warriors on winning their first, that there is an amazing accomplishment that Zach Gobel and company have pulled off at Averill Park.
5. Somers has a massive roster...
In New York State, you must have 16 players at any given time to field a 11 man football team. Somers has over 50 players on their roster, some sharing the same number as JV players get the call up now that their season is done. That means three football teams could be fielded on the numbers that Somers has. It showed in warm ups just the overwhelming number of players who want to play football over at Somers.
6. Thomas Toher is a beast
Thomas Toher was the back of choice for Coach Bobby Burns on Saturday for Christian Brothers Academy. Two runs from the Sophomore running back helped set the tone for CBA as they took advantage of North Rockland turnovers and 4th Down gambles to gain a 14-0 lead. Then he picked up a passing touchdown when he made the best of a broken play, lobbing to Aiden Good for a third quarter touchdown that created some separation from North Rockland.
7. We finally got a taste of Archie Jones in the 4th Quarter
For much of the game, Archie Jones was quiet. He finally gained his first reception on a 17 yard pass completion to Aiden Good, then earned himself on the touchdown ledger after connecting with Anthony Coluccio for the 13 yard score that finished the game for the Brothers. A bit outside of the norm for a team that heading into the week had averaged nearly 15 pass attempts a game. But Jones didn't need to when Thomas Toher was accelerating the offense the way he was.
8. Pass Defense
North Rockland's lone score came when Chase Perini found a wide open Tyler Prisco for the 42 yard score. It was a defensive breakdown as Prisco already had all Brothers defenders beat by the time he got the feed from Perini for the score. At that point, it was 14-0 late in the second quarter and the Raiders would get the ball to start the third, giving the Raiders the chance to flip the game.
In the end, North Rockland didn't flip the script, but CBA will need to watch their secondary defense if they hope to get past Corning-Painted Post next week with a berth to the State Championships on the line.
Combined with Glens Falls and Greenwich winning, Section 2 has the possibility of sending multiple teams to the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse. Never before has Section 2 sent four in a single school year, and this year they have a legitimate shot of accomplishing this feat. But they need to make it through their next opponents first, which will be no small order.
