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November 14, 2009

Schalmont stops B'town

Sabres shred Eagles 34-20 after falling behind 20-7

By RYAN HAYNER

Bonus Photos

See additional photos from the game.

PLATTSBURGH — The Beekmantown Eagles had an uncharacteristically poor first half Friday but picked things up quickly in the third quarter.

Matt Durocher scored on the opening drive, and Kyle LaDieu took a Schalmont fumble 20 yards for a touchdown right after for a 20-7 lead.

Beekmantown was finally starting to look like the team that entered the state tournament unbeaten, the seventh-ranked squad that was dominant through the regular season and sectional playoffs.

Then everything unraveled.

Schalmont shut out Beekmantown for the remainder of the game and its offense ripped off 27 unanswered points, sending the Sabres to a 34-20 victory over the Eagles Friday night at Plattsburgh High School in a NYSPHSAA Class C quarterfinal game.

The Sabres (9-2) advance to the semifinals at Dietz Stadium, taking on the winner of Nanuet/O'Neil on Nov. 21.

"It's surreal right now, it really is," Beekmantown coach Mark Haley said. "I'm sure both teams expected to win, but we came up short this time."

It is another positive step for Schalmont, who hadn't even won a sectional title until this year.

"The kids don't want to stop playing, that's the bottom line," Schalmont coach Joe Whipple said. "They don't want to stop playing. We want to continue to play."

Beekmantown (9-1) was eliminated from the state playoffs in the opening round for the second year in a row. Both times, the Eagles couldn't stop the run.

Last year, Hudson Falls' Joe McMurry rushed for more than 250 yards. This year it was Schalmont quarterback Vincent Gallo, who gashed the Eagles for four touchdowns and 238 yards on the ground.

"It's one of those things where you hold him, you hold him and then he breaks something or he bounces off," Beekmantown coach Mark Haley said. "At the end there, we were just bouncing off him."

After DaShawn Banks' 37-yard run with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter put Schalmont on top 27-20, Beekmantown cooly marched down the field. Frechette hit Evan Bull for a 24-yard gain, ran for 10 yards on the next play, and another run put the Eagles at the Sabres' 20-yard line.

But on the next play, Schalmont's Jared Ramundo sacked Frechette for a 9-yard loss. Patrick Manor gave the Eagles a better chance with a 10-yard run, but Frechette's fourth-down pass fell just a yard short of a diving LaDieu.

On the Sabres' next play, Gallo broke two tackles at the line of scrimmage and rushed for 62 yards. He iced the game when he scored three plays later.

"It's tough to lose, but you feel good about your effort and I think that's the most important thing," Haley said. "We never gave up, and neither did Schalmont. It was just a hard, clean football game between two tough schools."

It didn't help that Beekmantown lost leading tackler Jonathan Manor to a leg injury early on in the game. Although Frank Buksa filled the role well and was named Beekmantown's defensive player of the game, the Eagles' defense did little of slowing down Schalmont's offense in the second half.

After going down 20-7, Schalmont got a big kick return from Banks on the next possession. Schalmont scored on a short run by Gallo six plays later to cut the deficit to six.

Banks wasn't done making his presence felt. The senior intercepted a deep pass down the sideline and returned it to the Eagles' 24. Gallo once again found the end zone, this time from 4 yards out when he stretched the ball across the goal line before being tackled. The Sabres missed the extra point, but the game was tied heading into the final stanza.

Beekmantown fell three yards short of a first down on a critical third down and punted. Then, on third down, Gallo connected with Alberto Beltran for a 35-yard gain down to the Eagles' 41. Two plays later, Banks turned to the outside and outran Eagles defenders for the go-ahead score.

Durocher, the Eagles' offensive player of the game, led Beekmantown with 84 yards and a rushing touchdown. Manor tallied 87 yards on the ground.

But for much of the game, Beekmantown couldn't put together a sustained drive. The Eagles didn't get a first down until their fourth possession. That was their best drive of the night, a 71-yard, 14-play drive capped by a 4-yard touchdown dive by Frechette with five seconds left in the first half.

—

Schalmont 34, Beekmantown 20

Schalmont701314—34

Beekmantown06140—20

First quarter

S- Gallo 2 run (Murphy kick), 2:25.

Second quarter

B- Frechette 4 run (kick missed), 11:55.

Third quarter

B- Durocher 3 run (pass failed), 2:26.

B- LaDieu 20 fumble recovery (Trombly pass from Frechette), 2:42.

S- Gallo 4 run (Murphy kick), 5:53.

S- Gallo 4 run (kick missed), 11:12.

Fourth quarter

S- Banks 37 run (Murphy kick), 5:27.

S- Gallo 11 run (Murphy kick), 10:45.

Individual statistics

Rushing

S- Gallo 31-238, 4 TD. Banks 7-48, TD. Ramundo 7-23. Beltran 2-7. Totals: 54-316, 5 TD.

B- Durocher 13-84, TD. Frechette 10-(-3), TD. P. Manor 21-87. Totals: 44-168, 2 TD.

Passing

S- Gallo 5-7-0-89.

B- Frechette 5-11-1-94.

Receiving

S- Ramundo 4-54. Beltran 1-35. Totals: 5-89.

B- P. Manor 2-18. Trombly 1-6. Bull 1-24. MacDonald 1-46. Totals: 5-94.

Interceptions

S- Banks.

E-mail Ryan Hayner at: rhayner@pressrepublican.com

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