Football: Explosive Somers leaves no doubt against Harrison in Section 1 playoffs
LINCOLNDALE - Somers entered Friday night worried not about its offense, but how its defense would stop Harrison's running game. By the final whistle, the Tuskers had played like a team with absolutely nothing left to fear.
For them, it was a complete effort, the type of night where there were few nits to pick. In fact, the state's top-ranked team played like exactly that, smothering the Huskies 39-7 in the Section 1 Class A semifinals.
"We have a mission and our mission is to finish the unfinished business," said senior Luke Savino, whose team came a play short in a state championship game loss to CBA-Syracuse last fall. "That's what we want to do. We're on our way back to the Dome."
Somers may still be four wins away from that goal, but it played like a team that should dream big.
"They came out pretty strong to start with, but our team never quits," Kennedy said. "We just kept on going at it and that showed by the end of the game."
The game turned when the Tuskers struck for 27 points in a 7-minute, 59-second stretch of the second quarter to assume a 27-0 halftime lead.
"Once you get down three scores to this team, it's hard to fight back," Harrison coach Jay Ciraco noted. "They have a nothing to lose mentality and they're going to come after you. That's what happened to us."
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What it means
Somers will have a championship game rematch with playoff rival Rye, which beat John Jay-Cross River 31-21 in Friday night's other Class A semifinal. The Tuskers, who have now won 25 straight against Section 1 competition, beat Rye twice last postseason, winning in both the sectional final, then again in the state semifinals after the Garnets earned a state-playoff berth as an at-large team.
Player of the game
Matt Fitzsimons, Somers. The senior quarterback went a perfect 6 of 6 and threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns. He found three different receivers, all for touchdowns of 35 yards or more: Mac Sullivan (63 yards), Andrew Violante (35) and Ravi Dass Jr. (80).
By the numbers
Somers (9-0) — Savino had 10 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Dass had three carries for 40 yards and two receptions for 92 yards. Sullivan added two catches for 65 yards. ... Violante and Miguel Iglesias each had an interception in addition to Kennedy's pick-six. George Forbes led the defense with 12 tackles, including three for a loss.
Harrison (8-2) — Christian Barchella had a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Huskies' only touchdown. He finished with 91 yards rushing and Marco Citro threw for 145 yards, including three passes for 87 yards to Chris McLaughlin. ... Harrison had its seven-game winning streak snapped.
They said it
The defense had six sacks (four by Ryan Cole) and three interceptions, including a running grab by Luke Kennedy that the senior linebacker then turned with and brought back for a touchdown. And the first-team offense needed to run just 20 plays to compile 327 yards and five touchdowns.
"We knew at some point we had the ability to break the game open, which is exactly what happened," DeMatteo said. "We've had athletes in the past, but it's all because of Matt. We put the ball in his hands and let him make decisions. He's phenomenal."
"It's my first one," Kennedy said of his defensive touchdown, which was scored in his final home game. "That's a good one — a good one to go out on."
Josh Thomson is the Sports Editor for The Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Middletown Times Herald-Record. He can be reached by e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com, on Twitter at @lohudinsider, and on Instagram at @lohudinsider.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Football: Somers beat Harrison in a Section 1 Class A semifinal
