ENDICOTT – Greene coach Tim Paske told his team it took the football program farther than it’s ever been before. Saturday’s trip to the Section IV, Class C championship game was as far as the Trojans would travel in 2008.
“We’re disappointed, but proud of where the senior class took this program,” Paske said. “This is where we wanted to be, and the underclassmen now know what it takes to get to the next step.”
Taking that next step into the state playoffs is newly-crowned sectional champion Elmira Notre Dame (END), who quelled Greene’s typically potent offense winning a 14-6 final at Ty Cobb Stadium in Endicott. It was the third sectional championship for the Crusaders, and first in 10 seasons. The victory also ended Greene’s perfect string of nine victories.
“We faced a lot of adversity this season, so to have this happen is a good feeling,” said END head coach Mike D’Aloisio. “Really, it’s a cliché, but Greene didn’t deserve to lose this game, nor did we. We bent a little bit on defense, but didn’t break, and we’re fortunate to move on.”
Elmira Notre Dame was on the spot for every Greene miscue forcing three second-half turnovers, while also sniffing out and snuffing a fake punt attempt in the third quarter.
The Trojans had just over 7 1/2 minutes of possession time in the second half as Elmira Notre Dame chewed up clock with methodical drives. The Crusaders had the ball in Greene territory three times and came away empty. In one sequence, it was halted on a second-and-goal from the one. A fumble and a sack later, the Trojans remained within 8-6.
Elmira cashed in on its fourth trip to Greene’s side of the field. Mike Huffner raced for 28 yards to the Greene six, and only Nick Wilcox’s shoestring tackle kept the senior running back out of the endzone. On a third-and-goal, quarterback Joe Thurber hit Sam Karam on a quick hitter on the outside. Karam beat Scott Gorton with a one-on-one move for the decisive four-yard score with 4:26 left. The missed extra-point point pass still left it an eight-point game, 14-6.
Nate Whittaker returned the ensuing kickoff 28 yards to the 43, and a first-down pass from Gorton to Brendan Kinne had the Trojans at the END 42. On second down, Greene running back Garrett Hickey had the ball poked loose, and the Crusaders recovered their second fumble of the game.
Dave Norton had a key 11-yard run on third down to give END a fresh set of downs with just over a minute to play. Greene, without a timeout, was helpless to stop the clock.
“To think how tough Greene was (on defense) stopping us seven, eight, nine times at the one-yard line,” D’Aloisio said, adding up the number of times his club was on the cusp of scoring throughout the game. “I was late getting plays in, and it wasn’t the players’ fault. I was struggling to find something (that worked). I’ve been around a long time, but we were well scouted and it’s a credit to Greene’s coaches and the toughness of their kids.”
Greene did not have one three-and-out in any possession over the second half, but only one drive resulted in at least two first downs. The Trojans rarely started with good field position, and the only time it crossed midfield over the final two quarters was the final drive of the game.
“Both teams’ staffs did a great job preparing for each other,” Paske said. “We had four turnovers, and that really hurt us. Defensively, I thought we stepped up pretty good and made some good plays, we just couldn’t get the ball rolling our way. Notre Dame is a heck of a football team, and you have to give them a lot of credit. We knew it would be a dogfight.”
Neither club had much success moving the ball in the opening quarter. The Trojans, after chalking up two first downs on their second drive of the game, stalled when quarterback Nate Whittaker was tackled for an eight-yard sack.
Early in the second period, Greene took advantage of a rare END mistake. Punt returner Kevin Munchen mishandled Garrett Hickey’s 29-yard punt, and Josh Clink recovered the ball at the Crusaders’ 46. On a third-and-eight, Gorton found Clink on a deep crossing route that ended in a 44-yard TD.
Elmira responded with its initial score. Karam nearly broke the ensuing kickoff taking it 25 yards to his team’s 47. Karam was also Johnny-on-the spot three plays later. Senior fullback Matt Buice rushed three yards for a first down, but had the ball punched loose. Karam scooped up the ball at the Greene 40 and raced 23 more yards to the 17-yard line.
A 14-yard Thurber-to-Huffner first-down pass set up END at the Greene one. On third down, Thurber dove over his right guard for the tying score. Thurber tossed the two-point conversion pass to Norton just inside the right pylon for the go-ahead points.
Score by quarters
END 0 8 0 6—14
Gre. 0 6 0 0—6
Scoring Summary
Second quarter
G: Josh Clink 44 pass from Scott Gorton (run failed), 9:34
E: Joe Thurber 1 run (Thurber pass to Dave Norton), 4:58
Fourth quarter
E: Thurber 4 pass to Sam Karam (pass failed), 4:26
Team Summary
G E
First downs 14 9
Total yards 233 196
Rushes-yds 37-100 40-115
Passing yds 133 82
Comp-att-int 11-23-2 8-14-1
Punts-avg 4-28.8 3-25.0
Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-0
Penalties-yds 3-19 4-20
Time of possession 19:28 28:32
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (G) Garrett Hickey, 18-59; Dan Carlin, 8-19; Dan Jenks, 3-18; Nate Whittaker, 8-4. (E) Mike Huffner, 13-58; Dave Norton, 8-33; Matt Buice, 14-27; Joe Thurber, 5- (-3).
Passing: (G) Scott Gorton, 6-17-2, 85 yds, TD; Nate Whittaker, 5-6-0, 48 yds. (E) Joe Thurber, 8-14-1, 82 yds, TD.
Receiving: (G) Josh Clink, 3-63; Brendan Kinne, 3-27; Brian Day, 2-21; Nate Whittaker, 2-19; Dan Carlin, 1-3. (E) Mike Huffner, 5-44; Sam Karam, 3-38.