HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: SECTION FOUR CLASS C SEMIFINALS

By P.J. Harmer

Contributed photo by BCH Photos Sidney wide receiver Pat Simonds goes up for his only catch of Saturday’s 50-28 rout of Trumansburg in a Section Four Football Conference Class C semifinal at Union-Endicott. Despite getting hit by Trumansburg’s Ryan Frisbie, Simonds held on to the 27-yard pass from Kyle Morenus for a touchdown 3 minutes, 15 seconds into the semifinal.

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Staff Writer

ENDICOTT — The shoulders of Sidney’s Aaron Zurn might be a little sore today.

Senior Zurn finished with 300 total yards and four touchdowns Saturday to carry the Warriors past Trumansburg, 50-28, in a Section Four Football Conference Class C semifinal at Union-Endicott’s Ty Cobb Stadium.

"I told (Sidney coach Jeff Matthews) this week, ’Don’t be afraid to give me the ball,’ " Zurn said. "I wanted the load to be on me."

[an error occurred while processing this directive]Zurn ran for 161 yards and two TDs on 12 carries, and scored two more times on six receptions for 139 yards. His 77-yard TD run in the second quarter helped Sidney erase a 20-14 deficit and jump-started a 22-point period.

Sidney (8-1), the state’s third-ranked team in Class C, advanced to the Section Four Class C championship opposite seventh-ranked Delhi (8-1), a 58-21 winner over Thomas A. Edison in the other semifinal. The Warriors beat the Bulldogs, 42-8, on Oct. 7.

Zurn’s momentum-shifting run came one play after Trumansburg punted. Although he ran into a wall of defenders to his left, Zurn cut back inside and slipped a couple tackles en route to the end zone.

"That touchdown he had was amazing," Matthews said. "He was tackled at least three times and ran out of it."

Zurn, sprung by the blocking of his offensive line, got help downfield from an unlikely source. Quarterback Kyle Morenus raced ahead of the run and lowered his shoulder into a defensive back, clearing the way for Zurn.

"The line gave me some big holes," Zurn said. "Some broken tackles and it’s off to the races."

Zurn scored two more times in the quarter, on a 10-yard run and a 42-yard pass from Morenus, to help Sidney to a 36-20 halftime lead.

"It was only a matter of time," Trumansburg coach Julian Munoz said. "They were just a better team. We fought with them, but that’s just a better ball team."

Trumansburg cut the lead to 36-28 on a 9-yard run from Carl Lupo with 10:17 left in the third quarter, but an 11-yard touchdown pass to Zurn and a 3-yard run by Nick Kozak helped the Warriors pull away. As a result, Sidney avenged its 42-32 sectional semifinal loss to the Blue Raiders in 2004.

Sidney took a 6-0 lead on the opening possession as Pat Simonds caught a 27-yard TD pass. Trumansburg needed three plays to tie the score as Ryan Frisbie ran 64 yards for a TD.

The Blue Raiders went ahead, 14-6, when Matt Ruggiero scored on a 33-yard interception return. But Sidney tied it with 2:08 to go in the first quarter as Mike Burpoe’s conversion run followed a 13-yard TD run by Morenus.

The Blue Raiders regained the lead when Carl Lupo intercepted Morenus and returned the ball 95 yards for a TD.

"I felt like I was letting my team down," Morenus said. "I had to keep my head up. I just sucked it up and went back to the basics."

From there it was all Sidney. Trumansburg had 113 yards and four first downs the rest of the game following a 109-yard first quarter.

"We had to bring our heads up because it was the first time we’ve been down in a long time," said Kozak, who finished with 100 yards on 15 carries. "But things started to unfold real fast when we got going."

SIDNEY 50, TRUMANSBURG 28

T — Ryan Frisbie 64 run (run failed) 6:44

T — Matt Ruggiero 33 interception return (Carl Lupo run) 5:12

S — Kyle Morenus 13 run (Mike Burpoe run) 2:08

S — Aaron Zurn 77 run (Nick Kozak run) 5:05

S — Aaron Zurn 10 run (Nick Kozak run) 2:00

S — Aaron Zurn 42 pass from Kyle Morenus (kick failed) :39.9

S — Aaron Zurn 11 run (pass failed) 8:16

S — Nick Kozak 3 run (Pat Simonds pass from Kyle Morenus) 4:25

Trumansburg rushing: Chad Moore 10-14, Ryan Frisbie 13-84, Scott MacCheyne 6-7, Carl Lupo 11-54, Tyler Murray 1-11, Gabriel Geuder 1-3.

Sidney rushing: Aaron Zurn 12-161, Nick Kozak 15-100, George Mister 2-6, Mike Burpoe 6-19, Kyle Morenus 3-11.

Trumansburg passing: Chad Moore 4-for-7, 38 yards, int.

Sidney passing: Kyle Morenus 10-for-17, 203 yards, 2 int.

Trumansburg receiving: Matt Ruggiero 3-38, Ryan Frisbie 1-0.

Sidney receiving: Nick Kozak 1-6, Aaron Zurn 6-139, Pat Simonds 1-27, George Mister 1-13, Cody Rose 1-18.

Bulldogs school Edison, 58-21

By P.J. Harmer

Staff Writer

ENDICOTT — Delhi went old school on Thomas A. Edison to advance to the Section Four Football Conference Class C championship.

Brenton Hood rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries Saturday, highlighting an old-fashioned, smashmouth running game, as Delhi earned a 58-21 Class C semifinal rout at Union-Endicott’s Ty Cobb Field.

Hood was one of two Delhi runners with more than 100 yards, helping the Bulldogs amass 478 on the ground.

"We were able to find running lanes all day," said Delhi coach Dave Kelly, whose team improved to 8-1. "We completed two out of three passes when we needed them. But the way we were running the ball, we didn’t see any reason to do much more."

Nate Rockefeller contributed 131 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, and Josh Wake had 96 yards and a TD on four carries for the Bulldogs, who led, 20-7, at the half.

"The linemen were persistent and were holding their blocks," Rockefeller said. "We found some things working for me and I got some yards, and then it opened things up for Hood."

The Bulldogs will face Division V rival Sidney (8-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Binghamton’s Alumni Stadium for the Class C sectional title. The Warriors beat Delhi, 42-8, on Oct. 7.

"Every team requires some adjusting," said Kelly, whose team advanced to a sectional final for the first time since 2001, when the Bulldogs won the state championship. "Sidney will be a different package. Obviously, we didn’t adjust well last time."

It took a good hop in the second quarter for Delhi to get rolling against Edison.

After Rockefeller gave Delhi a 6-0 lead with a 2-yard run, the Bulldogs forced a punt and started at their 30-yard line. Wake took a handoff, bounced to the left side and cut through a hole. After getting past the line, Rockefeller broke a huge run down the left side but fumbled when he was caught from behind at Edison’s 26.

Delhi receiver Taylor Sohns, who was trailing the play, grabbed the bouncing ball at the 20 and continued into the end zone for a 12-0 lead.

"I was just running to see if I could so something," Sohns said. "I was going to fall on it, but it popped up and I scooped it."

Said Kelly: "That was awfully good fortune. We were about to lose the ball after a nice run and Sohns came along at the right time."

Edison cut it to 12-7 on a 4-yard scoring pass from Shaun Merrill to Pat Schweiger, but the Bulldogs took a two-touchdown lead into the half with a six-play scoring drive that covered 78 yards in 2 minutes, 2 seconds.

On the fifth play, Hood broke loose for a 55-yard gain. Devin Burch caught Hood, taking him down at the 1-yard line, before Rockefeller scored on the next play. Rockefeller added the conversion run for a 20-7 lead.

"We figured we really wanted this," Rockefeller said of Delhi’s second quarter, "and we came out banging."

Edison quarterback Merrill completed 11 of 25 passes for 182 yards but was intercepted twice by Sohns.

"Our front people had to stop their fullback (Cory Vargson) and (Merrill)," Kelly said. "The secondary had the toughest job. (Edison) spread us out and I really think their judgment was right on."

Hood scored on runs of 10, 14 and 19 yards in the third quarter as Delhi took a 42-7 lead.

"It’s tough because they played a nice defense," Hood said. "To get any yards, you had to break a tackle or two."

Josh Wake contributed a 40-yard TD run and Jason Wake scored on a 9-yard run for Delhi in the fourth quarter.

DELHI 58, EDISON 21

D — Taylor Sohns 20 fumble recovery (run failed) 7:18

T — Pat Schweiger 4 pass from Shaun Merrill (Schweiger kick) 2:41

D — Nate Rockefeller 1 run (Nate Rockefeller run) :32.4

D — Brenton Hood 14 run (Chad Rockefeller run) 4:16

D — Brenton Hood 19 run (run failed) :05

T — Cory Vargson 7 run (Korey Watts pass from Shaun Merrill) 8:00

T — Cory Vargson 1 run (run failed) 5:53

D — Jason Wake 9 run (Steve Vulaj run) :22

Delhi rushing: Brenton Hood 20-151, Nate Rockefeller 20-131, Patrick O’Connell 2-(-2), Steve Vulaj 2-19, Josh Wake 4-96, Jason Wake 7-64, James Card 2-(-1), Taylor Sohns 0-20.

Edison rushing: Cory Vargson 10-44, Shaun Merrill 5-28, Pat Schweiger 2-6, Korey Watts 3-1, Alton Vanderhoff 2-1.

Delhi passing: Patrick O’Connell 2-for-3, 44 yards.

Edison passing: Shaun Merrill 11-for-25, 182 yards, 2 int.

Delhi receiving: Taylor Sohns 1-29, Chad Rockefeller 1-15.

Edison receiving: Korey Watts 2-26, Pat Schweiger 5-105, Alton Vanderhoff 2-30, Cory Vargson 1-15, Devin Burch 1-6.