By P.J. Harmer

Staff Writer

SIDNEY _ It might be a while before the smile on Allen Knowlton’s face disappears.

Knowlton rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries to lead Unatego to a 16-12 Section Four Football Conference Division V upset of defending Class C state champion Sidney in front of a crowd of about 2,000 on Saturday night at Sidney Alumni Field.

Unatego (6-2, 3-1) snapped Sidney’s 18-game winning streak to earn a share of the D-V title with the Warriors (7-1, 3-1) and Greene (7-1, 3-1).

"It was a great game," said Sidney coach Jeff Matthews, whose team is ranked first in the state in Class C. "The streak has not really been a priority for us. We didn’t even think about it until we heard some people saying different things about it. When we started the season, everybody knew Unatego was going to be one of the toughest teams to beat _ and it proved to be that way."

The victory was bittersweet for the Spartans, who missed one of the two playoff spots in D-V. The Spartans were eliminated from the Section Four playoffs when Greene beat Seton, 52-6, Saturday night. That gave the Trojans more tiebreaker points than Unatego for the division’s second playoff spot. Sidney had clinched a playoff berth before Saturday’s game, but earned the No. 1 position when Greene beat Seton.

Had Greene lost, Unatego would have been the top seed and Sidney would have been No. 2 for the playoffs based on head-to-head play.

Sidney will play Trumansburg (6-2, 5-1 D-VI) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Binghamton Alumni Stadium in a Section Four Class C semifinal. Greene (7-1, 3-1) faces Lansing (8-0, 6-0) in the second semifinal at 7 p.m.

Sidney’s last loss came in Week 2 of the 2005 season, when Walton earned a 42-34 victory Sept. 9. The Warriors won their next 11 games en route to the school’s first state title, then started the 2006 season 7-0.[an error occurred while processing this directive]

"You can’t say anything because there’s no words to explain this," Knowlton said. "It’s amazing. ... Everybody from top to bottom contributed to this win."

Said Unatego coach John Mushtare: "This is a big rivalry game and our kids have been waiting for this for a year. They were riled up all week. They were ready to play and they wanted to come in here and prove that they were a worthy team and I think they did.

"It feels great," he continued. "The guys all feel great right now. I think it’s a testament to their fortitude. We lost a couple games early on and they didn’t give up. They kept working to get better, and I think I can speak for everybody on the team that it feels awesome."

Unatego’s defense also delivered, stopping Sidney twice inside the 10-yard line. The Spartans’ biggest stop, however, came with Sidney looking for the go-ahead score and less than a minute to play. The Warriors had pulled within 16-12 with 50 seconds remaining on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Parker Umbra to Chase Mott.

Sidney then seemed poised for a dramatic come-from-behind victory as Connor Hornbeck recovered an onside kick at the 50. Five plays and a 15-yard personal foul against the Spartans later, Sidney was at the 24 facing a third-and-5 with 17 seconds left.

Umbra passed down the left side to Andy Foote, who went up and tipped the ball but couldn’t come away with it because of strong man coverage from Alex Hendrickson. Sidney’s comeback hopes ended on the next play, when Umbra lost his footing 11 yards behind the line of scrimmage and touched his knee to the ground to turn the ball over on downs.

"The preparation of the coaches was outstanding this week," Unatego’s Owen Moss said. "They had us so prepared for everything that Sidney does. Our defense, we came together."

Rain postponed the game from Friday to Saturday, and the muddy field conditions were anything but ideal. Knowlton was the exception, though, as the 5-foot-11, 205-pound fullback had two long runs to key the victory. The first _ a 50-yard TD run _ gave Unatego a 6-0 lead. Knowlton rushed through the middle into the secondary and won a footrace down the right sideline, then added the conversion run for an 8-0 lead.

"I was thinking run to the open space because that’s where the daylight was," Knowlton said. "Our line did a great job giving me just enough space to get through."

His second big run came in the fourth quarter with the Spartans clinging to an 8-6 lead. On second-and-8 from Unatego’s 44, Knowlton got through the line and went left before getting tackled 42 yards later at Sidney’s 14. Three plays later, quarterback Kyle Palmer threw to Joe Innes in the left corner of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. Knowlton’s conversion run made it 16-6.

"He had a breakout game," Mushtare said of Knowlton. "It got to be when we needed a yard, give it to Allen. He hasn’t had the yards that he’s accustomed to this year, but he picked a great game to break out on."

Trailing, 8-6, the Warriors started at their 29 and drove to Unatego’s 11 during a span that bridged the third and fourth quarters. Mike Burpoe went for 3 yards, followed by a 6-yard pass from Parker Umbra to Anthony Mister, bringing up third down and about a yard-and-a-half to go. Burpoe went for about a yard on the next play, setting up a fourth-and-inches for Sidney.

The Warriors attempted a quarterback sneak with Umbra, but the Spartans stacked the line and stopped him for no gain as possession changed hands.

"It was hard because we knew we had the opportunity to score and we knew that our power game was working really well," said Sidney’s Jarred Mertz, who finished with a team-high 76 yards on 11 carries. "We just missed a block and they stopped us. It hurt and it came back to bite us."

Unatego’s other big stop came in the second quarter, when Mertz was stripped of the ball at the 5-yard line. Jeff Fazio recovered to help protect Unatego’s 8-0 lead.

"Our inside guys played it beautifully, got off the ball and won the battle in the trench," Mushtare said. "The defense played outstanding today and never gave up. I couldn’t be prouder of them."

Sidney broke through with 39 seconds left in the first half, when Mertz capped a four-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. The Spartans stopped Mertz’s conversion run, however, to keep it at 8-6.

"We were prepared," Innes said. "Everything that came at us, we were ready for. It was all the coaches. It was the most prepared we’ve been for a game all year."

Unatego 16, Sidney 12

Unatego 0 8 0 8 _ 16

Sidney 0 6 0 6 _ 12

SECOND QUARTER

U _ Allen Knowlton 50 run (Allen Knowlton run) 10:53

S _ Jarred Mertz 5 run (run failed) :39

FOURTH QUARTER

U _ Joe Innes 8 pass from Kyle Palmer (Allen Knowlton run) 1:55

S _ Chase Mott 17 pass from Parker Umbra (pass failed) :50

Unatego rushing: Alex Hendrickson 8-39, Austin Henchey 7-21, Allen Knowlton 14-122, Kyle Palmer 3-(-10), Jeff Fazio 1-(-14).

Sidney rushing: Jarred Mertz 11-76, Chase Mott 10-33, Mike Burpoe 14-47, Parker Umbra 5-6, George Mister 6-22, Parker Curley 1-0.

Unatego passing: Kyle Palmer 4-for-10, 47 yards, 2 int.

Sidney passing: Parker Umbra 8-for-19, 106 yards.

Unatego receiving: Alex Hendrickson 1-20, Joe Innes 3-27.

Sidney receiving: Chase Mott 3-62, Anthony Mister 4-36, Andy Foote 1-8.

___

P.J. Harmer can be reached at mailto:pharmer@thedailystar.com">pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.