Sidney loses in a snap, 35-34

Defending Class C state champion Sidney blew a 20-point lead before allowing a late two-point conversion that ended its season with a 35-34 state quarterfinal loss to undefeated Westmoreland at Cicero-North Syracuse High.

"We kind of thought we had it all won," said senior fullback Mike Burpoe, who scored the first of three straight Sidney touchdowns to open the game. "We did not play a full 48 minutes of football, and that’s what killed us."

Section Three champion Westmoreland charged back from a 20-0 deficit 48 seconds into the second period behind quarterback Reuben Santiago, who had a hand in four of the Bulldogs’ five touchdowns. The last came on a fourth-and-5 pass with 22 seconds left as Santiago hit Teddy Fedor for a 26-yard TD to pull Westmoreland within 34-33.

The Bulldogs then set up in a split-formation with the line positioned to the left of snapper Matt Ferdinand, holder Santiago and kicker Scott Roorda. Santiago popped up for the snap, rolled to his right toward unguarded Sidney defenders and passed to Ferdinand over the middle for the decisive two-point conversion.

"Actually, I think coach wanted me to shift (the line) down, I’m not sure," said Santiago, who all but ended the game by intercepting Sidney quarterback Parker Umbra around midfield with 6 seconds left. "We can also shift it down and kick (an extra point), but I felt I needed to make a play.

"It was very nerve wracking before the snap," Santiago continued. "I was nervous and my hands were shaking. As soon as I got it, I saw an open guy and gave it to him."

Westmoreland coach Tim Gates said he didn’t see the play. But he didn’t have to as the crowd roared following the conversion.[an error occurred while processing this directive]

"I actually wasn’t watching," Gates said. "I was walking up the sideline and said to my coaches, I’m not watching.’ I figured we’d probably kick it because they had covered it earlier. Then all of a sudden, I heard cheers, turned around, and there’s the ball in the end zone."

Jeff Matthews, who coaches the Section Four champion Warriors (9-2), said Santiago made the right call in going for the win instead of a tie.

"I don’t think that’s a bad call at all," Matthews said. "Overtime is a crapshoot and they had numbers on us with that. It made sense to make that call."

The Bulldogs (11-0) didn’t appear to be headed toward their first state-playoff victory 57 seconds earlier. That’s when Jarred Mertz snapped a 27-all tie with a 29-yard touchdown run. Mertz followed Connor Hornbeck through a hole on the left side of the line of scrimmage, slipped a couple tackles and cut back to the middle around the 10 en route to the end zone. Andy Foote’s kick gave the Warriors a 34-27 lead.

"I followed my blockers and the line made a great hole," Mertz said. "I was following Connor’s butt the whole time. Then, I just found a lane and made a move and broke a couple tackles. Thankfully, I got in the end zone. It felt really good because I knew we were up."

Sidney followed with a squib kickoff to Westmoreland’s 31-yard line, preventing the Bulldogs from making a big return. Santiago got 38 of his 92 rushing yards on first down, though, slipping a near-sack by Mertz before breaking down the left sideline. Santiago followed an incomplete pass with a 5-yarder to Eric Morrisette, then got tripped up on third down for no gain. That set up Fedor’s second touchdown catch, a 26-yarder down the left sideline that started with Santiago drifting a few steps to his right. Santiago’s cross-body throw sailed defenders Foote and Umbra, hitting Fedor in stride to cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to one point and give the quarterback 148 passing yards.

Westmoreland rallied after Sidney opened a 20-0 lead on a 1-yard TD run by Burpoe, a 10-yard TD pass from Umbra to Mertz and a 9-yard scoring run by Chase Mott. All three scoring drives covered 51 or more yards.

"We kind of felt we had control of the game and we didn’t want to let down or anything," said Mertz, who rushed for 82 yards. "We kept fighting and just couldn’t move the ball on offense for a while, and the defense gave up some pass plays."

Santiago started the comeback after Westmoreland took over on downs at Sidney’s 49 with 6:34 left in the first half. He capped a five-play drive with a 1-yard TD run, then hit Fedor on a two-point conversion pass to cut the deficit to 20-8.

The Bulldogs followed with their first second-half touchdown of this postseason as Santiago passed to Fedor for an 8-yard TD 2:32 into the third quarter. The period also featured a 13-yard TD run by Santiago and a 47-yard punt return for a touchdown by Morrisette, the latter giving Westmoreland a 27-20 lead.

"They came out after halftime and scored three unanswered touchdowns and we’re looking it like, What are we doing here? We have to get going,’ " Mertz said.

The Warriors responded with an eight-play, 73-yard scoring drive capped by Mott’s 16-yard run. Foote’s extra point made it 27-all. Foote had a chance to give Sidney the lead with 8:47 to go as the Warriors set up for a 23-yard field goal on fourth-and-1. Umbra, who doubles as Sidney’s holder, took the snap and broke to the right sideline but was pushed out of bounds for no gain.

"The time was running down and we didn’t want to give Andy too much time to think about it," Matthews said. "So we came out and figured (we could get) a foot with one of our best athletes on the corner. It was a calculated risk that failed.

"We out-tricked ourselves," he continued, "and sometimes, that happens."

Westmoreland 35, Sidney 34

CLASS C STATE QUARTERFINAL

Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse

Sidney 13 7 7 7 _ 34

Westmoreland 0 8 19 8 _ 35

FIRST QUARTER

S _ Mike Burpoe 1 run (Andy Foote kick) 8:35

S _ Jarred Mertz 10 pass from Parker Umbra (kick blocked) :47

SECOND QUARTER

S _ Chase Mott 9 run (Andy Foote kick) 11:12

W _ Reuben Santiago 1 run (Teddy Fedor pass from Reuben Santiago) 4:26

THIRD QUARTER

W _ Teddy Fedor 8 pass from Reuben Santiago (kick failed) 9:28

W _ Reuben Santiago 13 run (Scott Roorda kick) 6:04

W _ Eric Morrisette 47 punt return (kick blocked) 5:32

S _ Chase Mott 16 run (Andy Foote kick) 1:26

FOURTH QUARTER

S _ Jarred Mertz 29 run (Andy Foote kick) 1:19

W _ Teddy Fedor 26 pass from Reuben Santiago (Matt Ferdinand pass from Reuben Santiago) :22

Sidney rushing: Jarred Mertz 13-82, Chase Mott 16-97, Mike Burpoe 6-23, Drew Fessenden 3-0, Parker Umbra 4-0.

Westmoreland rushing: Reuben Santiago 17-92, Nick Ossont 9-14, Eric Morrisette 6-44, Adam Smith 1-(-1).

Sidney passing: Parker Umbra 6-for-14, 141 yards, int.

Westmoreland passing: Reuben Santiago 11-for-22, 148 yards; Eric Morrisette 0-for-1, int.; Teddy Fedor 0-for-1.

Sidney receiving: Anthony Mister 1-44, Jarred Mertz 1-10, Andy Foote 3-48, Chase Mott 1-39.

Westmoreland receiving: Teddy Fedor 7-90, Eric Morrisette 3-39, Mike Rondenelli 1-9.

___

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