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Somers Turns Cornwall Over in 28-7 Victory in State Regionals

Tuskers Are One Win Away From the Carrier Dome

By Rich MonettiPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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On Saturday Afternoon at Mahopac High School, Somers began its State Regional Quarterfinal Match up against Cornwall with a quick three and out. Both teams then held serve through the next three possessions by fumbling the ball away each time. But Somers broke decisively, and Somers' ace Messiah Horne gave Cornwall no return as he burst through the line for a 57-yard touchdown run. The stampede begun, Cornwall could not get a grip and an onslaught of turnovers allowed the Tuskers to easily string up yet another opponent.

After the first possession, the Tusker side was quick to get out of its seats as Cornwall’s Chris Robinson fumbled Kevin Olifiers punt. Thomas Tooma pounced on the pigskin, but almost before the faithful could shimmy back, Horne returned the favor.

The turnover at 8:58 now had Cornwall ready to change it up. WR Shakir Henry took the handoff in motion for a 14 yard far sideline run. Cornwall QB Joseph Lynch then paused the Somers defense with a play action that put WR John Lalanne at the 47.

Cornwall Begins Turnover Tornado

Cornwall would get across midfield on an inside run by RB Dominick Marzigliano, but Tooma again was quick with his paws. Marzigliano coughed up the handoff, and Tooma’s recovery gave the Dragons another drop to tally.

Cornwall was soon counting off in the direction as Horne took a second down handoff. The game’s co-MVP didn't feel the Dragons breathing down his neck for very long before pulling up in the end zone.

Trailing 7-0 at the 6:28 mark, Cornwall responded by getting the ball back beyond midfield. But once again they extinguished themselves. A completed screen pass to Ian Engenito found the ground, and Vince DeFilippo had the scoop at the 37 yard line.

Despite stuttering after a illegal procedure on fourth-and-one at the 44, Somers didn’t deter. They just let their defense do the talking. Antonio Vieira stepped in front of a Lynch pass underneath and set the Tuskers up at the one. Olifiers would do the honors on a keeper that put Somers up 14-0 with 11:39 left in the half.

Cornwall didn’t have much of an answer this time. The Dragons were quickly forced to punt when Tooma ran down Lynch at the 33 and put the Cornwall QB on the ground for good. Shaken on the field for several minutes, he left the game and did not return.

Nonetheless, Somers was stalled again by an illegal procedure on a fourth-and-seven at the Cornwall 28. This time, though, Somers' special teams added their say to Cornwall’s loose hands. Olifiers gently pooched his punt, and third string QB Nick Sottolano was really up against it at the nine-yard line.


Somers Takes Commanding Lead

On a roll right, Daniel Venditto leveled the hit and Timothy Sweeny applied the pain. Somers recovered again with 3:35 left in the half.

A holding call hesitated the Tusker advance, but runs by Pires and Olifiers got Somers the glimpse they needed. Third-and-six at the nine, Horne bumped to the left, and there was no going down as Somers took a 21-0 lead to close the half’s scoring.

Unfortunately, for Cornwall the second half was more of the same. Sottolano at the helm, Cornwall handed the keys to Marzigliano. He bruised and ball controlled his way to the Somers goal line. But on third-and-one from the three, Sottolano took another turn, and Jack Gilroy came up with the fumble when the snap was muffed.

Any chance of playing field position quickly lost traction on the legs of Horne. On third-and-11 from the six, the senior RB found a hole raced 88 yards down the near sideline to put the Dragons on life support.

Horne left it to Olifiers to give Somers its keep and suck any wind the Dragons had left. A few more fumbles and a TD with two seconds remaining by Cornwall told the final tale. This left Somers ready to carry the torch to Burnt Hills Friday Night.

If you’d like a sports profile, game coverage at any level and/or photos, please contact me on Facebook at 914 318-0997 or [email protected]

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About the Creator

Rich Monetti

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