Cornwall Central of New Windsor, a town just south of Kingston, came into their State quarterfinal matchup with the Garnets November 15, undefeated and averaging over 40 points a contest — while giving up no more than a touchdown in any game all year.

By Mitch Silver

Cornwall Central of New Windsor, a town just south of Kingston, came into their State quarterfinal matchup with the Garnets November 15, undefeated and averaging over 40 points a contest — while giving up no more than a touchdown in any game all year.

The only glimmer of hope for Rye lay in the fact that Cornwall twice was held to under 100 yards on the ground this year, 73 by Marlboro Central and 95 by Wallkill. And those were the only two that weren’t out-and-out routs (20-7 and 26-6 final scores).

On the other side of the football, Coach Dino Garr brought his 9-1 aerial circus, fresh from a decisive 35-14 Class A title win over previously undefeated Yorktown, the Garnets’ first crown since winning six straight in Class B from 2003-2008. Did I say decisive? The locals were up 28-0 at one point, riding the right arm of Section 1’s all-time passing leader, Andrew Livingston, and the swift feet of receiver Tim DeGraw, who caught four balls on the night, three of them for touchdowns of more than 50 yards each. Still, Coach Garr knew it would be the 11 players on defense who would have to play the game of their collective lives.

And they did. The Dragons ran the ball 20 times against the Garnets’ front wall and gained a total of 38 yards on the day. Star rusher Kevin Gangemi made exactly 10 yards on eight carries. Game on!

Cornwall took the opening kickoff and promptly lost 11 yards before having to punt.  A weak kick gave Rye the ball on the Dragons’ 31. Two minutes later, Livingston ran it in from the 3 to put the Garnets up 7-0, the first time Cornwall was behind in more than two months.

Dragons junior QB Jason Bailey hit senior Kobie Thomas for a 29-yard score with 3:47 left in the quarter. But the kick was no good and Rye still led, 7-6. Six minutes later, Livingston scored again, this time with his foot.  A 31-yard field goal made the score 10-6.

Then it was the Garnets’ D that rose to the occasion. With fourth and 2 at their own 35, they stopped Cornwall senior Quinn Zsido to keep things in Rye’s favor at the half.

The first series after the second-half kickoff saw Livingston throw a deep ball that was picked off by Brendan O’Flaherty at the Cornwall 20. Amazingly, it was the Rye QB’s first interception of the year. “They have a great secondary,” Livingston said after the game. “You throw these balls up and give your receiver an opportunity and they came down with the ball. Kudos to them.”

The game turned Cornwall’s way when Bailey capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive by connecting with senior Tyler Peddie for an 11-yard TD with 4:26 to play in the third quarter. Crucially, Bailey found his favorite target, Thomas, for a 2-point conversion to give them a 14-10 lead.

Near the close of the quarter, after a dropped would-be touchdown for the Garnets, O’Flaherty did it again, picking off Livingston — who absorbed shot after shot from an increasingly aroused Cornwall front seven — with a spectacular one-handed grab in his team’s red zone to spoil another Rye drive.

It was still 14-10 Cornwall with two minutes gone in the 4th period when Livingston threw his third pick, this time to senior Matt Robinson, on a fourth-down play. Cornwall took over at their own 26. But again, Rye’s defense rose up and made the stop.

The red-headed Rye signal caller was able to atone for the interceptions by finding fullback Sam Lubeck in the corner of the end zone from the 19-yard-line for a 17-14 Rye lead with less than six minutes left in the game. The Dragons came right back, though, scoring on a 15-yard Bailey-to-Peddie screen pass with three minutes on the clock.

With 45 seconds to go, the Garnets would use their final timeout on fourth and 14 at Cornwall’s 20. Coach Garr sent in the play, a flea flicker that earlier had worked for 32 yards. It starts with a lateral to DeGraw, who had 10 catches for 82 yards on the day. He said, “The idea was to find Andrew on the back side. He was wide open.”

This time, though, the ball was picked off by Zsido, writing finis to the Garnets’ season. Final score: Cornwall 21, Garnets 17. So the Green Dragons, winners of their fifth straight State quarterfinal against Section 1, move on to play Queensbury from Section 2 tonight at Dietz Stadium in the semis.

Meanwhile, Ivy-bound Livingston will call it a career with back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons. He finished 22-38 for 157 yards, many of those completions made under intense pressure, while carrying the ball a whopping 31 times for 60 yards.

After it was over, the senior was philosophical. “It was a hard-fought game on all sides of the ball. When it came down to it, we lost the turnover battle and it cost us the game.” The memories, though, will last forever in the hearts of the Garnet and Black.

 

—Photos by John Wood