Week 7 football roundup: Ketcham, Lourdes clinch hard-earned playoff berths

The Roy C. Ketcham football team twice held its breath over the weekend, surviving two nail-biting scenarios.

First, there was the stop at the goal line. After scoring a touchdown with nine minutes remaining, Mount Vernon opted for the go-ahead two-point conversion, but Caleb Bieber and Jaden Turner combined for a tackle that kept quarterback Deshaun Terry out of the end zone, allowing the Storm to narrowly escape with a 7-6 win on Friday.

Then, the team spent Saturday afternoon with its fingers crossed. Despite its best season in more than a decade, a tiebreaker scenario in its division would've cost Ketcham a playoff berth, had Yonkers Force won its game.

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"White Plains pulled through for us!" Storm coach Bryan Hogan said, after the Tigers' 11-point win over Yonkers allowed Ketcham to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2019. "I’m so proud of these kids. They’ve been through a lot and overcome a lot of adversity, even this season. We've got a bunch of fighters."

Eighth-seeded Ketcham (5-2) visits No. 1 North Rockland on Friday. "We're obviously the underdogs," the coach said, "but our kids are excited for the opportunity."

Dean Fitzsimmons threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jezreel Brooks in the second quarter and the Storm defense dominated, enabling a run-heavy offense that featured Dylan Fay and Liam Harris to slow the tempo. Raheem Adebola had 1½ sacks, Chris Schetter forced a fumble, Joe Mignone played well at linebacker and Aiden Forbes led the secondary.

"We won the game the only way we could against a team that was bigger and faster," Hogan said. "Our (offensive line) played well and we picked up enough first downs to play keep-away. Our guys managed the game well."

Our Lady of Lourdes 58, Goshen 33: Drew Kozak ran for a career-high 315 yards and scored four touchdowns, leading the Warriors to a win that clinched for them a berth in the Section 9 Class A playoffs.

Lucas Pascale ran for a season-high 90 yards, freshman Anthony Daniels scored his first two varsity touchdowns, and Dane Bryan returned from injury and scored a touchdown. Lorenzo Castro made 10 tackles and Connor Wilson had seven tackles.

"We're a 'B' school playing a difficult schedule against larger schools and we're in the playoffs again," Warriors coach Sean Keenan said. "The coaches couldn't be happier or more proud of our players."

John Jay 28, Mamaroneck 7: Vinny Angioletti ran for 67 yards and a career-high three touchdowns to lead the Patriots (2-6). Logan Lawrence threw a 20-yard touchdown to Derek Schukal. Nick Procaccino had an interception that set up a touchdown in the third quarter as John Jay scored 21 points in the period.

Logan Guistino had a sack and Cruz Calcagni and Gerald Berko played well in the secondary, helping limit Mamaroneck to 12 passing yards. The Patriots ran the ball almost exclusively in the second half and the offensive line of Guistino, Charlie Welch, Jason Richards, Aidan Miceli, Nick Pollock and tight ends Procaccino and Schukal dominated.

"It was our senior night,” coach Jim Cancellari said. “If this was the last game these guys play on our field, it was a nice way to go out."

Marlboro 21, Beacon 14: Salvatore Montaperto Jr. rushed for 211 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yard burst, for the Iron Dukes (5-2), who secured the No. 3 seed in the Section 9 Class B playoffs. Carter Rivieccio also ran for a touchdown and Sam Garitta had 11 tackles and an interception. Giorgi Partsvania and Sean Robertson each made eight tackles. Beacon is 6-2.

Haldane 35, Hastings 0: David Powlis completed 4 of 5 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns for the Blue Devils (4-3). Jake Thomas, Brody Corless and Merrick Williams each rushed for a touchdown and Mikey Philips had nine tackles and a sack.

Brody Corless' 9-yard touchdown run put Haldane on the board in the first quarter, then Thomas and Cooper Corless had long touchdown receptions in the second quarter, sending the Blue Devils to halftime with a 21-0 lead.

Spackenkill 46, Fallsburg 18: Jacob Brandenburg ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns and returned an interception for a touchdown to lead the Spartans (6-2). Jalon Morgan, Sanjiah Lassiter-Swaby and Josh Bodrick each also scored a touchdown. Wayne-Daniel Russel had three sacks and Chris Greene had seven tackles and two sacks.

Highland 54, Monticello 14: AJ Nugent ran for three touchdowns to lead Highland (6-2). Joshua Bishop ran for a touchdown and returned a punt 55 yards for a score, Logan Ellison rushed for a touchdown and threw another to Maison Bragg, and Aiden Douglass's 40-yard touchdown run created the margin.

Pawling 38, Eldred 12: Jayden Cecil threw a touchdown pass, made eight tackles and had two interceptions for the Tigers (7-1). Marc Kuhlman scored twice and Mikey Covell, Justin Mitchell and Harrison Crandell each had a touchdown.

Roosevelt 43, O’Neill 8: The Presidents improved to 3-6 and will visit Valley Central at 7 p.m. Friday.

Scarsdale 35, Arlington 21: Ryan Rancourt ran for threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Cartier Joshua and a 6-yard touchdown to Jayden Tuttle in the loss for the Admirals (3-5). Ryan Gilligan rushed for four touchdowns to lead Scarsdale (6-1). Arlington enters the Section 1 Class AA playoffs as the fifth seed and visits No. 4 Carmel next Friday.

Sullivan West 44, Millbrook 12: Kole Tempestelli ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns and had an interception for the Blazers in the loss. Dexter Kiernan and Adham Elsirafy each had an interception for Millbrook/Webutuck (2-5).

Liberty 34, Dover 28: Conor Drnek rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown and had 10 tackles and an interception in the loss for Dover (2-6). Matt Ogana ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns, Kayden Brinson made nine tackles and returned an interception for a score, and Mason Meilleur made nine tackles.

Tuckahoe 53, Poughkeepsie 12: Declan Connolly scored three touchdowns to lead Tuckahoe (4-3). Poughkeepsie finished its regular season at 0-7.

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Week 7 football roundup: Ketcham, Lourdes clinch hard-earned playoff berths