Between The Lines
Burke Clinches Division Title With Win Over Gritty Tri-Valley; Bears’ Heroic Defensive Effort Cannot Overcome Offensive Miscues And Missed Opportunities
John S. Burke Catholic 21, Tri-Valley 7
By RICHARD A. ROSS
rross@sportsinsightsny.com
There's more here than meets the eye: Scenes from the gritty division showdown between Burke and host Tri-Valley (clockwise) Burke's Tom Sullivan catches a 46-yard pass on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage from quarterback Robert Pezzullo as T-V junior Shatik Smith does his best to break it up. Smith slipped, Sullivan raced on and the Eagles led 7-0. In the fourth quarter Smith scores on a halfback option pass tossed by Conor Walsh. Smith is pursued by Burke's Mat Cino. Burke Coach Ed Van Curen Jr. tries to fire up his team's lackluster first half effort during a time out. Mat Cino heads up field as he is pursued by T-V's Jesus Lozada. T-V cheerleaders add spirit, allure and vibrancy to the overcast day as they cheer on their beloved Bears. T-V players raise their helmets in anticipation of the coming fray. Burke's Steve Tomaszewski scores on a 12-yard run. The scoring came as Burke capitalized on an interception by Tom Sullivan. Patrick Joyner returns the second half opening kickoff 85 yards for a score to give Burke a 14-0 lead.
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—Face it. We live in a fast-paced world where events are often reported to us in sound bites, ten-second highlight reels, headlines and briefs. Rarely do we get the complete story, nor does it seem that most people want to take the time to uncover it.
But in racing to just grab the skinny on what takes place, whether it’s about a complex news issue or a game that contains much more than can be gleaned from a final score, we lose far more than we gain.
A fine run by Tri-Valley's Greg Swarthout comes to an airborne conclusion as he is upended by Burke defenders in the early going.
I suppose that’s why when I was contemplating a name for my nascent photojournalistic enterprise three years ago, I decided to call it Sports Insights. From my perspective, the larger meaning of high school sports requires a thoughtful, in-depth analysis, not just a laundry list of game details, but more importantly , an assessment of the lingering lessons such engagements impart to its participants.
As the saying goes, “The devil is in the details.” To that end, it is my hope that in the reading of this piece about the Burke-Tri-Valley football game readers will come away with a distinct picture of the day’s proceedings and the possible ramifications thereof.
Burke’s 21-7 Class C Division II win over Tri-Valley gave the 5-0 (3-0 Class C) Eagles the Division II title and punched their ticket back to the playoffs. The Eagles’ persistence, particularly in the second half was emblematic of a fine and battle- tested football team, a squad ably coached by Ed Van Curen Jr.
Tri-Valley, a team hampered by injuries, beset by inexperience and a lack of size, was nonetheless about to unveil what amounted to a herculean defensive effort that would slow the mighty Burke machine down to a crawl in the first half limiting them to a sole score, a 46-yard TD catch by senior Tom Sullivan, abetted in part by the slippage on the wet turf from T-V safety Shatik Smith. For the rest of the half, Burke moved the ball a mere 26 yards against the undaunted Bears.
Truth to be told, when Burke junior quarterback Robert Pezzullo tossed that initial strike to Sullivan on the Eagles’ first play, that quick score raised the specter of a potential rout. To their credit, neither team perceived things as such and took things in stride.
After blockers dispelled the last of T-V's would-be tacklers, Patrick Joyner continues his run to the end zone behind his 85-yard kickoff return to start the second half. Gone he is, along with the Bears' amped up spirit to start the half down only 7-0.
For the Eagles whose roster contains an uncanny 20 seniors in the fold, experience has been a dear teacher. Losing last year’s championship game 20-19 to Millbrook stung favored Burke and led to an off-season avowal to make amends in 2011.
Burke is the odds-on favorite to do just that, but winning a Section Nine title means overcoming adversity, evincing incredible persistence and will and fighting with all you’ve got on every down and in every game.
Having played Tri-Valley twice a year ago, Burke knew it was up against a gritty adversary; a team that would carry a strong belief in itself despite its disadvantages in a relentless search for an upset victory.
Tri-Valley Coach John Rusin is an impassioned leader who inspires his players to summon every fiber of their reserves to battle opponents, no matter what that team’s assets, reputation or record.
On this cloudy October 1, that gritty relentlessness was best personified in the play of junior safety/wide receiver Shatik Smith. Were Smith to step on the scale with rocks in his pockets, he might get the needle to tip at 125 pounds. “That’s generous,” quipped injured T-V quarterback Joe Mickelson.
What Smith lacks in height and weight, he more than makes up for in heart and in that sense, he embodies what Tri-Valley football is all about. It wouldn’t be long before Burke would glean the fact that on this overcast day on a sodden field, they were about to be engaged in a fight far more daunting than they probably anticipated. More than once they’d look up and see that little guy in the number 2 jersey making a big play on both sides of the ball.
The Bears won the toss and elected to receive. With Mickelson still sidelined with a hairline fracture to his tibia, Greg Swarthout would be calling signals again. The snap on the first play sailed over Swarthout’s head. He recovered it but that doomed the first series and the Bears punted. As it would turn out, that initial miscue would prove to be a harbinger of struggles for the Bears on the offensive side of the ball.
Pezzullo uncorked the aforementioned strike to Sullivan as Smith played him perfectly but slipped. Smith was giving up about ten inches in height to Sullivan who then raced for the score at 10:23 Andrew Nutt kicked the PAT and Burke led 7-0.
Swarthout had a nice run on a keeper but an ensuing fumble by Brendan Tierney was recovered by Burke. Turnovers have plaqued the Bears this season and this one would not be the last in this fray.
Tri-Valley junior Aric Boyes makes great headway as he bursts through the first tier of Burke's defense before being impeded in the secondary. The problem was T-V could not sustain any offensive momentum.
Burke set up at the T-V 42 but the Bears were about to make the first of many stands on the day as they forced the Eagles into a three and out. The Eagles faked a punt on fourth down but Pezzullo’s pass to Patrick Joyner was incomplete .
Offensively the Bears continued to sputter with a big loss on first down that would soon lead to a futile series and another punt. Burke was getting good field position but not making much use of it as Jake Morganstein returned Conor Walsh’s punt to the Bears’ 39-yard line. Troy Rossi hit Mat Cino for a loss after the Bears yielded five yards on an encroachment penalty. Good defense by Tierney and Fred Dumond forced another Burke punt.
Nutt’s punt pinned the Bears at the 12. Not only were the Bears unable to move the pigskin, Walsh couldn’t get the punt off and was tackled by Trevor Reynolds at the one-yard line. Another Burke score seemed inevitable.
Raffy Ramirez sacked Pezzullo for a loss and Christian Ward was brought down by Jesus Lozada as the Bears refused to accede any ground. A tackle by Tierney made it fourth and goal at the six as the quarter ended.
“You’re doing an outstanding job,” Coach John Rusin barked to his troops. Nutt’s field goal went wide and the Bears took over on the five after a momentous stand.
Burke’s interior defense was tough to penetrate but Cody Exner found room to turn the corner for a first down and a personal foul by Burke moved it ahead to the Bears’ 44. The Bears failed to convert on a third and five as Burke got the ball back on an interception by Steve Tomaszewski. Pezzullo threw a fourth down pass to Sullivan for a first down to the 30 with 6:05.
Another first down, this one a pass to Cino at the 16 had the Eagles threatening again but the Bears held fast again as they stopped a run for a loss and withstood a trio of incomplete passes for another big defensive stand.
The Bears had the ball at their own 22 but their offense was just not firing. A complete pass to John Monforte gave the Bears the ball at their own 44 but the half ended with nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. Burke led 7-0 at the break.
Joyner received Anthony Beale’s kickoff at the 15 and raced 85 yards behind a wall of blockers for the score at 11:45. Nutt’s PAT made it 14-zip.
Shatik Smith is wide open on this halfback option catch as Burke bit on the pitch to Conor Walsh who then threw the strike to Smith for the Bears' lone score of the game.
Aric Boyes had an electrifying run on the second play of the Bears’ first series. A holding call on a Burke defensive back gave the Bears a first down. The ball was first spotted at the three but then was moved back as officials placed it at the 25 as they marked off yardage from the line of scrimmage. But Burke would take over on downs as Swarthout’s fourth down pass to Exner was incomplete.
Burke continued to accrue penalties. A big run by Cino ended as the ball sailed out of his arms only to be recovered by Smith at the Tri-Valley 35. Once again, the Bears failed to capitalize on a Burke miscue and had to punt.
The Eagles offense wasn’t doing much better but a booming punt by Nutt pinned the Bears inside the ten yard line. Then Sullivan picked off an errant Swarthout pass on the Bears’ first play of the series. After a few losses on run attempts, Steve Tomaszewski carried it in from the 12 to make it 20-0 with 1:03 to go. Nutt’s PAT made it 21-0.
The score would remain as such until late in the fourth quarter when the Bears got on the board as Walsh took a pitch from Swarthout and heaved it to a racing Smith for a 42-yard TD. Smith, who earlier in the second half had leaped skyward to knock a ball away from Sullivan, would prove himself to be the hero in the Bears’ losing cause. Beale’s PAT made it 21-7, which would prove to be the final score.
Rusin would extol Smith in his post game comments. “His whole body must be heart. He has incredible legs and toughness on every single play offensively and defensively. I’d be comfortable putting him any place on the field. Even on that TD catch he was in outstanding coverage. He’s an excellent football players, the kind of kid you love to have on your team.”
Rusin had begun his postgame reflection by talking about his team as a whole. “I was pleased with the defense. They kept us in the game,” noting that the offensive guys were essentially the same players. “Offensively we have to do a better job. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot, especially on early downs and we are not the kind of team that overcome that,” he averred.
I commend my team’s efforts and I know they left it all out there on the field today but we have to be a more crisp team if we’re going to have any chance at the playoffs. We cannot turn the ball over , especially against a quality team like Burke.
Eyes on the prize. Burke senior Captain Spiro Nanakos waits to shake hands with the Bears. Now it's on to bigger things for the Eagles who lost last year's title game to Millbrook by one point. For the senior-laden squad there is no such thing as next year's quest.
We have to do a better job of protecting the football and answering scores. Over the years we’ve proven ourselves to be a pretty formidable team offensively. We’ve got to work together-linemen, receivers and backs to get on the same page to put together some drives. Defense will keep us in games but we need our offense to win.
I love this team with all of my heart,” said Rusin.
Burke Coach Ed Van Curen Jr knew his team had been up against a tough opponent. “They played very well today,” he began.
“This was a tale of two halves. We’ve been coming out and playing effective offense this year. Tri-Valley is a great team and they’re well-coached. They now us well. We saw them twice last year and we may well see them twice again. Class C is turning into really fine football.
In the first half we kind of sleep-walked so in the second half we knew we had to come out and get our offense working. They played great defense against us. They were forcing us into three and outs . Our special teams did a great job though of pinning them deep.”
Asked about the sodden field and its impact on his team’s effectiveness, Van Curen noted, “We’re two running tams. We throw the ball out of necessity but this field certainly slowed us down. As for Tri-Valley, they’re a Wing-T team which relies on its ability to make cuts to get upfield.”
Runners like T-V’s Cody Exner were certainly hampered by the field as well as Burke’s excellent lateral pursuit.
Burke plays Fallsburg for its last league game of the season, while Tri-Valley (1-4, 1-1 Class C) must defeat Fallsburg and Millbrook in order to make it to the postseason.
Tri-Valley Statistics.
Rushing: Cody Exner 10/29; Greg Swarthout 11/37; Brendan Tierney 7/21; Aric Boyes 9/49; John Monforte 2/-1. Total 39/133
Passing: Swarthout 1/14/36 with two interceptions; Conor Walsh 1/36 TD. Total passing 4/15/72
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