While it was nice for the East Syracuse-Minoa football team to polish off a perfect regular season at the expense of its neighbors, it would be even nicer if the Spartans healed a year-old wound once the Section III Class A playoffs got underway.
In the first part of that equation, ESM rode a career effort from running back Dustin Moss to a 48-28 victory over Jamesville-DeWitt at Spartan Stadium on Senior Night.
This set up the second part of the equation — a battle this Friday between ESM and New Hartford in the opening round of the Class A playoffs, a game for which ESM should have no trouble getting motivated for.
Twelve months ago, in this exact same round, ESM, following a run to the Class A American division regular-season title, met those other Spartans in this exact same round. And it got beat, 20-14, in a game where New Hartford took full advantage of ESM’s early mistakes and withstood a late rally to spring the upset.
Now New Hartford shows up with a 4-3 record (better than the 3-4 mark it sported in 2007) and a spirited attack anchored by running back Joey Carcone, who has 1,086 yards this season. Keeping Carcone contained is critical if ESM wants payback for its ’07 debacle.
Of course, ESM has its own big-time runner that can, if necessary, take over a game. Moss certainly did so against J-D, setting a new personal standard with 272 yards on 21 carries, giving him 1,163 yards this fall.
The 48-28 score does not reflect how much the Spartans controlled this game, as it built a 48-7 edge before the Red Rams staged a futile fourth-quarter comeback.
ESM got on the board first with quarterback Ben Kreischer scoring on a five-yard run in the opening period. Then it was Moss’s turn, getting the first of his two touchdowns on an eight-yard run late in that period.
The passing combination of Kreischer to Zaid Jinadu took over in the second quarter. First, Kreischer hit Jinadu on a 40-yard TD pass, and though J-D’s defense might have seen it coming, the same pair hooked up again for a 55-yard connection to make it 28-0 late in the half.
Finally, the Rams got the board when Lamar Kearse scored from five yards out, but that only made it 28-7 at the break — and it only seemed to make the Spartans angry, too.
Putting things away, ESM landed 20 unanswered points in the third quarter. Moss got in the middle of it, scoring on a 47-yard dash to the end zone, while Kreischer went 19 yards for his own TD and Jacob Curtis joined the fun, scoring from four yards out.
J-D didn’t stop battling. Joe Daddario, who was 13-for-24 for 215 yards, led three scoring drives in the fourth quarter. Daddario threw a 43-yard TD pass to Tim Bright, while Curtis Walker scored on a 24-yard run and Joe Emmi scored, too.
This gave the Rams something to be happy about as, despite a 2-5 record, it finished fourth in the Class A American division and will go to the first round of the Class A playoffs this Friday, visiting Camden (6-1) for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Under the steady guidance of veteran quarterback D.J. Forbragd, the Blue Devils went 6-1 in the regular season, tying Carthage for the Class A National division title, but claiming the tie-breaker because it beat the defending sectional champion Comets 21-20.
The J-D-Camden winner meets Cortland or Whitesboro in next weekend’s semifinal round, and if ESM gets its revenge on New Hartford, it would advance to face Carthage or Fulton.
