Simply put, the Christian Brothers Academy was tired of seeing important Class AA-1 division games snatched from them.
Faced with the distinct possibility that it might miss the Section III Class AA playoffs, the Brothers erased a 14-point deficit, made the key plays down the stretch and beat Rome Free Academy 40-36 Friday night at Alibrandi Stadium.
In the previous two weeks, CBA had blown double-digit leads to both Baldwinsville and Cicero-North Syracuse, turning a highly-anticipated campaign into one of immense concern.
RFA beat the Brothers at Alibrandi in last year’s AA playoffs, but the Black Knights faced its own crisis, as it could miss the post-season for the first time in 30 years.
If ever a game showed the value of installing an artificial surface at Alibrandi, this was it. A constant rain that would have turned the old grass into a sea of mud instead just made things wet – but still tricky.
It took a while for both teams to adjust, and in fact the first quarter was scoreless. It would not stay that way, though.
Tyler Hamblin threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Yosh Karbowniczak, putting CBA ahead 7-0 early in the second period, but RFA answered with back-to-back scores on short runs by Dante Mezza and Rich Stapleton.
The deficit grew to 21-7 in the third quarter, thanks to the Black Knights’ Kyle Kimball going 23 yards for his own touchdown. But now it was time for CBA to stage a rally of its own.
John Greacen and Fajri Jackson both scored on 13-yard runs, cutting the margin to 21-20. Late in the period, Hamblin went deep – and found Karbowniczak again, the scoring play covering 59 yards and giving CBA a 26-21 lead.
It stayed wild in the fourth quarter. Twice, RFA too the lead with long TD runs – Anthony DeJean from 61 yards, Jordan Henry from 42 yards.
Both times, CBA answered with long marches that led to the end zone. Hamblin scored on a one-yard run, and Jackson’s two-yard run with four minutes left erased the Black Knights’ 36-33 lead.
Still, RFA had a chance to win, moving yet again into CBA territory before Andy Russo forced a fumble with two minutes to play, allowing the Brothers to run out the clock.
CBA (3-2, 1-2 league) goes to the Carrier Dome next Friday to face Liverpool (5-1), who is using the Dome as a temporary home until its new turf is ready in 2010. The Brothers need to beat Liverpool or Central Square on Oct. 16 to insure playoff participation.