True, it’s difficult to imagine that anyone as special as the Baldwinsville football team could feel like something – or more specifically, someone – was missing as it battled its way to its second consecutive Section III Class AA championship.
Yet it was quite apparent, in the wake of the Bees’ 49-20 conquest of Section IV champion Corning in Saturday’s AA regional final at East Syracuse-Minoa Stadium, that the return of that missing piece turned an already great team into something much greater.
Sophomore sensation Tyler Rouse, who had missed most of the Bees’ sectional semifinal win over Fayetteville-Manlius and all of its nail-biting 15-13 thriller over CBA in the sectional finals with a concussion, was back – and did he ever have an impact on the outcome.
First, there was the ground game. From small, meaningful gains to a pair of spectacular long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter that sealed victory, Rouse didn’t stop until he had picked up 213 yards on 21 carries, offering a lethal complement to fellow back Parker Kiff, who managed 119 yards on 18 carries and added a touchdown.
“Tyler has got that spring back in his step,” said head coach Carl Sanfilippo. “He’s a good back, and he is doing his job well.”
As usual, Rouse paid full complements to his highly-regarded offensive line – Nick Robinson, Matt Moreland, Ryland Jennings, Jake Margrey and Joe Tanguay – while saying it was fun to play again.
Corning, of course, would disagree, and never more so than in the closing seconds of the first half, just after the Hawks had seized a 20-14 lead with Jordan Frysinger’s long interception return that set up his own four-yard touchdown run.
Rouse, who had landed his own TD on a six-yard run a few minutes earlier, received the kickoff at his own 25-yard line. He said he wanted to run right, but when he saw the blockers open up a hole on the left side, Rouse cut back – and before Corning knew it, Rouse was gone to the end zone.
That 75-yard kick return for a touchdown, finished off mere seconds before halftime, completely swung the game in the Bees’ favor. “That (return) was the game,” said Sanfilippo.
Instead of trailing, B’ville went the break with a 21-20 lead, and would never get caught. It helped that the Bees’ defense, which (except for Ben Paprocki’s interception) had all kinds of trouble dealing with Corning’s team speed, clamped down and forced a pair of key fumbles deep in its own territory that Mark Stanard and Steve Mitchell would recover, both leading to scoring drives on B’ville’s part.
For the game, Nate Stoughtenger led with 10 tackles, while Mitchell and Margrey each notched nine tackles and Robinson added eight tackles. Those turnovers also negated the 385 yards of offense Corning put up as quarterback Brandon Griffin ran for 165 yards on 18 carries and Frysinger had 112 yards before leaviing the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.
Casey Colligan ran five yards for the Bees’ first TD in the opening period. Late in the third quarter, from Corning’s 26, Colligan threw a wobbly pass that looked up for grabs – until Tyler Russell shook loose from his defender, ran back to catch it, then sprinted to the end zone for a crucial TD that made it 35-20.
Rouse then put it away in his own unique way. He took a toss from midfield and streaked 49 yards to the end zone with 7:23 to play, and capped off his triumphant return by outrunning all the Corning defenders on a 64-yard TD sprint with 2:52 left.
Now Rouse, and the rest of the Bees, go back to Rochester’s Marina Auto Stadium, where it lost in last year to eventual champion North Tonawanda, and meeet Rush-Henrietta (Section V) next Saturday at 6 p.m. in the state Class AA semifinals. The Royal Comets held off Clarence 42-34 in the West regional final. The winner here goes to the Nov. 28 state final in the Carrier Dome.
Having been here before, Sanfilippo said his team clearly wants more than just a regional championship.
“It’s not enough just to be here,” he said. “We’ve got to finish the journey.”
