A proud, historic season for the Jordan-Elbridge football team ended with a resilient and stirring effort in Friday night’s Section III Class C semifinal against Herkimer at Chittenango High School.
Going after its first-ever trip to the Carrier Dome for a sectional title game, the Eagles nearly erased a 21-point deficit, but found Magicians quarterback Mitchell Scherer too difficult to contain in a 42-27 defeat.
Getting terrific blocks from fullback Dan Appley, Scherer ran for 346 yards on 39 carries, scoring five touchdowns and throwing for another, all of which helped Herkimer advance to next Sunday’s sectional final against Utica-Notre Dame.
In the end, J-E paid for its rough start, something that had not taken place all season. On its way to a 7-1 mark and a first-round sectional playoff rout (42-6) over Thousand Islands on Oct. 24, the Eagles had not allowed more than 14 points all season.
Herkimer, far more experienced in big games and going after a fourth straight sectional finals appearance, got to 14 points in the first eight minutes, and didn’t stop there.
Scherer, who had led the Magicians to an 8-0 start and a no. 5 state ranking after moving back to Class C following its run to the 2013 sectional Class D title, set the tone on the game’s third play from scrimmage when he ran right and tore through J-E’s defenses on a 59-yard sprint to the end zone.
When Herkimer got the ball back, it was more of Scherer, who moved the ball to the Eagles’ six-yard line, and then scored his second touchdown of the night to make it 14-0.
Perhaps feeling the big-game nerves, J-E found it difficult to move the ball early. By the time it did get going, it trailed 20-0 as, midway through the second quarter, Scherer found the end zone for the third time, from 12 yards out.
Only now did the Eagles start to get on track, using its power to get to the Magicians’ three-yard line before quarterback Austin Barrigar scored on a three-yard run.
Even that relief was short-lived, though. Another pounding Herkimer drive led to another Scherer TD, on a one-yard plunge with less than a minute to play in the second period.
Then something happened that gave J-E fans reasons to think it could still be their night. Moving to the Magicians’ 26, it tried a hidden-ball, Statue of Liberty-type play, faking out the defense, who ran one way – while Sam Robles ran the other way, untouched, for a TD with 8.2 seconds left in the half.
Now, what seemed like a runaway was now a 26-13 game at the break, and fueled by its trickery, J-E took the second-half kickoff and marched down to Herkimer’s 21, where Barrigar found Dylan Dunham in the end zone, and Robles ran in for two points, cutting the deficit to five, 26-21.
Through all this, the Magicians stayed cool, and Appley’s 56-yard punt changed field position later in the third quarter. When Herkimer got the ball back, it was more of Scherer, running behind Appley. They paired up for a 30-yard TD run with 9:58 left and a two-point run that restored the Magicians’ lead to 34-21.
J-E still had time, but a fumbled snap led to a turnover, and Scherer promptly hit Appley for his lone TD pass of the night, from 15 yards out.
Battling to the end, the Eagles got one more touchdown on Barrigar’s 19-yard pass to Lamatt Chisholm. For the night, Barrigar completed seven of nine passes for 88 yards.
Ryan Matousek was mostly contained, the J-E runner getting just 81 yards on 12 carries – though that had as much to do with the Eagles getting into catch-up mode early. Chisholm added 79 yards on the ground.
Now a strong senior class, responsible, along with head coach Tim Hawkins, for J-E’s football resurrection, will leave, and all will wonder if the Eagles can turn this run into something long-term.
