CHRISTIAN BROTHERS ACADEMY – Past glory is something that always hangs over the Christian Brothers Academy football team – at least until it adds to that winning legacy.
The Brothers did so last Friday at the Carrier Domen with its best all-around performance in recent memory, roaring past Indian River 61-26 for the Section III Class A championship.
Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that it happened with former head coach Joe Casamento roaming the Brothers’ sidelines for this game, offering encouragement and motivation.
And what Casamento saw had to look quite familiar, an effort which rivaled what the best CBA teams put together.
A near-perfect first half saw CBA put up 26 unanswered points, as Jordan Rae threw four of his seven touchdown passes, and the Brothers’ defense shut down the Warriors’ vaunted ground attack. Then it added 29 more points in the third quarter to pull further away, the final margin only made closer by IR netting late points against the Brothers’ reserves. 25-26
In order to win its first sectional title since 2016, CBA did exactly what it accomplished Nov. 6 in the semifinals against Fayetteville-Manlius – namely, avenge a regular-season loss. IR had run wild when it beat the Brothers 51-30 in early October, gaining 557 yards on the ground. CBA’s defense knew it had to make early stops to create doubts in the favored Warriors – which it did, twice making IR go three-and-out bridging a trio of first-quarter scoring drives.
Dan Anderson’s kick return set up a short field for CBA at the outset, and it went in front as Rae fires a 13-yard scoring pass to Sayir Torrence over the middle to produce a 6-0 lead.
Minutes later, the Brothers again started in IR territory, and Anderson had several big gains before Rae, from the nine, threw left to Torrence, who eluded two tackles and found the end zone again.
CBA’S third possession started near midfield and Torrence, with a 29-yard reception, set up Rae, who threw for 113 yards in the first quarter, going 18 yards to Amari Pitts for a TD in the last minute of the period. This 18-0 lead did more than put CBA in charge. It forced the Warriors to gamble, going for it on fourth down inside its own 20 – and only making it due to a penalty. But everywhere IR turned, CBA had defenders ready to tie them up, closing gaps and making clutch stops.
On the other end, Rae and Torrence connected for 40 yards on third down and, two plays later, Rae, from the Warriors’ 35, rolled out, threw to the end zone – and Torrence got it for his third TD of the night. This, plus a two-point pass to Pitts, made it 26-0, where it stood at halftime. When a Warriors fake punt was stopped early in the third quarter, CBA capitalized again. Rae’s fifth TD pass went five yards to Jamier Handford, followed by another two-point conversion. Handford returned to turn a Rae screen pass into a 49-yard TD that, with Anderson’s conversion, extended the margin to 42-0. Only now did the Warriors get on the board, and even then the ensuing onside kick was returned by Gage Schortemeier 51 yards for a another TD. Tez Thomas tacked on a 49-yard scoring run before the period was done, Rae threw an 80-yard TD pass to Jason Brunson in the fourth quarter, and the Brothers could now relax, celebrate what it had accomplished- and then pursue a second state title to go with the one Casamento, Greg Paulus and company earned in 2004.
CBA will meet Section IV champion Union-Endicott this Friday in the regional final.