SYRACUSE – When the Christian Brothers Academy football team lay claim to its first state championship in 2004, it culminated a long, dominant stretch for a program where winning had turned into something close to a birthright.
No one, at that time, imagined that it would take 17 years for the Brothers to make it back to a state title game at the Carrier Dome, and the fact that it did so with a team that lost its last three regular-season games made it more improbable.
Capping a memorable post-season odyssey that included two road wins, two routs in the Section III and regional finals and two second-half comebacks at the end, CBA defeated Section I’s Somers 32-31 Friday in a thrilling state Class A final.
Down early in the second half, the Brothers bolted to a 32-22 lead, but had to hang on at the end as the Tuskers got a field goal and touchdown, only to get stopped on a potential game-winning two-point try.
Somers entered the game 12-0, had shut out four opponents this season, and could draw upon recent experience, having won its lone state title just five years earlier, in 2016.
Right away, though, the Brothers applied pressure, Jordan Rae finding Amari Pitts on a 41-yard touchdown pass – only to have a holding penalty bring it back. Shaking it off, CBA twice converted on fourth down, then scored a second time before another holding penalty negated it.
Nine minutes after it started, CBA had Dan Anderson take a direct snap and find the end zone – and the third TD actually counted, as did Rae’s two-point pass to Tez Thomas.
Finally with the ball, the Tuskers put together its own drive. Matt Fitzsimmons went 29 yards to Anthony Mancuso and the extra point trimmed CBA’s lead to 8-7.
It stayed that way until the waning moments of the first half. The Brothers drove to midfield and, with 20 seconds left, Rae found Pitts over the middle and it turned into a 50-yard TD, with Rae throwing a two-point pass to James Bell.
There was still time, though, for Dass to take the ensuing kickoff at his own 17 and run past the entire Brothers coverage team 83 yards to the other end zone, and Luke Savino ran in for two points.
Instead of a two-score lead, CBA only was up one, 16-15, at the break, and it couldn’t take advantage of Alex Smith’s interception early in the third quarter, fumbling on the very next play as Jake Polito recovered it.
Dass ran 21 yards into Brothers territory, and on fourth down Mancuso took a toss and ran 29 yards for the TD that put the Tuskers in front for the first time, the extra point making it 22-16.
But CBA had come back a week earlier, from 10 points down, to beat Jamestown in the state semifinals. And it rallied again here, Rae converting from Somers’ 35 when he threw to the sideline and Anderson, in double coverage, still caught it and found the end zone.
Moments later, Anderson scrambled around until he was able to throw to Jason Brunson for two points, putting the Brothers back in front 24-22, and it didn’t take long for the margin to grow.
A three-and-out deep in Tuskers territory and a short punt led to a short field. Rae found Syair Torrence for 25 yards and, just before the third quarter ended, Rae hit Brunson for a one-yard TD strike.
For the fourth time, CBA was successful on a two-point try as Rae found Pitts, and it led 32-22 with one period left.
Not giving up, Somers cut the margin to seven on Luke Savino’s 37-yard field goal with 6:55 left, then quickly got the ball back as its defense, knocked around most of the game, forced a three-and-out.
Mixing runs and passes, the Tuskers, from its own 35, moved down the field and reached the CBA one, where Matt Kapica scored with 1:19 to play.
Originally, Somers lined up for a tying extra point. Then it called time-out and decided to try to go in front. But Fitzsimmons, rolling ;left, saw his pass picked off by Brunson, who also caught the winning TD pass against Jamestown.
CBA still had to recover an onside kick -which it did, and the Brothers’ second state championship was secured. It was the first state football title for any Section III team since Skaneateles won Class C in 2017.
Rae, throwing passes to 10 different receivers, was 27-for-39 through the air for 376 yards. Pitts caught five passes for 97 yards, while Torrence had four completions for 72 yards. Pitts added eight tackles and an interception as Tristian Korfanta earned a team-best 10 tackles to pace the defense.
