Football: The ball bounces Brewster's way in come-from-behind win
BREWSTER — In a football game that had a little bit of everything, Friday night's showdown between Brewster and Yorktown had, more than anything else, an unforgettable closing six minutes.
Make that closing five minutes and 47 seconds.
In that time, the ball was fumbled three times and the teams combined to score three of the game's six touchdowns.
And in a game that was heavy on outstanding offensive performances, it was Brewster's defense that scored what would be the game's winning touchdown off a strip and fumble recovery by sophomore Nick Smith and it was the Bears' defense that ensured its 28-21 lead would hold up when senior Logan Simon stripped the ball from a player who had been a virtual one-man wrecking crew, scoring twice and amassing more than 200 yards on the ground.
"It was an insane game," said Brewster junior Colin LaMoreaux, whose early first-quarter 15-yard touchdown reception from Massimo Parrello accounted for, with the PAT, the only points the Bears would score until early in the fourth quarter.
"Our guys wanted it. Big people made big plays," LaMoreaux said.
"This was the best game ever," Simon concluded.
What it means
The win boosted what had been Brewster's slim hopes of making the post-season, while Yorktown football coach Pantelis Ypsilantis characterized the Huskers' post-season chances as "really, really small," saying they'd have to rely on multiple things to happen with other teams to "back in" to the playoffs.
Player of the game
Top game honors were shared by two Bears.
Parrello threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. His 15-yard strike to LaMoreaux followed a 56-yard hook-up with Luke Sanchez, which put the ball on the Husker 15.
And Joe Anfuso had what arguably could be the play of the game off a broken play.
With Brewster trailing 21-14 with the ball on its own 45 yard-line on a second-and-eight with fewer than five minutes remaining, a handoff exchange from Parrello to Anfuso ended up with the ball on the ground. But Anfuso scooped the ball up, changed direction, eluded and outran tacklers for 38 yards down the left sideline to the Yorktown 17. A few plays and a couple of Yorktown penalties later and Parrello went in from less than a yard out.
By the numbers
Brewster (2-3) — Besides the 15-yarder to LaMoreaux, Parrello had a 33-yard touchdown pass to Luke Sanchez that tied the score at 14 early in the fourth quarter. Smith's winning touchdown occurred when he sniffed out a screen pass around the Yorktown five-yard line and stripped the ball, which rolled into the end zone, where Smith got it. That occurred with 1:46 left on the clock. Kevin Perez was 4-for-4 on PATS. Sanchez had a fourth-quarter interception in Bear territory.
Yorktown (3-3) — Simon, who had attempted to do so multiple times, may have stripped him of the ball with little more than a minute to play, but Justin Meyreles had a terrific game for the Huskers. He had 34 carries for 232 yards, including touchdowns of 57 and 35 yards. The latter broke a 14-14 tie with 5:47 remaining. Quarterback Kade Gonzalez connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass with Tom Costello to draw Yorktown even at the half after the PAT. Ronan Forde was 3-for-3 on PATs. Defensively, Ryan Vogel led Yorktown with six solo and six combined tackles. Yorktown had four sacks with Chris Constantine recording two and Forde and Ryan Cane having one each.
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They said it
Of Meyerels, Ypsilantis said, "He's been phenomenal all year."
"Sometimes," he concluded of the game, "you have no luck or breaks going your way."
"We talked all week about players stepping up and making big plays at the right time," Bears coach Ed Mulvihill said. ... "I hope this is a turning point and we're finally over the hurdle. Sometimes guys make plays and you get that winning feeling and that's all you need."
Up next
Yorktown will host Lakeland at 7 p.m. Friday. Brewster will travel to Fox Lane next Saturday for a 2 p.m. game.
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at both @HaggertyNancy and at @LoHudHockey.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Football: Brewster comes from behind with late TDs to beat Yorktown
