Football: Harrison defense rules day as Huskies beat Mahopac to advance to Class A semis
It had stuck in their craw for nearly two months.
A blown halftime lead, a normally solid defense yielding 21 unanswered second-half points.
A loss they thought should have been a win.
But Friday night, in a rematch with a lot more on the line, the Harrison football team was able to pretty much close the door on its earlier loss to Mahopac.
With a huge defensive effort that derailed a Wolf Pack offense that was averaging a hair under 20 points per game, host Harrison shut out Mahopac 18-0 in the Section 1 Class A quarterfinals.
What it means
With the win, the Class A South top-seed Huskies, now 7-2, will play next Friday against Class A North second-seed Yorktown, which routed Clarkstown South 41-14 Friday night.
That semifinal game will take place at Harrison. The kickoff time is still to be announced.
Mahopac, now 5-4, will play a season-closing consolation game.
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Key plays
Friday, Mahopac, whose win against Harrison had come on the road. never gained any significant offensive traction until the second half and then couldn't find the end zone.
Two big reasons were Damian Nikollaj and defensive lineman Artis Balidemaj.
Down 12-0 at the half, Mahopac started a drive at its own 43 to open the third quarter after a nice run-back by Nate Mascoll of the opening kickoff.
Wolf Pack QB DJ DeMatteo directed a drive to Harrison's 34. But on third-and-nine Nikollaj deflected a DeMatteo pass, which fell harmlessly to the turf. And on fourth down, he read a draw to DeMatteo and nailed him for a three-yard loss. to give Harrison the ball.
The 6-foot-4 defensive lineman Baildemaj, who knocked down and nearly picked a DeMatteo pass on its next possession, stopping a drive on Mahopac's own 44 and forcing a Mahopac punt that preceded Harrison's final touchdown, effectively put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Mahopac began a drive on its own 20 that included a great sliding catch by Quentin Bally for 23 yards a 33-yard run by DeMatteo and DeMatteo passes of seven yards to John Kearney and of nine yards to Anthony Eppolito.
But on third-and-goal from Harrison's 6, with about 6:50 left in the game, Baildemaj got his hands up again, as he had in the third quarter, with DeMatteo looking to pass over the middle. This time he picked the ball off.
Harrison, meanwhile, did a lot right offensively, save for convert a kick (it was blocked after a low snap) and convert two two-point tries after scores.
The Huskies wasted no time in scoring.
Ben Ptshanik ran 54 yards with the opening kickoff to the Mahopac 21.
A few plays later, including a Christian Barchella three-yard, fourth-and-one conversion, quarterback Marco Citro went in for the TD from a yard out.
Harrison's next score came in the second quarter after it got the ball on its own 40 after a Mahopac punt.
A 14-yard run by Chris McLaughlin and a Dante Lanza four-yard pickup on third-and-one helped lead to Lanza's 16-yard TD run.
Harrison's last score, which came with 11:09 left in the fourth quarter, began in the third quarter at its own 19.
It included a sweet cutback run of 24 yards by Joe Crupi. But it was Barchella who got the TD, first running 11 yards to the Mahopac 6, then going in from there on the next play.
Harrison ocllectively finished with 29 carries for 193 yards and the three TDs. It also had 77 yards through the air with Citro going 4-for-10 for 63 yards and Lanza 1-for-1 for 14.
Barchella was the Huskies' leading ground-gainer, carrying 13 times for 83 yards, including the one TD.
Crupi had 44 yards on three carries. Lanza had six carries for 28 yards, including his big 16-yard score, and Citro carried six times for 25, including his one-yard TD. Michael Olsey also had a 13-yard carry.
They said it
Harrison coach Jay Ciraco was appreciative of his defense's effort, judging it "fantastic."
Calling the junior Balidemaj an "athlete," he said pass his knock-down and interception were "huge."
And good field possession was also key to the win, Ciraco said, as was controlling the ball and not turning it over. Harrison fumbled three times, losing it once, in the previous meeting between the two teams.
The game proved a surprise to Mahopac coach Anthony DeMatteo, who had thought his crew would come out stronger.
"I just don't think they were ready to play. It was probably the best practice we've had at Mahopac. The kids were dialed in. But when we came out, we looked flat," he said, noting when the Wolf Pack's offense finally started to click, that didn't translate to points.
Balidemaj, who said he leapt for the interception after seeing the younger DeMatteo look in his direction, attributed his team's performance in part to its earlier loss to Mahopac.
"One thing on our mind was vengeance," he said. "We had the mindset we wanted to get back what we lost."
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: lohud high school football: Harrison beats Mahopac, goes to semifinal
