Pembroke crushes Moravia to win 8-man regional football championship

CICERO — For the second season in a row, there is little doubt the Pembroke Dragons is the top 8-man football team in New York state.

Pembroke, the champion from Section V, pulled away to a 36-0 win over Moravia in the NYSPHSAA 8-man regional championship game Saturday during the final act of the Tyson Totten show.

Totten scored five touchdowns at Cicero-North Syracuse High, on 16-, 78-, 33-, 53- 2-yard runs. A senior, Totten has 70 rushing touchdowns and gained more than 4,000 yards this season. He was named the 8-man state player of the year in 2022 by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

This was the final game for Pembroke, and of the state tournament put together by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.

Pembroke also won a regional championship last season and was No. 1 in the final state rankings put together by the New York State Sportswriters Association. The Dragons were in the same spot when the first set of the 2023 season state rankings were released in mid-September and they remained there as they built a 13-0 record this fall, including their first and only shutout.

Last week, the Dragons scored 107 points to reach the matchup against the Moravia Blue Devils in Section IV, a team in Cayuga County, south of Auburn and Owasco Lake.

Another fast start by the Dragons gave Pembroke a 28-0 lead by halftime.

The Moravia Blue Devils (12-1) failed to build a comeback, despite an interception thrown earlier by Totten. The 2022 Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Small Schools Team member also fumbled away the ball early in the fourth quarter as he was on his way into the end zone.

"It is hard to repeat at any level. Pros, college, high school. It's hard to stay hungry," Pembroke coach Brandon Ricci said moments after an ice cold water shower. "I was proud that the boys stayed humbled and hungry. We've been blessed with some good athletes, and blessed with some size and strength."

Football: Section V scores for 2023 season

What it means

Pembroke coach Brandon Ricci's Dragons finished the season 13-0 with back-to-back 8-man region championships. They have a combined 25-1 record during their run. Pembroke's 2022 Section V and NYSPHSAA run were firsts for the football program.

Tyson Totten has done what no other football player — 8-man or 11-man — has done before in New York State history with his rushing yards and offensive touchdown totals. The senior running back finished the season with 4,187 rushing yards. Totten is the first player in NYS history to surpass 4,000 rushing yards and 70 touchdowns.

They still take everyday of preparation seriously, and control and you can control. I was proud to see the boys come out against a very good opponent out here from Moravia, do our job and bring home another state title."

Moravia coach Fred Ott's Section IV champion Blue Devils ended the season 12-1. Ricci said Moravia averaged over 60 points per game, but his Pembroke defense was never threatened in shutting out the Blue Devils.

Players of the game

Tyson Totten

Pembroke's reigning NYS Player of the Year rushed for 401 yards and five touchdowns. Not a bad follow-up to his 626-yard, 10-touchdown semifinal performance last week. The Dragos' humongous offensive line paved the way for for a 500-yard offensive performance as Totten who did much of his damage as the Wildcat quarterback. He was hard to tackle when touched, and his speed helped him beat defenders once he bounced it outside.

"Up front we're so bought in," Totten said. "Felski, Octavius, they're so selfless. They don't care if they're getting the ball. They're blocking and giving it their all out there. I appreciate them so much."

Caleb Felski

The junior fullback rushed for over 100 yards, and could've had more if his foot didn't graze the out of bounds line in the first quarter on what he thought was a rushing touchdown. Felski was also a key blocker beside the 6-foot-3, 300-pound junior lineman Octavius Martin, who often lined up as a powerback in Pembroke's Wildcat formations. Defensively, Felski had 16 tackles and an interception.

"I'm pretty little but next to him I can do anything," Felski said. "Kids kind of start running away from us. It's pretty easy. They're scared of him and I'm just there right next to him. He makes my job pretty easy."

Luke Landis

The Moravia senior ended a Pembroke possession in the red zone with an interception. He also quarterbacked the offense, connecting with running backs Hunter Boynton and Aiden Kelly to move the ball downfield, but not nearly enough to keep up with the Dragons.

Unsung heroes

Pembroke's line

The Dragons owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Whether it was Jayden Bridge sacking the quarterback on fourth down, or Martin making a tackle for loss, Pembroke's penetration on the front line gave Landis little time to throw while Boynton and Kelly had little room to run.

"Our offseason lifting and in season conditioning make us go through the whole game," said Bridge, who had a sack and blocked a punt.

On the offensive side, senior center Ben Steinberg's crew creating running lanes for Totten to take advantage of. Gabbey, Madden Perry, Jayden Mast, Hayden Williams, Jacob Johnson are as big as advertised with great hands and strength to move people around.

"We just had to get to the quarterback. Try to get to the quarterback as much as we can and pressure them," Gabbey said.

Sportsmanship award winners

Pembroke: Senior center Ben Steinberg.

Moravia: Senior quarterback Luke Landis.

"There are years where your locker room gives you an ulcer because guys are at each other and competitive with each other in a negative way," Ricci said. "I know it's coach talk, but this really is a family. They get on each other sometimes but they're all on the same side. They love each other. It really is a brotherhood.

"I'm getting texts from our village mayor and the local fire chief, 'Go get 'em Dragons!' It's a really cool thing in small town America how the whole community comes together to support the boys. It's really special."

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Pembroke shuts out Moravia in NY 8-man regional football championship