Whitesboro football ends drought, returns to state final for first time since 1996

CICERO ― The football season will stretch into December for Whitesboro after the Warriors earned a spot in the New York Class A championship game with a 43-20 victory Friday over Rochester East/World of Inquiry.

The Section III champions, winners of 12 games in a row, will meet Section I Somers, the 2022 champion and a finalist for the third year in a row, in the 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the JMA Wireless Dome. Somers defeated Section II Niskayuna 21-7 in its semifinal.

"I'd volunteer to got to practice on Thanksgiving every year for this," senior quarterback Kyle Meier said after the game, referring to the Warriors' workout on the eve of Friday's contest. "This feels amazing."

"It's a huge win for the program and the community," Whitesboro coach Curtis Schmidt added.

Whitesboro struck early against the Section V and Far West regional champion. The game's opening kickoff was a touchback, and Meier ran 80 yards for a touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage.

Meier, who would run for five touchdowns and pass for a sixth, also started the Section III championship game two weeks ago with a touchdown run on the first play. He scored his second touchdown Friday on a sneak from one yard out and gave the Warriors (12-1) a 14-0 lead five minutes into the contest.

Despite the quick start by the Warriors, Rochester pulled within 14-12 with four minutes left in the half. That left Whitesboro with enough time to pad its lead before the intermission, and Meier scored on fourth down from less than one yard out as time expired.

Carmen Centro's kick was good, extending the lead to 21-12, and he was hit on the play, drawing a 15-yard roughing penalty for the second half kickoff.

Centro squibbed the second-half kickoff and Whitesboro teammate Rishon Joseph covered the ball at Rochester's 30-yard line, setting the stage for another fourth-down scoring play - Meier to Anthony Dorozynski for a 22-yard touchdown. Meier then ran in the conversion and the Warriors had opened a 29-12 lead in the time between Rochester failing to tie the game on a two-point conversion and the Eagles' next offensive play.

From there for Whitesboro, Meier scored from 1 yard out again following a 55-yard run in the third quarter, and he ran nine yards after Patrick Wands recovered a Rochester fumble in the fourth.

Meier ran for five touchdowns for the second time this season - he has three four-touchdown games - and he went over 2,000 rushing yards for the second year in a row.

Whitesboro was previously a state finalist in 1996 when coach Tom Schoen's Warriors were beaten 27-13 by Section II Troy.

"We're the second team in school history," two-way senior starter Vincent Zajac said. "This is a huge deal. It's going to take a lot of work but this is what we've been working for.

Somers beat Section IV Union-Endicott 58-21 in last year's championship game and previously won in 2016. The Tuskers were beaten 32-31 in 2021 by Christian Brothers Academy of Syracuse, Section III's most recent state champion.

Class D

Two-time defending champion Tioga is returning to the Class D championship game after the Section IV and Central Region champion defeated Section VI's Clymer/Sherman/Panama 63-16 Friday in Cicero.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama won the two state championships prior to the canceled 2020 fall season. Tioga has won the two since, and its fourth in less than a decade.

Unbeaten Tioga's opponent will be Section II Stillwater, a 21-20 winner over Section I Haldane. Stillwater, a first-time finalist, follows last year's Section II champion, Cambridge/Salem, into the championship game.

The Class D championship game will be played at noon, Saturday, Dec. 2 in the dome, the first of three games on the first day of state finals.

Eight Player

Section V Pembroke repeated as champion of the four-section eight-player postseason with a 36-0 shutout of Section IV Moravia in Cicero.

Tyson Totten, who scored 10 touchdowns last week and had eight in a sectional playoff game, ran for five Pembroke touchdowns Friday and passed the 4,000-yard mark for the season.

Pembroke beat Groton 36-18 in the state's first eight-player final last fall.

Whitesboro 43, Rochester East/World of Inquiry 20

NYSPHSAA CLASS A SEMIFINAL at Michael J. Bragman Stadium, Cicero

Rochester East/Wold of Inquiry (12-1) 0 12 0 8 - 20

Whitesboro (12-1) 14 7 15 7 - 43

First Quarter

WBORO -- Kyle Meier 80 run (Carmen Centro kick), 11:44.

WBORO -- Meier 1 run (Centro kick), 6:55.

Second Quarter

EAST -- Quamere Reynolds 3 run (kick blocked), 11:27.

EAST -- Ervin Wiggins Jr 1 run (pass failed), 4:00.

WBORO -- Meier 1 run (Centro kick), :00.0.

Third Quarter

WBORO -- Anthony Dorozynski 22 pass from Meier (Meier run), 9:39.

WBORO -- Meier 1 run (Centro kick), 1:17.

Fourth Quarter

WBORO -- Meier 9 run (Centro kick), 4:00.

EAST -- Wiggins 52 pass from Zymier Jackson (Jackson run), 2:48.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: New York football playoffs: Whitesboro makes Class A final appearance