AA-mazing: Crusaders to play for it all Sunday in Syracuse

Kingston - With 16 seconds left in the first half Monroe-Woodbury was ready to break a scoreless tie when the Crusaders faced a second-and-goal at the North Rockland two-yard line. Without any timeouts left, M-W head coach Pat D’Aliso called a quarterback sneak with Greg Sullivan that came inches shy of the goal line as time expired and each team went to its locker room with nothing. That play capped off a meltdown set of downs for Monroe-Woodbury. On first down Sullivan was nearly intercepted. Then the Crusaders had to burn their final time out because of a miscommunication. Then they were stopped just short of pay dirt. The Crusaders allowed the state’s second-ranked team to take the momentum into the locker room. Or did they? Well, that was not in Mike Septh’s plans. The senior split end took a Sullivan pass 59 yards on M-W’s first series of the second half, sprung by a gorgeous downfield block by Neil Ingenito at the Red Raiders’ 30-yard line. That play would be all the Crusaders needed as they scored four unanswered touchdowns en route to a 28-0 triumph over North Rockland in the Eastern New York State Finals at Dietz Stadium Friday night. “That play really opened it up for us and we got our morale back,” said Septh. “We knew (at halftime) that we were going to be fine. We drove all those yards on them in the first half. It was just a matter of time before we scored.” The Crusaders will play in next Sunday’s Class AA state championship game against Webster-Thomas at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. Kick off is at noon. This will be not only the Crusaders’ inaugural appearance in the finals, but it will also be the first Section Nine AA team to make the trip. Rondout Valley’s 2001 team holds the section’s only state title when it snatched the class B crown. Wallkill lost in the class A title game last season. “I really don’t believe it, to be honest with you,” said D’Aliso. “We now have the opportunity to be state champs.” Junior running back David Landesberg added to the lead, racing 31 yards around left end, breaking several tackles and walking a tightrope before finally reaching the end zone. Anthony Caccarro’s second of four successful extra points made it 14-0. Landesberg, who was a non-factor on last year’s sectional championship team, had been named the game’s most outstanding offensive player in Monroe-Woodbury’s Section Nine title game win over Kingston. “What can I say?” said Landesberg. “I put my heart into it and stepped it up this year. My lineman made good blocks and we accomplished a lot tonight.” Eric Thorsten, Brian Millazzo, Dominick Lexandra, Aaron McGrady and Brian Wortman each controlled the line of scrimmage for the Crusaders. Sullivan made it 21-0 when he plunged in from five yards out with 10:32 remaining in the game. A 39-yard Landesberg run on second-and-22 was the drive’s biggest play. As for Sullivan, he was named the most valuable offensive player with 123 passing yards and 83 via the ground. Ingenito’s 23-yard touchdown sprint with 2:25 rounded out the scoring. Ironically, he was named the game’s most valuable defensive player for the Crusaders, collecting 11 tackles and intercepting two passes. Chris Dollbaum (eight tackles), Dan Mauriello (eight tackles, sack) and Keith Hale (six tackles) anchored the shutout. “Something was on our side tonight,” said nose tackle Chris Duggan.