Unlucky Warwick's season ends in Kingston, 28-19

KINGSTON - Warwick quarterback Ryan Darcey wiped the tears away from his face for a few seconds following his team’s spirited effort against Kingston in the class AA semifinals long enough to explain his theory on high school football. “Every game I walk out onto the field and I tell myself at this level anything can happen in any given game,” he said. “When things don’t go your way, you just have to fight back.” And in the 28-19 loss to the Tigers, it seemed nothing went the way of the Wildcats. First, Syracuse-bound rusher Derik Hrinya fumbled on the game’s first play. Hrinya finished with a season-low 23 yards on the day. Kingston would be on the scoreboard two plays later on a Coleman Edmond 30-yard burst. Then, it was a 16-yard desperation pass that found the open arms of Kingston receiver Jason Krakowski on third-and-long to give the Tigers a 12-0 advantage in their home stadium. Matt Stranski (24 carries, 101 yards) punched in Warwick’s first score with 2:15 left in the half. John Sala made the extra point to cut the lead to 12-7. But he missed two pivotal kicks later in the game, including one that would have knotted the game at 20. The Tigers threatened to add a late score, when they moved inside the Warwick 10-yard line with less than 30 seconds left in the half. However, on fourth-and-goal, Darcey met Edmond at the right pylon and forced him out of bounds, preventing any further damage. However, it wouldn’t take Edmond long to reach the end zone again. With 7:04 left in the third quarter, he jetted around right end for a 34-yard scoring run.He would eventually win the game’s most outstanding offensive player as he finished with 227 yards and three touchdowns via the ground and 387 total yards. Darcey’s right arm refused to let Warwick fade away without a fight. He found a streaking Isai Reyes for a 30-yard diving touchdown strike with 4:22 remaining in the third quarter. On Kingston’s next drive, Stranski made the stick of the season for the Wildcats when he unloaded on scrambling quarterback Marc Jackson, jarring the ball shot backwards 13 yards before a Tiger finally hopped on it. The hit seamed to give Warwick the momentum it needed. On the next drive, Darcey found Reyes again for a 27-yard hookup. This time the sophomore snuck behind the secondary and Darcey hit him in the back corner of the end zone. “That’s a young kid (Reyes),” said Darcey. “To tell you the truth, he made me look good. His two touchdowns were unreal. A failed extra point kept the Tigers on top 20-19 lead with 9:57 left.It took Kingston just over two minutes to regain command. Edmond capped a 70-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats were plagued by a few missed tackles on the drive, including two Wildcats defenders who had Edmond stuffed in the backfield on the two-point conversion that was eventually successful and moved the contest to a two possession game. Kingston’s ensuing kickoff bounced off a Warwick front man and shot right back to the Tigers who were sprinting down to cover the kick. The Tigers’ Greg Zifchak recovered the loose ball at the Warwick 36-yard line. Game over. Season over.