ROCHESTER — North Tonawanda wanted to accomplish its season-long goal of making it to

the Carrier Dome, and it sure didn't want to be the only Section VI team left behind.

North Tonawanda finished off a grand slam for Section VI as it beat Baldwinsville, 28-7,

Saturday evening before an estimated 2,000 at downtown Rochester's Marina Auto Stadium. It is

the second straight year that Section VI will send four teams to the state championships.

"We were talking about it on the way here, how great it would be," said North Tonawanda

coach Eric Jantzi. "We were the fourth guy and we had to be the last man standing. It's really

special and a great feeling. We're going to the Dome and I can't think of a better group of

guys that I'd want to go there with."



The Lumberjacks (12-0) will face Section I champion New Rochelle (12-0) at 1 p.m. next

Sunday in the Class AA final at the Carrier Dome. New Rochelle advanced by beating Section II

winner Saratoga (10-2), 28-21, on Saturday night.

The other three Section VI champions will play on Saturday: Randolph in the Class D final

at noon, Southwestern in the Class C final at 3 p.m. and Sweet Home in the Class A final at 6

p.m.

While Sweet Home and Southwestern are both defending champions, North Tonawanda will appear

in its first state championship trying to repeat the AA championship feat of Orchard Park last

year.

"At NT, we've never experienced this before," said quarterback Mike Tuzzo. "We've come all

this way and we've worked so hard."



"I'm really proud of the kids and all their hard work," said Jantzi.

As it has during these state playoffs, NT started quickly. The Lumberjacks led 14-0 after

one quarter and 28-0 at halftime.

Joe Montesanti was the offensive game MVP for NT thanks in large part to his two first-half

touchdowns, a 28-yard pass from Tuzzo and a 71-yard run. Montesanti finished with 10 carries

for 101 yards.

Tom Sell had 10 carries for 84 yards, including a 28-yard run in the second quarter that

gave NT a 21-0 lead.

The defensive MVP for NT for the game was Sean McDonough, who intercepted a pass and

returned it 50 yards for a touchdown with 31 seconds left in the first half. McDonough also

had 11 tackles, including 2 for loss and one sack. Steve Kijowski added 11 tackles and

also had an interception.

Travis Charsley had nine tackles as did Dan Montesanti. Dan Montesanti also had four extra

points in place of regular kicker Aaron Davis, who missed the game due to an abdominal tear.

In the second half, Baldwinsville scored on its second drive of the third quarter but

didn't threaten after that. The Bees moved to the NT 23 but turned the ball over on downs.

Baldwinsville, which reached the final four behind several great performances from senior

standout running back Malik Burks, had a slow start due in part to Burks sitting out the

entire first quarter due to a violation of a team rule.

"It's between Malik and the team and me, and that's a team thing," said Baldwinsville coach

Carl Sanfilippo, a Salamanca native whose father, Joe, owns the 10th-best coaching win total

in Western New York history after successful years at Salamanca and Jamestown.

Despite missing that quarter, Burks finished with 175 yards on 28 carries, including the

Bees' only TD, a 2-yarder in the third quarter.

"You have to give NT all the credit," said Sanfilippo. "I knew they were tough — I

grew up in that area. When we woke up a bit, I think we showed a little bit more of who we

were in the second half. They're a good football team and we wish them well next week."