ROCHESTER — Randolph Cardinals football coach Pat Slater has a simple game

plan that isn't much of a secret.

The Cardinals run the ball, preferring a smash-mouth approach to finesse.

That style of play proved not only to be record-setting on Friday night but it gave them

another shot at a state championship.

Randolph ran all over Section IV champion Groton, earning a 61-8 state Class D semifinal

win at Marina Auto Stadium.

An estimated 1,200 watched the Cardinals rush for a state playoff-game record nine

touchdowns. They watched Randolph just miss setting the state tournament single-game rushing

mark by four yards as the Cardinals ran for all of their 601 yards in offense without

attempting an offensive-pass play.

Senior Alan Lockwood rushed for four touchdowns, including three of at 36 yards or longer,

and finished with 220 yards on 16 carries to earn offensive Most Valuable Player honors.

Randolph (11-1) plays Moriah of Section VII (Plattsburgh area) at noon next Saturday at the

Syracuse University Carrier Dome for the state championship. The Cardinals won their only

state crown in 2005.

"This is what I've always dreamed of," senior running back Travis Terry said.

"We didn't anticipate this," said Slater of his team's performance. "When [Groton] fell

behind all of a sudden things just kept rolling for us."

That they did and they never stopped rolling for the Cardinals, even though the triumph was

somewhat overshadowed by the loss of linebacker Tyler Mendell. Mendell was taken out of the

game after suffering a knee injury in the second quarter. The injury happened after Mendell

made a momentum-turning third-down stop for a 2-yard loss after Groton (10-2) had a

third-and-1 at the Cardinals' 43 on its first possession. Randolph led, 6-0, at the time of

the injury.

After halftime Randolph players emerged from the locker room with his number drawn on their

helmets, determined to build on a 28-0 lead. They did, blitzing Groton, 27-8, with Lockwood

scoring on TD runs of 71 and 55 yards.

"This was a really good feeling to win," Lockwood said. "As soon as he [Mendell] went down

we knew we had to win. Our game plan was to outhit them. We needed to be more motivated."

"When one of our captains went down everyone stepped up and said let's bring it home for

our boy," said Terry, who ran for two touchdowns.

A 28-yard run by senior Matt Hettenbaugh gave Randolph (11-1) a 6-0 lead with 5:08

remaining in the first quarter.

Lockwood scored on a 1-yard run and a two-point conversion run by Terry made it 14-0 with

6:40 left in the second quarter.

On Randolph's next possession, three nearly identical runs from Hettenbaugh (26 for 228

yards) set up Terry for a 10-yard touchdown run with 2:22 left in the first half. Lockwood

scored on a 36-yard run before the end of the half on a drive set up by an Erik Bruder fumble

recovery.