HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
North’s late TD decides Lions Classic air duel
NORTH TONAWANDA … Three yards and a cloud of dust? Try 55 yards and see you later in North's 23-20 victory in Wednesday night's Kensington Lions Football Classic.
A game typically marked by low scores and grind-it-out running witnessed a 55-yard pass, five touchdown throws and a thrilling finish fittingly decided through the air.
"To tell you the truth, I didn't expect a shootout," said North coach Dean Santorio, head coach at Grand Island. "It was a great game for fans to watch, but hectic for us."
Down by four midway through the fourth quarter, North quarterback Zack Stubbendeck of Williamsville East found Josh Barrett, his rival in the fall from Williamsville North, in the middle of the end zone for a 14-yard go-ahead score.
Yet it could not end so simply, with the near-capacity crowd of about 2,000 at North Tonawanda High School Stadium ending the game on its feet. With no time left on the clock, South quarterback Adam Piscitello heaved one final Hail Mary into the end zone.
For one of the few times Wednesday, the ball hit the ground, just eluding the hands of South's diving receiver.
"Both teams played to the max, like it was their last game ever," said Cardinal O'Hara running back Reggie Garner, the game's offensive MVP who ran for a touchdown and helped North wear out the clock.
But it was the teams' unexpected supremacy in the sky that dominated the show.
South quarterbacks Mike Bartoszek of John F. Kennedy, Adam Piscitello of Cheektowaga and Matthew Thomas of Hamburg all threw for touchdowns while Stubbendeck threw for one score and Kevin Ogiba of Niagara-Wheatfield connected on a 55-yard pass and fired a TD throw.
With the two squads putting up 36 first-half points, the game looked to be the highest-scoring contest in the 33-year history of the Classic, which the South leads, 19-14. (In 1989 they totaled 58 points.) Turned out, though, that the defenses came to play in the second half.
South took a 20-16 lead into halftime and seemed bent on leaving the score alone. In the fourth quarter alone, South made two critical stands on fourth-and-9 inside its 20.
First, North completed a first-down pass before Depew cornerback Greg Osika stripped the ball from the wideout and South recovered. And after South fumbled the ball back to North on the next play, South forced a fourth-down incompletion.
But North's offense was relentless, and finally punched it in. When the winning throw landed in Barrett's hand, Stubbendeck threw up his arms and ran toward Barrett.
"It's just so exciting," Stubbendeck said. "You got the crowd going and those heat-of-the-moment emotions. .‚.‚. To go out with a win, it's just great."
KENSINGTON LIONS CLUB ALL-STAR CLASSIC SUMMARY
North 23, South 20
North 10 6 0 7…23 South 7 13 0 0…20
S: Banach 6 pass from Piscitello (Jesonowski kick)
N: FG Savasta 27
N: Garner 2 run (Savasta kick)
N: Feggans 3 pass from Ogiba (kick failed)
S: Davis 48 pass from Bartoszak (kick failed)
S: Biggs 26 pass from Thomas (Jesonowski kick)
N: Barrett 14 pass from Stubbendeck (Savasta kick)
