(November 28, 2004) - SYRACUSE - It was as if someone spent time building a house of cards only to see it keep getting knocked down before completion.

The LeRoy Oatkan Knights walked away from the Class C high school state football final proud, but frustrated after a 14-6 loss to Dobbs Ferry of Section I Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

Three times they made it inside the Dobbs Ferry 40-yard line, twice in the second half. The Oatkan Knights were able to go on and score only once, a quarterback sneak by Mark Bennetti with 3:37 remaining.

"We tried our hardest but we got a couple of bad breaks," said LeRoy's Mike Farabella after he was named the most valuable offensive back of the game. "Then when we did move it (deeper), we finished off the drive, but missed the extra point. "They weren't too bad ... they were pretty good."

This loss hurt the Oatkan Knights (12-1), who lost in the semifinals at Syracuse University two years ago.
Coach Brian Moran didn't wait to leave the field to tell the Oatkan Knights how proud of he was of them. Moran later said that Dobbs Ferry was too good for his team to get away with not capitalizing on opportunities.

"They do some nice things," said Moran, about the Eagles (13-0). "They are extremely quick on the defensive side of the ball and we didn't make some plays when we had the chance. At this level, you have to make plays when you can."

Dobbs Ferry, ranked No. 2 in the state, is almost sure to switch positions with top-ranked LeRoy in the final rankings.

"We figured that we would have to come out and run the football," Moran said. "No. 1, to dictate the clock and No. 2, the less they had the ball the better off we thought we would be."

Sound strategy but the Eagles led the entire game. They scored both of their touchdowns on back-to-back possessions during the second quarter.

Dan Juvan, named the most valuable player of this game, engineered and capped a 13-play, 81-yard drive with a 4-yard scoring run with 9:37 remaining in the first half.

Le Roy then moved from its 24 to the Dobbs Ferry 37 before turning the ball over on downs. The Eagles took possession and scored four plays later, after a 53-yard reception by Bob Stutz.

A Le Roy defensive back mistimed his jump to grab or knock away the pass, and the play set up a Juvan's 8-yard touchdown pass to George Kalaba.

LeRoy came out after halftime and methodically moved to the Dobbs Ferry 24 in 17 plays. One of those was a pass by Andrew Fox to Kevin Brady on fourth-and-nine at midfield while in punt formation.
The drive later stopped when Tony Goodwin used his 285-pound body to drag down Brady well short of the first down on fourth-and-14 after a short pass.

Bennetti pushed his way into the end zone from one yard to get Le Roy on the scoreboard after another 13 plays that covered 86 yards.

The Oatkan Knights needed the ball back, so they attempted an onside kick, which Dobbs Ferry recovered and ran out the clock.

LeRoy drops Class C Final to Dobbs Ferry 14-6
Recap written by Brian Hillabush - Batavia Daily News Sports

SYRACUSE - With a sophomore quarterback, a junior tailback and several other key young players, you get the feeling this could be just the beginning of a dynasty for Le Roy. The Le Roy football team made the New York State Public High School Athletic Association finals Saturday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, but came up short, falling to Section 1 champion Dobbs Ferry 14-6.

"We are very experienced and we've been here before," said Dobbs Ferry quarterback Dan Juvan, who passed for 113 yards and a touchdown to earn MVP honors. "We knew what we had to do. We just had to go out and do it."

The Oatkan Knights were nearly unstoppable this season, but ran into a team that has a history like Le Roy's and was loaded with experienced players.

"It was a great football game and they were a great team," Le Roy coach Brian Moran said. "A team like that, you just try to limit their offensive takes. Today they scored and they shut us down a couple of times. I think their team speed really dictated things today."

The biggest blow for Le Roy was the time both teams took off the clock in the third quarter, without scoring any points. Dobbs Ferry started the second half with the ball and a 14-0 lead. The Eagles drove 13 plays and moved the ball from their own 14-yard line to the Oatkan Knight 32 before Juvan was stopped short on a keeper. The drive took nearly six minutes off the clock. Le Roy drove, but the 17-play drive that took eight minutes off the clock resulted in no points as Mark Bennetti had trouble with the snap and wound up getting sacked on third down. The fourth down play was a screen to Kevin Brady that came up short.

"We were in a situation where we wanted to score in the third, but there was still the fourth," Moran said. "You still had to limit their offense. They are a good football team and you have to limit the amount of points they score, and you have to keep them off the football field."

The Eagles went three-and-out and this time the Oatkan Knight could finally muster a scoring drive.
Junior Mike Farabella had a key 19-yard run and Bennetti hooked up with receiver Boo Hinett, who pitched it to Farabella on a hook-and-ladder play that resulted in 33 yards. The drive ended with a Bennetti 1-yard scoring run. Shaun Swanson's kick failed and the Oatkan Knights trailed 14-6 with just over 31/2 minutes left in the game.

Le Roy tried the onside kick, but Dobbs Ferry recovered. The Eagles could only run 15 seconds off the clock as the Oatkan Knights used two timeouts and set up a punting situation. But, Le Roy was called for encroachment and Dobbs Ferry never punted. Instead, the Eagles got the first down because of the free yardage and ran out the clock from there.

"We just couldn't get it done," running back Andrew Fox said. "They had a good team and we couldn't get it done." The Oatkan Knights ran up the middle often in the first half and Dobbs Ferry was for the most part able to stop it. The longest Le Roy run of the first half was a Mike Farabella 18-yard run on the first offensive play of the second quarter. "Their inside tackles were very good," Moran said. "They did a nice job. We could move the ball a little off tackle, but it was one of those days." That run came after a first quarter in which neither team moved the football until late. The Eagles had just finished a 13-play drive that ended with a Juvan 4-yard touchdown run.

Farabella had his run and Fox had an 11-yarder a couple of plays later, but that was it for an offense that only managed 110 yards in the first half. The Le Roy drive stalled and Bennetti had a pass tipped on a fourth-and-3 at the Dobbs Ferry 37. The Eagles scored four plays later. After two short runs, Juvan went deep to Bob Stutz, who got above cornerback Hinett and pulled the ball down. The play wound up gaining 53 yards and set up an 8-yard touchdown pass from Juvan to George Kalaba.

"We've probably ran that play a million times in practice," Juvan said. "It comes down to practice. All the hours we put in, it came into play in the game."

The Oatkan Knights did move to midfield, but had to punt the ball away. Farabella rushed for 121 yards to earn most valuable offensive back honors. Tim Andrews was the most valuable defensive back for Le Roy.

Le Roy ends the year 12-1 and with the knowledge that they are the second best team in the state for Class C. "I'm really proud of the kids this year," Moran said. "They performed extremely well and they played very hard. They are a great group of young men and that's what I'm going to take from this year."