SECTION 4 FOOTBALL: ELMIRA SCORES LATE TO TOP CORNING FOR 2ND STRAIGHT SECTIONAL TITLE (24 PHOTOS) (2024-11-15)
By Brian FeesSouthern Tier Sports ReportCORNING — The Elmira Express were just over four minutes away from having their sectional title hopes end, when they scored two times in the final 4:04 to beat Corning 35-22 on Friday night.
“I’m pretty pleased with my guys,” Elmira coach Jimmy McCauley said. “From the kids we pulled up to the juniors and seniors that were with us for the entire year, my guys that coach with me, this was a tough one for us. A couple of our guys from last week, didn’t know what the status was until really, really late in teh week.
“They did a phenomenal job. Football is extremely physical and you’ve got to be able to hold your own. I think tonight was a huge part mentally. You can’t get too high when you’r up, you can’t get too low when you’re down. You have to stay stable and I thought the kids did a really, really nice job of that tonight.”
Corning led 22-20 in the fourth quarter when Zach Conklin hit Julian Colon on a 51-yard touchdown with 4:04 left. Conklin scored on the two-point run.
“I know I can trust Zach,” Colon said. “He’s going to put it in the right spot, I’m going to catch it. When I broke the tackle, I seen nothing but green. I just kept running, seen his shadown, seen his shadow, so I seen number five, Brandon, he told me to come over and follow the block. I made it in and that was that.”
For Conklin it was special seeing Colon break a tackle on the way into the end zone on the go-ahead score.
“Honest, it was crazy,” Conklin said. “The whole game was crazy and for him to get the sealing touchdown just put a lot on top.”
Colon then wrapped up the scoring with 57 seconds left on a three-yard run. Maize Miller hit the extra point to cap the scoring.
For Elmira it was a second-straight sectional title.
“It feels amazing,” Colon said. “Obviously sectional championship two years in a row. My first one I won as a 10th grader. It just feels amazing, knowing I can come out here and trust my guys every play to get it done. The defense came through big, a couple stops when we needed it and we pulled through.”
“A lot of excitement, a lot of excitement,” Conklin said. “Very proud of everybody.”
Corning struck first in the game as Brenden Jardin-Reed scored on a 16-yard run with 7:07 left in the first quarter. The two-point try failed and it was 6-0.
Elmira came back as Colon hauled in a. 49-yard touchdown pass from Tonkin 3:07 later on a perfect throw as Colon caught it on the run and raced in to make it 6-6 after one quarter.
Elmira took the lead at the half as Daeshaun Harris scored on a. 53-yard run right up the middle. The two-point try failed and it was 12-6 just 10 seconds into the second quarter.
The game stayed 12-6 into the third when Conklin hit Marcus Brooks on a 16-yard touchdown. On the two-point try Conklin flipped the ball to Colon who pitched to Brandon Bertelsen to put Elmira up 20-6.
Down two scores Corning fought back over the next 4:32, scoring twice in just 2:07.
James Freeman scored on a 24-yard run with 4:26 left in the third and he had the two-point run and Freeman then scored on a 19-yard run Taj Sides had the two-point run to put Corning up 22-20.
Corning got the second scored as they downed Elmira at the two on the kickoff and then Elmira got off just a nine-yard punt from the 10-yard line.
After leading much of the game Elmira suddenly found themselves behind, but they fought back.
“It was a battle of field position,” McCawley said. “It felt like we got pinned a couple times, whether it be a return or a kickoff, just got pinned and really couldn’t get out. But, it’s a three-phase football game. Our special teams I thought played really well toward the end, made an extra point, two long kickoffs.
“Defense came up with a stop, and offense did enough. We got the ball to one of our guys and made a couple guys miss. We’re guys from Elmira, that’s what we believe we can do and that’s what happened. I’m extremely, extremely happy with our guys. Our kids played phenomenal tonight.”
While they were behind the Elmira players never hung their heads.
“Always keep my head up,” Conklin said. “Everybody try to keep the team up. Knowing, I’m a leader of the team, just trying to keep everybody up, not let anybody get down.”
Corning was hurt by penalties in the game as they had a first-half Freeman touchdown called back on a hold, and didn’t end up scoring on the drive. On the drive before Colon’s final touchdown Corning had a screen pass to Jardin-Reed that had them deep in Elmira territory with a chance to tie the game, or take back the lead, but it was called back on a hold and Corning threw an incomplete pass to turn over the ball on downs.
The Hawks were also hurt on defense as a holding penalty by the defense helped Elmira move the chains on what would have been a fourth-and-two.
Bertelsen picked off a passion Corning’s final drive.
“Not taking anything from Elmira, I thought they did some really good things,” Corning coach Mike Johnston Jr. said. “They went out and they competed hard and obviously won the game.
“A couple, three things, stood out to me. We stalled on two drives and were down inside the red zone and didn’t score. Kudos to them, they played great defense today. I thought our pass defense was not very good, we just gave up too many long passes. I thought the penalties killed us. They were deciding factors on third and fourth down and long on both sides of the ball. I thought they killed us. There was a defensive holding call that was third and very long that gave them a first down and I thought that was the change in momentum.”
Conklin was 6-for-11 passing for 174 yards and three scores in the game for Elmira.
“It’s things we see on film, but again it comes down to these guys,” McCawley said of the passing game. I thought Zach did a really nice job of taking what was there, never forcing anything. But, our guys that catch the footballs e might not be able to call those plays a lot, so when they’re there you better execute. That’s when we’re calling your number. The guys came through. Marcus Brooks came through big I think in the second half offensively and defensively. I just am extremely pleased with our guys. They deserve every second.”
For Conklin the trust by the coaches played a key role in the game.
“The trust of our coaches,” he said. “He has so much trust in us and he relies so much on us to put the ball in the air, to get it to our guys. All the trust and confidence in our coaches.”
Johnston Jr. was impressed with the play of Conklin.
“I like him,” Johnston Jr. said. “He’s got poise. I think he’s a dual-threat quarterback. He can do a lot of different things back there and you’ve got to honor him for that. We thought we needed to get pressure on him and he eluded or evaded the pressure several times and found open receivers. They did a nice job. They had a great game plan. Jimmy and his staff deserve a pat on the back for that.”
Colon had three grabs for 112 yards for Elmira and he ran for 38 yards on eight carries.
“Great player, great player, works so hard,” Conklin said. “Day in and day out, comes to practice, doesn’t miss. Works so hard.”
For Colon the relationship he has with Conklin on the field has always been good.
“Me and Zach, we always had that connection,” Colon said. “We work in practice. He knows if he throws the ball I’m going to go get it. If I run my route, he knows I’m going to be open. I’m going to catch it and take off. We’ve always got that connection, I know I can trust him.”
For the second straight year Elmira lost the regular season game with Corning, but came back to win in the playoffs.
“We looked at the film,” Colon said. “Watched film every day that week, changed up the defense. The defense came through big. Liam Ogden, he came through big on a lot of stops.”
Harris had 63 rushing yards on 13 carries and Breyan Brooks ran for 53 on 12, while Conklin ran for 14 yards.
Freeman had 18 carries for 124 yards for Corning and Sides ran for 46 yards on 11 carries, while Jardin-Reed had 31 on 10 carries and Clayton Smith ran nine times for 27 yards
Ian Harpster threw a seven-yard pass to Jardin-Reed in the game.
Elmira plays Christian Brothers Academy, who beat Cicero North Syracuse 21-13 on Friday. CBA is the defending state champions and they beat Elmira in October.
“I’m going to enjoy this one tonight,” McCawley said. “Much deserved. I think the coaches, we’ve got the easy part. We stand on the sidelines. These guys have to make sure they hold onto the football, they excite, they’ve got to be thinking of nine things at once and they deserve every second tonight. We’ll worry about the winner tomorrow when we start preparing.”
Elmira’s players know they have to just keep working hard next week.
“We’re just going to have to do the same thing as this week,” Colon said. “Fight hard, practice hard. It’s going to be cold, but that doesn’t matter. We’ve just got to do what we’ve got to do and pull through again.”
Elmira faces CBA at 6 p.m. Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse.
This year the top two teams in AA go to states, and Corning faces Section IX champion Monroe-Woodbury at noon next Saturday at FDR High School. Monroe-Woodbury beat Middletown 34-10 on Friday night.
“It’s not the outcome we wanted, but things happen for all the right reason I think,” Johnston Jr. said. “So, we’ll see what happens.”
ELMIRA 35, CORNING 22
Elmira 6 6 8 15 – 35
Corning 6 0 16 0 – 22
First Quarter
Corning: Brenden Jardin-Reed 16 run (run failed) 6-0; 7:07
Elmira: Julian Colon 49 pass from Zach Conklin (run failed) 6-6; 4:00
Second Quarter
Elmira: Daeshaun Harris 53 run (run failed) 12-6; 11:50
Third Quarter
Elmira: Marcus Brooks 16 pass from Conklin (Bertelsen run); 20-6; 6:51.
Corning: James Freeman 24 run (Freeman run) 20-14; 4:26
Corning: Freeman 19 run (Taj Sides run) 22-20 Corning; 2:19.
Fourth Quarter
Elmira: Colon 51 pass from Conklin (Conklin run) 28-22 Elmira; 4:04.
Elmira: Colon 3 run (Maize Miller kick) 35-22; 0:57
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING:
Elmira: Julian Colon 8-38; Daeshaun Harris 13-63, Breyan Brooks 12-53, Zach Conklin 3-14.
Corning: James Freeman 18-124, Clayton Smith 9-27, Brenden Jardin-Reed 10-31, Taj Sides 11-46.
PASSING:
Elmira: Conklin 6-11, 174 yards, 3 TDs, 0 Int.
Corning: Ian Harpster 1-8, 7 yards, 1 interception.
RECEIVING:
Elmira: Colon 3-112, Brandon Bertelsen 1-28, Liam Ogden 1-18, Marcus Brooks 1-16.
Corning: Jardin-Reed 1-7
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PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON.
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