Kellenberg falls to Fordham Prep, 22-21
Fordham Prep teammates hold the trophy for the CHSFL Conference AA championship after defeating Kellenberg 22-21. (Nov. 19, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Quarterback Matt McDaniels did everything he could for Kellenberg -- lead the CHSFL in nearly every offensive category, spearhead a postseason run and rack up 345 yards and three TDs in Saturday's Class AA final. Which is exactly why Fordham Prep had no other real option.
No other option, that is, except that of the halfback variety.
Running back Logan Williamson, who scored on a 5-yard pass from James McHale, found sophomore Jarred Moorer in the right corner of the end zone for a successful two-point conversion as Kellenberg lost a heartbreaker, 22-21.
Fordham Prep scored with 18.1 seconds left to cut Kellenberg's lead to 21-20. Instead of kicking a tying extra point, they decided to go big. The play, right from the mouth of Rams coach Peter Gorynski:
"The first time , we play-faked and threw a crossing route to our tight end. I'm figuring he's a good coach, [Kevin] Hanifan. He's going to have that defended, so maybe we'll run it. Then I'm saying, we have this . What am I going to do? Take it home with me?"
Gorynski didn't take it home with him, he took home the first school title in school history instead, as Fordham Prep walked off Mitchel Athletic Complex.
It was a play they'd practiced for weeks, but only now attempted. Moorer, who considers himself more of a basketball player, said he was nervous, lost his footing, and didn't realize he'd come up with the ball until he heard the crowd. After some prodding from his coach, he admitted it was the best two-pointer he'd ever managed.
McDaniels, whose electric play at times seemed unstoppable, had an understandably different view of those raucous final seconds. "I don't know," he said. "Everything was moving fast. I was working to cover my guy. What happened, happened." Was he surprised at the call? "No. They went for two last time."
"Last time" was Week 4, when Fordham Prep (6-5) punched in a two-point conversion for the 29-28 overtime win. This is the second year in a row the Firebirds (4-7) have lost in the Class AA final.
"Everybody thinks it's some sort of gutsy call," Gorynski said. "It's survival. [McDaniels] would beat us if I put them back on the field. I wasn't going to give them that opportunity."
Gorynski's hesitance wasn't misplaced. McDaniels scored on the first play from scrimmage -- an 80-yard run past a wall of blockers and around left end. The two teams exchanged scores, as Williamson's run with 6.7 seconds left in the first quarter tied it at 7. McDaniels' 11-yard scoring run off left guard capped the very next possession, giving the Firebirds the 14-7 lead. The Rams responded on the following drive on Williamson's 1-yard TD, facilitated by James Drago's physics-defying 31-yard run, a scramble on which he broke five tackles to bring Fordham Prep to the Firebirds' 3. Drago had 27 carries for 141 yards.
The Kellenberg defense, led by Chris Alianakian and Rory Walsh, mostly contained the Rams after that, leaving room for McDaniels, who had 26 carries, to shine. After Steven Broccoli's 34-yard field-goal attempt wilted at the goalpost, McDaniels read a middle linebacker blitz and cruised up a wide open middle for a 64-yard gain. He scored on the next play, an 11-yard TD with 11:27 left for the 21-14 lead.
McDaniels, though, was stopped at the Rams' 32 on the Firebirds' penultimate drive of the game, setting up Fordham Prep's winning 15-play, 5:13 scoring drive. Kellenberg had life until the last play, an attempted hook-and-ladder that died when Brendan Fitzgerald was snuffed before getting off his lateral pass at the Rams' 30. McDaniels, the player Hanifan wanted to have the game in his hands, had been sent downfield as a receiver.
"He's the real deal," Hanifan said of his senior quarterback, who finished with 2,003 rushing yards. "He's a superstar. He carried us. He really did."
