1997

Class AA: Fairport 35, Troy 14

   Will Driscoll threw four touchdown passes and ran for the Red Raiders' fifth score in the victory at the Carrier Dome.

   Defending state champion Troy saw its 23-game winning streak come to an end.

   Driscoll completed his irst seven attempts, including a 31-yard touchdown to Andy Schild in the first quarter. His nine-yard run early in the second quarter built the lead to 14-0 at the half.

Class A: Vestal 14, Queensbury 11

   Vestal put the brakes on Queensbury's vaunted ground game and wrapped up the victory with an interception with :42 to go.

   Queensbury, which averaged 320.3 yards a game on the ground entering the game, was held to 113 by the Vestal defense.

Class B: Lackawanna 14, Brewster 7

   Defensive back Rauchaun Lee returned a third-quarter interception 101 yards in the third quarter to break a tie and send the Steelers on their way to the title.

   The big play came one snap after Brewster blocked a Bob Sireika field-goal attempt.

   Brewster assembled a 15-play drive late in the fourth quarter but a halfback option pass from the 23-yard line on fourth down fell incomplete with 1:20 to play.

Class C: Dover 32, Syracuse CBA 26 (2 ot)

   Down by eight in the fourth quarter, Dover rallied to victory in the second overtime on Willie Peel's two-yard TD run.

   The Dragons trailed 20-12 before quarterback Kurt Abrams hit Peel on a 29-yard touchdown pass. Dover faked the extra-point kick and Abrams ran the ball into the end zone to tie the game at 20.

   An interception by Dover's George Morfea thwarted CBA's final possession in overtime.

   After trading touchdowns in the first OT, Dover's defense held the Brothers on downs to begin the second overtime.

Class D: West Canada Valley 22, Bronxville 14

   

1996

Class AA: Yonkers Roosevelt 27, Rome Free Academy 14

   Roosevelt returned two interceptions for touchdowns and defeated the Black Knights.

   Lewis Webb ran back an overthown pass 33 yards just 1:21 into the contest. In the fourth quarter, Shawn Oliver brought back a tipped pass 21 yards with 1:17 left.

   RFA had trimmed the Roosevelt lead to 20-14 late in the third quarter on Anthony Amo's 21-yard interception return.

Class A: Troy 27, Whitesboro 13

   Todd Ward gained 176 yards on 18 carries as the Fyling Horses pulled away from a 7-7 tie.

   Chris Breen's 15-yard run on the first poessession of the second half put Troy ahaed for good and John Tedesco scored on a four-yard recption from Jeff Reo.

Class B: Springville 9, Ravena 0

   Mark Rendell's 73-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was all the Griffins needed to complete a 13-0 season.

   Rendell carried 18 times for 150 of his team's 190 yards on the ground.

   Springville held Ravena to 3-for-14 passing.

Class C: Watervliet 20, LeRoy 19

   Greg Krikorian's 4-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter rallied the Cannoneers past the Oatkan Knights, who were riding a 22-game winning streak.

   After the 16-play, 61-yard go-ahead drive that concluded with 2:31 left, Watervliet's Brian Hyra intercepted a 16-yard pass in the end zone with :13 remaining to wrap up the win.

   Krikorian also scored on an 18-yard reception in the third quarter, and junior QB Don Kehn completed 17 of 30 attempts for 186 yards.

   Eric Geiger of LeRoy rushed 17 times for 154 yards.

Class D: Valhalla 12, Caledonia-Mumford 8

   George Kandirakis batted away a Matt Cappotelli halfback option pass with 3:03 left to preserve Valhalla's victory.

   Kandirakis had started Valhalla on its way to a 12-0 lead with a 22-yard TD reception in the second quarter. The Red Raiders pulled within 12-8 in the thir quarter and then drove 90 yards in 18 plays to consume most of the fourth quarter before turning the ball over on downs.

   Tony Carpinito rushed for 91 yards for Valhalla.

1995

Class A: Jamestown 32, Shenendehowa 18

   Fullback Joe McKoy rushed 11 times for 95 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns to lead the Red Raiders to a title-game repeat and their 26th consecutive victory.

   The Plainsmen took a 3-0 lead before Jamestown fired back with 26 consecutive points.

   The Jamestown playoff run included four shutouts.

Class B: Amsterdam 11, Lake Shore 8

   Alvaro Montes kicked a 22-yard field goal with :05 remaining to give the Rams the victory. The kick capped an 80-yard drive that began with 3:30 to play.

   Amsterdam led 8-0 at the half after a safety and fullback Joe Tegnander's -yard run in the second quarter. Lake Shore tied the game with 8:50 to go on Dennis Miller's 4-yard run and a conversion throw by Ty Seifert to Tom Whelan.

Class C: LeRoy 37, Saranac Lake 27

   Derek Spink and Justin Ausher scored two TDs apiece and the Oatkan Knights rolled up 285 yards on the ground.

   Eric Geiger rushed 19 times for 125 yards. Ryan Novak added 16 carries for 116 yards.

   Saranac Lake pulled to within 23-20 on Glenn Stearns' 90-yard return of the opening kickoff in the second half. Ausher answered back with TD carries of 5 and 1 yards.

   LeRoy finished the season 12-1, losing only to state Class D champ Cal-Mum.

Class D: Caledonia-Mumford 41, Rensselaer 0

   Senior Mike Leach rushed 12 times for 120 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Red Raiders breezed to their third straight championship.

   Tom Seifert recored a blocked punt in the end zone and Leach returned a fumble 42 yards for a score as Cal-Mum went up 28-0 at the half.

1994

Class A: Jamestown 26, North Rockland 20

   The Red Raiders ended North Rockland's 36-game winning streak by racing to a 26-6 lead and then hanging on.

   Running back David Hinson gained 174 of his 206 yards in the first half. His 57-yard carry set up his 5-yard TD run in the second quarter. He added another touchdown run on an 11-yard carry hefore the half.

Class B: Yorktown 25, Williamsville South 24

   Playing without kicker John Melancon, diagnosed with a torn ACL earlier in the week, Williamsville SOuth missed four straight 2-point conversion attempts and fell short.

   Doug Goeckel (eight catches for 154 yrds and three TDs) caught an 11-yard scoring pass from Mike Lester with :53 remainng to bring Williamsville South within a point. Lester rolled right on the conversion attempt and threw to the back of the end zone, where defender Pete Cariello deflected the ball out of bounds.

Class C: Walton 28, Hudson 18

   Kirk Aikens scored two touchdowns and the Warriors converted two Hudson turnovers into first-half scores.

   Jeff Lambrecht's interception ended Hudson's opening drive and set up Kevin Radeker's 8-yard TD pass to Walt Jones. After Hudson tied the contest, Walton took the lead for good on a 5-yard run by Aikens after the Warriors recovered a fumble.

   Aikens (18 carries, 86 yards) capped the opening drive of the second half with an 8-yard TD run.

Class D: Caledonia-Mumford 36, Rensselaer 20

   Wade Rowcliffe ran for 177 yards and three touchdowns as Cal-Mum earned the win.    Rensselaer closed to within 30-20 in the fourth quarter before Rowcliffe, who had a 43-yard scoring carry in the first half, found the end zone from 47 yards out.

1993

Class A: North Rockland 24, Jamestown 12

   Jeff Becker's 31-yard touchdown pass to Matt DeVincenzo in the fourth quarter capped the North Rockland victory.

   North Rockland broke to a 17-0 lead before Jamestown's David Hinson returned a fumble 97 yards for a score and another turnover set up the second Jamestown TD.

Class B: Yorktown 23, Chittenango 13

   Ahehema Leach's second TD of the day closed out the scoring after Chittenango had rallied from a 17-0 deficit. Rusty Dean scored both touchdowns for Chittenango.

   Yorktown triumphed despite turning the ball over three times on fumbles.

   Heather Sue Mercer became the first girl to score points in a state football title game by kicking a field goal and two extra points for the winners.

Class C: Caledonia-Mumford 38, Rye 19

   Junior Wade Rowcliffe rolled to 173 yards and three touchdowns as the Red Raiders rolled to the championship.

   Cal-Mum churned out 342 yards in 47 rushing attempts highlighted by Rowcliffe TD runs covering 54, 7 and 36 yards. Fullback Tom Martin scored on a pair of short carries.

Class D: Clyde-Savannah 40, Tuckahoe 0

   Jason Williams' 27-yard run in the second quarter produced the first points in state finals history and the Golden Eagles cruised to the title.

   Tysean Harris ran for 99 yards and two TDs, and quarterback Jason McCray ran for a score and threw for 11 ards.

   Tuckahoe, which had surrendered a total of 19 points in its first 10 games, turned the ball over five times and surrendered five sacks.