Panthers’ Reign as Sectional Champs Comes to a Bitter End

By Andy Jacobs
John Tucci stood with his Pleasantville teammates near the line of scrimmage on Saturday afternoon, dejectedly awaiting one of the finals snaps of the Section 1, Class B semifinal playoff game at Nanuet High School. The Panthers’ big defensive tackle had an anguished look on his face, a uniform completely covered in mud and the growing realization that his team’s reign as sectional champions was just about over.
The host Golden Knights scored a touchdown less than five minutes into the contest and made it stand up the rest of the way, winning 10-0 on a spectacular fall day and advancing to face Our Lady of Lourdes in the championship game at Mahopac this coming Saturday. The defending champion Panthers will have to settle for the consolation final against Ardsley after being blanked by Nanuet for the second time this month.
“We got all the accolades coming into the season only because of what happened in the past,” said disappointed Panthers coach Tony Becerra shortly after time had run out on his team’s pursuit of a third-straight appearance in the finals. “It means nothing until you prove yourself on the field. You know, it wasn’t pretty, but we were one of the four teams that had an opportunity in the playoffs and that’s all we could ask for at this point.”
But the Panthers got their first hint that they weren’t going to avenge a 6-0 home loss to the Golden Knights just two weeks earlier barely five seconds after the opening kickoff. Their two returners, Brandon Castro and Javaun Smith, bumped into each other and the Panthers were forced to start from just their own 12-yard line.
“These past two contests against them, field position has been key given the type of offenses that are run,” said Becerra. “It’s all about field position. I mean, it hurt, but it was early enough where I don’t think it necessarily was a difference maker. But it certainly didn’t help us.”
The Golden Knights, aided by a third-down flag on the Panthers, quickly forced a three-and-out and took possession for the first time at the Pleasantville 39-yard line. Six plays later, quarterback Matt Carney hit Nick D’Allara in stride along the right sideline for a 26-yard scoring pass that enabled Nanuet to grab an early 7-0 advantage the Panthers were never able to overcome.
“They’re successful running the ball,” said Becerra. “They lulled us to sleep and they go over the top. It was a good play. I would’ve done the same.”
The Nanuet defense, which has now held opponents scoreless in five games this season, forced the Panthers to punt twice more in the opening quarter. As the second period began, the Golden Knights were in the midst of a drive that began at midfield and advanced down to the P’ville 16-yard line. But a Nanuet holding penalty soon brought a Knight punt and neither team mounted much of a threat over the final seven minutes of the half.
Pleasantville, without a point against the Golden Knights in six quarters, retreated to a far corner of the field for halftime and Becerra tried to implore his players to step it up when play resumed.
“Down by a score with two quarters left, we’re just trying to establish something and get momentum back on our side,” he said. “I think had we done that, things would’ve been different. We just weren’t able to do it.”
The momentum stayed with Nanuet in the third quarter because the Golden Knights managed to convert on daunting third downs three times on the opening possession of the second half, twice getting impressive runs from quarterback Carney that helped them chew up a good chunk of the clock.
“That ate up more than half of the third quarter,” sighed Becerra. “That was deadly.”
When the Golden Knights were finally forced to punt, the Panthers’ Castro lost the ball on the return, though Becerra and his coaching staff argued vehemently that the fumble came after the whistle. Nanuet took over at the P’ville 7-yard line and, despite a big effort from the Panther defense, tacked on another three points with a 22-yard field goal with 3:17 left in the quarter.
Early in the final period, Castro returned a punt 34 yards to the Panther 44-yard line. Quarterback Jeff Barile then connected on a short pass to Logan Schneeweiss, who finished the day with seven receptions. One play later, though, a Barile pass was picked off and Nanuet took over at its own 31 with 7:42 remaining.
“Yeah, our guy was bumped while running his pattern and the quarterback threw where he thought he was gonna be and he wasn’t because he was bumped,” said Becerra, whose protest to the officials was ignored. “Their word against ours, you’re never gonna win that one.”
Any chance for a Panther comeback completely disappeared in the final minutes with three more turnovers, two of them interceptions and the last one a fumble with just over a minute remaining when Schneeweiss tried to quickly tip the ball to a teammate after making a catch.
“It’s been our M.O.,” said Becerra about his team’s inability to sustain drives. “Once we get something going, we shoot ourselves in the foot via a penalty or a turnover. And that’s something that’s got to be fixed.”
Whether that happens in time for the season finale at Ardsley in a few days remains to be seen. But Becerra is hoping all his players can put the semifinal loss behind them and accept the challenge of finishing their season above .500.
“I told ‘em it’s not easy,” he said about his postgame chat with his crestfallen team. “’You lost a game that you worked hard for, but it’s part of the growing-up process and hopefully the guys returning will learn from it.’ And I told the seniors, even though it may not be meaningful, they still have one more game left in their high school career and a chance to finish with a winning record.”

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