MAHOPAC, N.Y.—The Mahopac HS football team flipped what looked like it could have been an unpleasant script in the second half last Thursday night in Ossining, dropping 16 second-half points on the Lions in an emotional, come-from-behind, 23-20, win that ended the Pac’s season on a positive note.
In the first half, Ossining—which came in 6-2 after a loss in the Class AA quarterfinals —looked like the better team. The Lions led 12-7 at the break on the strength of a pair of second-quarter touchdowns and could have had a third if not for a fumble on the Wolf Pac one on the game’s opening drive.
Pac senior workhorse Jack Clifford recovered that precious gift near the goal line, and was off to the races, making it all the way to the Ossining three. Clifford found a seam and scored Mahopac’s only points of the half on the next play, putting the Pac up 7-0 (after Kyle Pinto’s PAT) with 5:57 in the first.
Instead of trailing 18-0 at halftime, it was a 12-7 deficit. That turned out to be key after Mahopac opened the second half with a pair of touchdown drives that put the Wolf Pac up 20-12 and changed the momentum of the game.
A 20-yard pass from QB Ethan Dedvukaj to Lorenzo Echandy capped a quick drive to open the third. Mahopac’s defense came up big on back-to-back plays on Ossining’s ensuing possession, forcing a turnover on downs near midfield.
Mahopac rode that momentum to another fast strike, when Dedvukaj found senior captain Nick Tardio for a nine-yard TD to make it 20-12 (Pinto’s PAT attempt was no good) with 3:42 left in the third.
The Wolf Pac took advantage of an Ossining fumble in the fourth to earn the decisive field goal, taking over after the recovery on the Lions 35. Moments later, Pinto drilled home a 38-yarder for a 23-12 lead with 6:16 left.
Ossining scored the game’s final points with 1:30 left on a one-yard run and added a two-point conversion to pull within three.
Ossining forced a quick three-and-out and got the ball back with 55 seconds left. But Mahopac’s defense denied that last opportunity when Echandy broke up a potential TD pass in the end zone. A few plays later, senior captain and DE Landon Varley’s sealed it with a game-ending quarterback sack on a fourth-and-four from the Pac 20.
Varley also had a forced fumble and finished with 12 total tackles. Tardio also had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and Ryan Larue had an interception. Justin Sanchez led the defense with 19 total tackles; Dominick Iacono had 16.
Clifford finished with a TD and 48 yards rushing on 15 carries, and Echandy had six catches for 74 yards and a TD. Dedvukaj completed 13-of-20 attempts for 135 yards and a pair of TDs, and Tardio and Matt Dugan each had two receptions.
“What I’m most proud of is the way they came back, showed they wanted to win as a team,” Pac coach Dominick DeMatteo said. “With all we dealt with at the end of the season (injuries, etc), tonight we had more kids stepping up. There’s no quit in them.
“They (Ossining) were on a roll on us,” DeMatteo said of the first half. “They were getting after us. That (early) turnover was huge. In the second half, we made a few subtle defensive adjustments that I thought helped. But in the end, I thought we moved the ball well, threw the ball well, and Ethan was very efficient again. It was great to have Lorenzo back (Echandy missed the last two games with an injury), and we can always give the ball to Jack and have him run behind our line. Landon Varley really asserted himself in the second half, he made some big tackles, had a big sack… they struggled to block him. And Dominick Iacono really stepped up for us in his first varsity start.”
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