Flag Football

Yorktown beats rival Mahopac

Huskers earn first finals berth

Yorktown's Sophia Marcello, in action here back in March, ran for 2 touchdowns and passed for another in the Huskers' 24-0 Section 1 Class B semifinal win against visiting Mahopac on May 20.

Photo: Rob DiAntonio

The Huskers' Maddy Reilly, seen here in earlier action, scored on a 6-yard touchdown run in a 24-0 Section 1 Class B semifinal win against visiting Mahopac on May 20.

Photo: Rob DiAntonio

Posted Thursday, May 21, 2026 5:59 pm

Championship game

Yorktown (17-1) will play next at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 23 in the Class B championship game at Lakeland. It will play the winner of the fourth-seeded Brewster at top-seeded Tappan Zee semifinal, scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Yorktown’s only loss was a 14-12 setback at home against Brewster, the No. 21 ranked Class B team in the state, on April 7. The Huskers didn’t face Tappan Zee, ranked No. 3, during the regular season.

“It means everything to have the chance to play for a championship, especially with this group,” Maddy Reilly said. “The key for us is just sticking to our brand of football, staying together, and picking each other up no matter what happens. Coach (Mike) Rescigno, coach (Jeff) Cerar and coach (John) Bronzi put so much time into preparing us every week, so we just have to trust each other, play confidently and stay disciplined.”

By Mike Sabini

Contributing Writer

It was a battle of local heavyweights in the Section 1 Class B semifinals when second-seeded Yorktown, ranked No. 5 in Class B in the state, hosted rival third-seeded Mahopac, ranked No. 15, on Wednesday.

Yorktown came into the game winners of 12 in a row while Mahopac was unbeaten in its last eight contests (7-0-1). Both teams had to battle through a weather delay, which temporarily stopped the game with 4:39 to go in the first quarter, but the Huskers overcame that and defeated the Wolf Pac 24-0 to advance to the Class B championship game for the first time in its three-year history.

“It felt amazing winning this section semifinal game, especially because this is the farthest our program has gone,” said Yorktown senior Maddy Reilly. “Mahopac is one of our biggest rivals since we’re neighboring towns and we compete against them in so many sports, so we knew it was going to be a tough game. We were looking forward to this matchup for a while, so getting the win made it even more special.”

One reason for the big win was the preparation Yorktown put into the game.

“We knew Mahopac was going to be a really tough opponent, but our coaches had us ready all week and we felt prepared coming into the game,” said Yorktown sophomore quarterback Sophia Marcello (40 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 46 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns).

After a scoreless first quarter, Yorktown got on the board in the second quarter, on a scoring drive that was set up with a great defensive play by Erin Duffy. Duffy intercepted a pass, her team-high 11th of the season, along the far sideline at her 8-yard line and took it to the Husker 32.

The key play on the drive came on a hook and ladder play. On a second and 18 from the Mahopac 38, Marcello threw it to Duffy, who caught it at the 31 and flipped it to Reilly (75 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown), who ran down the far sideline with lighting speed to the 3-yard line.

“At that point in the game it was still 0-0 and we needed a big play for the first down,” Reilly said. “Our coaches trusted the hook and ladder because it’s something we’ve practiced a lot, even though we haven’t used it much in games. Our quarterback Sophia Marcello made a perfect throw and Erin Duffy had a great pitch, everyone timed it really well, and was executed perfectly. It gave us a lot of momentum and set us up to score in the play shortly after.”

On the next play, Marcello ran it up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown run, giving Yorktown a 6-0 lead with 48 seconds remaining in the opening half.

“We started a little slow, but our defense had some huge stops early that gave us time to get going,” Marcello said. “Once we got that first touchdown, everyone’s energy really picked up.”

Yorktown doubled its lead when Marcello found Duffy, who made a diving catch in the back of the end zone, for a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth down, putting the Huskers up 12-0 with 4:53 to go in the third quarter.

“Eva (Monaco, 19 rushing yards, 24 yards receiving), Maddy, and Erin (16 receiving yards) all made big plays on our scoring drives and Erin’s catch on fourth down was amazing,” Marcello said. “Our receivers have been making big catches all season and Kiera (Mooney) and Mia (Chee) gave us so much time with their blocking. It was just a really great team win.”

Reilly added to the Huskers’ advantage when she took it up the middle on a 6-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, putting Yorktown up 18-0.

“Our coaches felt running the ball was a good opportunity there, and my teammates gave me great blocking up front,” Reilly said. “After getting stopped just short 3 yards on the hook and ladder earlier, it felt really rewarding to finally get into the end zone. Scoring in the fourth quarter gave us a lot of energy and helped us stay focused and locked in to finish the game strong.”

Marcello concluded the scoring when she scored on a touchdown run inside the 5-yard line, eluding a few Mahopac defenders, which allowed her to reach the endzone.

Monaco sealed the Huskers’ 12th shutout on the season with a late interception, her fifth of the spring.

Corinne Negrelli (10 solo flag pulls, 1 interception), Chloe Quiles (7 solo flag pulls), Stephanie Douglas (6 solo flag pulls), Sydney Soliz (4 solo flag pulls, 5 total, 1 for loss, 1 sack) and Kayleigh Hung (3 solo flag pulls, 5 total, 2 for loss, 2 sacks) also highlighted Yorktown’s defensive effort.