When he turned around, he shared a few private moments with his staff, took a glance at what appeared to be a stat sheet, and then walked off the field at Cicero-North Syracuse High School toward the locker room.

Burkholder had to meet with his team.

It was not a conversation he wanted to have Saturday afternoon, because the Trojans’ season ended one week sooner than they would have liked, and under the most difficult of circumstances possible.

Logan Haskell was a big reason why.

Southwestern linebacker Calvin Ricker makes a tackle on a Susquehanna Valley ball carrier. P-J photo by Tim Frank

“He’s the best … we’ve seen this year, definitely,” Burkholder said.

The Susquehanna Valley junior ran for 187 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 148 yards and two more TDs, including the go-ahead score with under five minutes remaining, to lead the top-ranked Sabers to a 35-28 victory over the second-ranked Trojans in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C West semifinal game.

The victory sends Susquehanna Valley (12-0) into the state championship contest at 6 p.m. Friday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. Their opponent will be Section X Gouverneur, which knocked off Section I Valhalla, 14-11, in the East semifinal.

With a different bounce of the ball, it could have very well been the Trojans (11-1) who would be taking the field at Ernie Davis Legends Field the day after Thanksgiving.

“Up until this point, the season has been amazing,” Burkholder said. “We’ve accomplished every goal that we wanted to accomplish. We fell a little short today. The kids left it on the field. There’s not much more we could ask for.”

Southwestern's Garrett Swan finds some running room. P-J photo by Tim Frank

The Trojans, who led 21-13 at halftime, just couldn’t contain Haskell nor could they get a handle on the ball during a kickoff return following one of his touchdowns.

Trailing, 28-21, early in the fourth quarter, the Sabers found paydirt a minute apart, courtesy of a Haskell 1-yard run to cap an 11-play drive at the 5:58 mark; and a 6-yard Haskell-to-Patrick Cooper pass with 4:58 remaining that came three plays after Southwestern fumbled the kickoff at its 6-yard line. After a successful Haskell-to-Cooper two-point conversion pass, Susquehanna Valley had the momentum and the seven-point lead.

Burkholder said, in hindsight, he should have called a timeout before the kickoff, which was bounced down the field. Instead of falling on the ball, the Trojans tried unsuccessfully to pick up the ball and run with it and it was ultimately coughed up giving the Sabers a first down inside the 10.

“We made some substitutions, because somebody needed a break,” he said. “We had some different people back there (who) were kind of out of where they normally are. That’s partially on me for not banging a timeout and letting us gather ourselves and put something together.”

The Trojans had two more possessions after that score, but they turned the ball over on downs on both of them.

Southwestern's Tywon Wright breaks off a long run. P-J photo by Tim Frank

“I’ve invested a lot of time in this, the kids have and it’s tough when things don’t come out the way you want them to come out,” an emotional Burkholder said.

Southwestern was led by senior Tywon Wright, who rushed for 171 yards on 16 carries and a pair of touchdowns — he amassed 774 yards and 12 TDs in his last three games — but the explosive running back was hobbled in the second half by an apparent leg injury and had only five carries for 31 yards after intermission.

With Wright not 100 percent, the Trojans were still poised to continue their special season.

Sophomore quarterback Aidan Kennedy completed 12 of 20 passes for 199 yards and an 8-yard TD pass to junior Zishan Munir; junior Garrett Swan had six receptions for 121 yards, a critical stop on a Haskell two-point conversion attempt and a pass interception; and Conrad Thomas added a 1-yard TD run and a spectacular 27-yard reception from Kennedy that set up Munir’s TD grab.

“These kids pulled together and really rallied,” Burkholder said. “We were still able to move the ball down the field a couple times without (Wright) in the game. It’s tough when the guy you relied on isn’t out there, but we’ve got kids who can step up. (Kennedy) played a heck of a game, (Swan) made some plays. … We just fell a little short.”

Haskell had a lot to do with that.

“He’s a heck of a player,” Burkholder said. “He’s not a big, big kid, but he does not stop moving his legs. There were several times we had him wrapped him up in the backfield and he just kept his legs turning and able to spin out of stuff.”

While Haskell and his teammates prepare for one final game in 2019, Burkholder and the Trojans, who were looking to make their fourth trip to the Carrier Dome in program history, can only look to 2020.

“We’ve got work to do,” said Burkholder, who took over on an interim basis from Jehuu Caulcrick, who resigned after Week Four to accept a job with NFL/Xenith. “We’ve got to get ready for next year, whatever that holds.”

NOTES: Southwestern’s Dontae Hoose and Susquehanna Valley’s Connor Brown were the recipients of the Sportsmanship Award; Swan and the Sabers’ Mitchell Knapp were the defensive Most Valuable Players, while Wright and Haskell were the offensive MVPs.

Susquehanna Valley 7 6 8 14 — 35

Southwestern 14 7 0 7 — 28

SW–Wright 2 run (Card kick)

SV–Haskell 1 run (Haskell kick)

SW–Thomas 1 run (Card kick)

SV–Isles 9 pass from Haskell (kick fail)

SW–Wright 2 run (Card kick)

SV–Haskell 7 run (Haskell run)

SW–Munir 8 pass from Kennedy (Card kick)

SV–Haskell 1 run (run fail)

SV–Cooper 6 pass from Haskell (Cooper pass from Haskell)