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Randolph Can’t Find End Zone In Second Half Of 28-22 Loss

Randolph’s Maverick Adams (60) takes down Oakfield-Alabama/Elba quarterback Bodie Hyde (2) with helps from teammates Josh Bush, left, and Luke Pagett, right, during Friday’s NYSPHSAA Class D Far West Regional at Strider Field. P-J photo by Tim Frank

After a hectic first half that featured 43 points scored, Oakfield-Alabama/Elba needed just one break to go its way to turn Friday evening’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D Far West Regional at Strider Field.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, the Aggies got their break.

O-A/E recovered an onside kick near its own sideline and six plays later added what turned out to be the game-winning score to beat Randolph 28-22 to advance to next Friday afternoon’s state semifinal at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.

“This was probably the win we are most proud of because this one felt like a heavyweight fight,” O-A/E head coach Tyler Winter said. “They definitely got their shots in. There were rounds they won for sure. The sign of a true champion is to take those punches and adjust, and be the one standing at the end of 12.”

The Aggies’ opponent the day after Thanksgiving will be Section IV champion Tioga, which beat Section III’s Dolgeville 50-12 in another quarterfinal Friday. The Indians will be playing in their ninth state semifinal in the last 10 years.

Randolph’s Xander Hind (37) fights off a tackle from Oakfield-Alabama/Elba’s Gaige Armbrewster (10) during Friday’s Far West Regional football game at Strider Field. P-J photo by Tim Frank

“Our dream is to win that state championship,” O-A/E senior Gaige Armbrewster said. “We have two more weeks. It’s definitely a dream, but we’re not finished.”

But O-A/E first had to get by the Cardinals on a cold Friday evening on Jamestown’s south side.

The Aggies led 21-8 midway through the second quarter before Randolph mounted a late first-half comeback and took the lead with 39 seconds remaining before the break.

Coming out of the locker room, Oakfield-Alabama/Elba reached into its figurative bag of tricks, pooching a kickoff just past 10 yards toward its own sideline.

“That’s something we’ve had in the clip for weeks now. I can’t say enough about the job our senior kicker, Max DeMare, has done,” Winter said. “He can put the ball sideline to sideline. We have a true weapon on our special teams.”

The Aggies recovered the ball and immediately went to work.

“You can’t touch it until it goes 10 yards,” Randolph head coach Brent Brown said. “We’d seen it on film. The kid sold it and got it. You still have to play after that.”

Facing a fourth-and-2 from the Randolph 36-yard line, sophomore quarterback Bodie Hyde got just past the first-down marker on a keeper. Two plays later, Hyde connected with senior Kaden Cusmano for a 25-yard touchdown to give O-A/E a 28-22 lead after DeMare’s fourth successful point-after kick of the game.

“They got No. 32 loose down the field,” Brown said. “I’ll have to watch the film to see what happened there.”

The Cardinals went three-and-out on their next drive before they drove 81 yards in nine plays as the clock wound down on the third quarter. Facing a third-and-6 from the Aggies’ 17-yard line, senior Luke Pagett picked up first-down yardage, but fumbled the ball back to Oakfield-Alabama/Elba.

“We bend but don’t break and those are the opportunities that can present themselves if we keep fighting,” Winter said. “That fumble was huge. Obviously that was the turning point in the game.”

The Aggies turned the ball over on downs, but Randolph went three-and-out again, punting the ball back to the Section V champions with 5:38 remaining.

The Cardinals never saw the ball again.

Facing a third-and-12 from his own 9-yard line, Hyde faked a throw and then scrambled for 14 yards, breaking a tackle short of the first-down marker in the process. Two plays later, Hyde ran for another 31 yards.

“We had them stopped,” Brown said. “The quarterback was good tonight. … If we could tackle, we’d be fine, but we struggled tackling.”

After a penalty, Armbrewster ran for 9 yards on first-and-15, and 5 more yards on second-and-6. Facing third-and-1 from the 20-yard line, he picked up 5 yards to put the game away.

As Hyde kneeled on the final three downs, seniors Josh Bush, Pagett and Christian Burch saw their time as Cardinals come to an end.

“They’ll remember what this feels like. I hate that it feels like this, but somebody has to lose and it was a good game,” Brown said. “I feel bad for the seniors. … All the kids played their guts out. It was a good game against a good team.”

Oakfield-Alabama/Elba took a 7-0 lead on the first drive of the game as Hyde connected with senior Kameron Cusmano for a 44-yard touchdown pass.

Junior Xander Hind returned the ensuing kickoff for an 82-yard touchdown to give Randolph an 8-7 lead after Hind added the 2-point conversion.

The Aggies took over at the 18-yard line and on the first play, Armbrewester cut back against the grain before running for 68 yards behind a block from Hyde. On second-and-4 from the 8-yard line, junior Noah Currier found the end zone for a 14-8 lead.

Hyde threw his second touchdown pass, this one a 71-yarder to Currier, with 7:13 left in the first half to make it 21-7.

The Cardinals went 59 yards in nine plays, highlighted by a 28-yard run by Bush and capped by Pagett’s 6-yard touchdown run with 1:57 left in the first half to make it 21-14.

The Aggies then fumbled a second-down snap and three plays later, junior Jaiden Huntington caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from junior Carson Conley to give Randolph the lead.

But that lead didn’t last long after halftime and the Cardinals never recovered.

“It’s always, always a team effort,” Armbrewster said. “Football is the craziest sport because all 11 guys have to do their jobs to win the game.”

“Once we won the sectional championship, they were able to put all their eggs in the basket of winning a regional championship,” Winter said. “I’m just so proud of them because they were able to do that.”

NOTES: Armbrewster finished with 117 yards on 14 carries and Hyde added 100 yards on 21 carries. … Junior Brayden Smith led Oakfield-Alabama/Elba with 14 tackles while senior C.J. Gottler had 10 tackles and a sack. … Hind ran for 85 yards on 21 carries. … Pagett led Randolph with 11 tackles and Huntington had nine.

Oakfield-Alabama/Elba 14 7 7 0 — 28

Randolph 8 14 0 0 — 22

O-A/E–KamCusmano 44 pass from Hyde (DeMare kick)

Ran–Hind 82 kickoff return (Hind run)

O-A/E–Currier 8 run (DeMare kick)

O-A/E–Currier 71 pass from Hyde (DeMare kick)

Ran–Pagett 6 run (run failed)

Ran–Huntington 15 pass from Conley (Hind run)

O-A/E–KadCusmano 25 pass from Hyde (DeMare kick)

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