Tough Loss for South Versus John Jay

The Clarkstown South Vikings were once again handed a devastating defeat, as they fell to John Jay (ranked 14th in the state), 13-10. However, South did a lot of things well in this game and hung in until the waning moments. This was especially impressive considering it was the Patriots’ homecoming game and the fans were raucous to say the least.

Following a three-and-out by South’s defense, Trevor Byrnes returned the ensuing punt to the Patriots 44. Later in the drive, the Vikings faced a 4th and 5 from the 26 yard line which was converted by Byrnes. Michael Cummings then split the uprights from 30 yards away to give the Vikings the 3-0 lead early in the second quarter.

After the teams traded punts, John Jay got the ball at their own 47 with 1:55 remaining in the half. They too faced a 4th and 5 (at the Clarkstown 44) and got a fresh set of downs on a 12 yard completion to wide out Sean Casey. Later in the drive, Casey got his second catch of the day, this one going for 20 yards to put the Patriots in position for a game-tying field goal. John Jay knotted the score up at 3-3 after the 34-yard attempt as time expired.

Coming out the halftime break, punts by both clubs led to John Jay starting a drive at their own 16. Another 20-yard reception by Sean Casey brought the ball to the 41 yard line of the Patriots. On a 1st and 15, quarterback Ryan Schumacher lofted up a pass for Casey who came down with it and scampered in for a 64-yard touchdown, giving his team a 10-3 advantage.

On the ensuing drive, an Hassan Auwater 41-yard scamper got the Vikings into plus-territory. They stalled at the John Jay 19, and settled for a field goal attempt.  Cummings was a bit wide to the right, and the score remained 10-3.

Following a Patriots punt, the Vikings set up shop at their own 30. They then embarked on a long drive aided by a roughing the passer penalty at 5:10 which put the ball at the John Jay 40. Two minutes later, South was faced with an almost insurmountable obstacle when they had a 4th and 15 at the Patriots 34 yard line. Quarterback Nick Palumbo threw a high-arching heave to receiver Eric Margolis which he pulled down at the four yard line. Hassan then punched it in from two yards out to tie the game at 10. Improbably, South and John Jay were knotted up with 2:42 remaining.

Clarkstown would get the ball back with 2:06 left and move it to their 45 yard line. However, they made their only real mistake of the contest at the worst possible time. Palumbo threw an interception which was returned to the South 24 with one minute to play. With under half a minute before regulation ended, John Jay took the lead on a 40-yard field goal and won by the final score of 13-10.

The Vikings have a lot to build off of, as the defense and running game once again played very well. South will host North Rockland on October 11th looking to improve their record to 4-2.