Football: Croton-Harmon Rolls Past Host Hen Hud

The great ones always perform their best when the lights are the brightest.

Croton-Harmon quarterback Jesse Mainiero sure did that in his squad’s contest at Hendrick Hudson (1-1) Friday night.

In front of an estimated 2,000 people on Hen Hud’s campus that saw fans from both schools looking for parking wherever they could find it, Mainiero proved that he could drive the 2-0 Tigers’ offense just fine.

Mainiero rushed for 112 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 134 yards and another touchdown in the Tigers' 41-13 romp against Hen Hud, the first meeting between the local schools since the mid-1960s.

He also starred defensively with six tackles and one interception, which led to one of his scores.

“He was very focused tonight,” Croton-Harmon head coach and Hen Hud graduate John Catano said. “He might have played the best game of his career so far. He did a great job running the offense, he did a great job on defense. He’s a phenomenal athlete and a phenomenal football player.”

In addition to Mainiero, Catano was also pleased with the way his team performed as a whole.

“We played hard, we played consistent,” Catano said. “We didn’t panic after that first touchdown. They play with a lot of intensity. I am glad we came out on top.”

That first touchdown was scored by the Sailors 46 seconds into the game when Hen Hud quarterback Joe Fraietta ran 73 yards for a score. Matt Solnick’s PAT gave Hen Hud a 7-0 lead.

“It was the beginning of the game, we needed a big play to start us up,” Fraietta said. “The linemen, Sean Barry and Finbar Casey, just made outstanding blocks and I just ran it to daylight.”

Fraietta’s score sent the Sailor faithful, who showed up in record numbers, into a frenzy as their whiteout looked like a miniature version of Penn State’s.

“It, the atmosphere, shows that we are definitely headed in the right direction,” Hen Hud co-head coach Mike Lynch said. “The loss is a minor setback, but it’s  nice to have the community behind us. It was great to drive down the street and see the local vendors with ‘Go Hen Hud’ signs. It was great and it’s something that we need. You need the community support.”

That support though couldn’t stop the Tigers as they tied the game 52 seconds later on a 64-yard swing pass that went for a touchdown from Mainiero to Nick Grous. Brian Soares’ PAT knotted the game at seven.
Then with 3:25 to go in the opening quarter, Mainiero ran it in from 1-yard out with Soares’ PAT putting the Tigers up 14-7.

Croton-Harmon really turned the tide with three more opening-half scores, the first one coming with 2:27 remaining in the first quarter when lineman Dennis O’Connell scored on a 19-yard interception return. Soares again got the PAT to put Croton-Harmon up 21-7.

“O’Connell’s touchdown, that was the turning point of the game,” Catano said. “That changed the whole game. They are down by two touchdowns now instead of just one. It’s demoralizing to their offense.”
If that wasn’t demoralizing, seeing the Tigers start the second quarter with one more touchdown had to be.

Mainiero rushed for a 4-yard touchdown with Soares’ PAT giving the Tigers a 28-7 lead with 8:54 to go before halftime. The score finished up a 44-yard drive that was set up by an interception return from Lucas Garcia.

“That was huge,” Mainiero said. “That knocks the winds out of their sails. Two scores, you score once, get a turnover, score again, it’s a tie game. Three scores are really hard to come back from. Our team just did a great job tonight, especially Lucas on that pick.”

Mainiero then essentially iced the game on an 4-yard touchdown run with two second left before halftime on a possession that was set up by his interception. Soares’ again booted the point after to give the Tigers a 35-7 halftime lead they would not relinquish.

“They are a good team,” Lynch said. “They are the No. 2 ranked team in the state for a reason. Their guys had a lot of opportunities to make nice plays and they took advantage of them. Our guys battled, we played very hard but we had too many turnovers. Playing a team like this, you can’t turn the ball over four times and expect to beat them.”