Football: Mahopac Topples Yorktown 28-6

The atmosphere was an electric one at the beginning of the Yorktown-Mahopac season opener Saturday night, September 11, where a standing-room only crowd was in attendance at Mahopac High School. 

It became even more festive for the hometown Mahopac fans when their team jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

However, the atmosphere went from festive to subdued for everyone in the crowd with 6:33 to go in the second quarter, Yorktown quarterback Justin Mabus got injured on a second and 10 play from his own 31-yard line in what turned out to be a 28-6 Mahopac triumph.

Yorktown coach Mike Rescigno and some members of his staff tried to help Mabus off the field but they couldn't get him back to the sidelines. That made it necessary for an ambulance to come on the field and take the Yorktown senior to the hospital.

Rescigno explained what happened on the play.

"Justin got stood up on the perimeter on an option play by three guys," Rescigno said. "He got gang tackled and took a shot to the small of his back."

After the game, Rescigno received a call from Mabus' father and said that his son was doing well.

"His dad sounds optimistic but we are just making sure to dot all his i's and cross all his t's," Rescigno said. "I'm going to assume that he's a no go for next week (Sept. 16 against visiting Gorton). We are going to prepare for the worst and hope for the best for his sake for sure. I'm just concerned about him right now."

So were Mabus' teammates, including Ty Schuldt.

"Justin is one of my good friends, he's everyone's good friend," Schuldt said. "He's our quarterback, he's our captain. It's hard to see him go down but that's what happens in football. You have to get through it. We have to have a hard practice next week. We need to get our back up (Brian Miller) some reps. We have to get him ready."

Mahopac was ready to play from the opening gun, as it scored on its first drive of the game. The Indians took just three plays to go 55 yards, the final 23 coming on a touchdown run by Dillon Addonizio.

Tanner Diebold's extra point put the Indians up 7-0.

Mahopac continued its success on its following drive when it went 55 yards on 10 plays for its second touchdown.

The key play on the drive came on a fourth and three for the Indians from the Yorktown 20-yard line. Mahopac quarterback T.J. Foley ran five yards to get the huge first down.

Two plays later, Foley, on a fourth-and-one, ran around the corner six yards for a touchdown with just 1:44 to go in the opening quarter. Diebold's PAT put Mahopac up 14-0.

"T. J. is like a linebacker type of kid," Rescigno said. "He's a good runner. He's the kind of kid if you get him in a one-on-one situation, he likes that. He's going to exploit you if you are not a perfect tackler."

Mahopac looked like it was going to score early in the second quarter when it appeared Foley had hooked up with Ryan Wagner on a bomb for a touchdown. However, at the last minute the play was broken up for an incompletion on an oustanding effort by Schuldt, who leaped in the air and was able to get a hand on the ball to knock it away.

"I feel for Ty, he played his heart out," Rescigno said. "He was in perfect position, I mean next to perfect position on a couple of plays that were if you watched on an NFL film you would say that was perfect coverage."

Mahopac though sealed the game with two more touchdowns before halftime to go up 28-0.

Yorktown, to its credit, avoided the shutout when Schuldt scored on a three-yard run in the fourth quarter.

"It was good to put some points on the board, but we need to come out harder in the first half," Schuldt said. "It's not going to work every time when you let up in the first half and come out hard in the second. We have to play a full game all out."