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In
First Overtime Game, New York City Edges Long Island
By Kevin
Adler
Despite all the games that came down to the last minute over the years
at the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge, the all-star football game
had never gone into overtime. Until this year.
A
rough, tough defensive battle ended regulation at 7-7, and then New
York City won the ninth annual contest on a field goal by Victor
D�Arrigo (Port Richmond) in the first overtime. Long Island�s offense
had a touchdown pass called back on its overtime possession, and had
another touchdown pass dropped in the corner of the end zone, before a
sack forced a long field goal attempt. The snap on the attempt was
fumbled, and thus ended the game.
�The
games are intense, and that�s why they are always close,� said Boomer
Esiason, who started the series in 1996. The Empire Challenge not only
engages the best high school seniors from Long Island and New York
City in a fight for metropolitan bragging rights, but funds raised by
the game are used to fight against Cystic Fibrosis and to support
youth football programs.
Passing Games
Thwarted by Aggressive Defense
In the
2003 game, each team managed only a single touchdown, and so some
rules were modified this year to try to open up the field for more
offense. Also, the coaches vowed to spread their offenses and utilize
the speed of their outside receivers. But again defense proved
dominant, and the offenses struggled.
�It�s
going to be a wide-open game,� said Long Island Head Coach Russ Cellan,
prior to the game. �We want to win, of course, but we also want to be
entertaining. It might become a defensive battle, but it won�t be by
design.�
True
to his promise, Cellan opened up with an attempted pass on a flanker
reverse. But Eddie Wansor (Riverhead), who took the handoff on the
reverse, was unable to get around defensive lineman Thomas Massey (Canarsie),
and was sacked for a loss of 14 yards. Although Long Island QB Randy
Mills (Freeport) and wide receiver Erik Reitmayr (Freeport) hooked up
for a nice gain on third down, Long Island was unable to get a first
down, and its punt left New York City at midfield for its first
possession.
NYC
Head Coach Jim Munson opened up with seven consecutive runs that moved
the ball to the Long Island 19-yard line. Running back Jonathan
Pitt-Coombs (Tottenville) did most of the damage, carrying three
times, including a gain of 6 yards on a fourth-and-one play. But from
the 19, QB Anwar Isaacs (Fort Hamilton), perhaps too pumped up about
his first pass of the game, threw high, and Long Island�s Eddie
Stellato (Lindenhurst) intercepted the tipped ball near the goal line.
Having
dodged one early bullet, Long Island stayed aggressive. From its
6-yard-line, Mills hit Nicholas Tintle (MacArthur) down the left
sideline for 15 yards. But the play was called back on a penalty.
Tintle was nearly nailed in the end zone on a draw on the next play,
and Long Island was pushed back to its 1-yard line. But a run by
Charles Broomfield (West Babylon), and then a nice curl pattern over
the middle by Rich Pennecke (Holy Trinity) gave Long Island its first
first down of the game. However, two plays later on third down, NYC
defensive lineman Elsmore Gabriel (Christ the King) hit Mills just as
he released the ball, and his wobbly pass was nearly intercepted by
Chris Macharie (Canarsie). Long Island had to punt again.
A
20-yard punt return by New York City�s Andre Redd (Christ the King)
gave NYC the ball at the Long Island 37, but on second down, NYC
squandered its second early scoring chance, as QB Aubrey Norris (Port
Richmond) fumbled the snap, and middle linebacker Stanley Gutierrez
(Freeport) recovered for Long Island.
On the
next possession Wansor entered as Long Island�s new QB, but managed
only one first down on a pass to Will Barrow (Baldwin). Barrow, who
was named his team�s MVP, would wind up with 5 catches for 86 yards
and a touchdown.
At the
end of the first quarter, the offenses had accounted for no points, an
interception, and three fumbles.
The
second quarter started out with more offensive struggles, as New York
QB Norris fumbled while trying to evade a pass rush, and the ball was
recovered by Long Island�s Olugbemi Otulaja (Freeport). With its first
good starting field position � the NYC 31-yard line -- Long Island
took the lead on a 7-play drive dominated by QB Wansor. On first down,
Wansor hit Reitmayr with an apparent touchdown on a seam pass, but the
play was called back for holding. �I can�t believe it was called
back,� he said. �To see a guy that open in a game like this is a
once-in-a-lifetime thing.�
But
Wansor came back with a short pass to Reitmayr, then ran 8 yards on a
quarterback draw. On third and long, Tintle picked up 7 yards with a
nice cutback run and by streamrolling over a defensive back to pick up
the extra inches he needed. After a batted pass on first down and a
wild scramble by Wansor that netted only a yard on second, Wansor
rolled right, got outside the defensive pass rush, and lofted a pass
down the right side to a wide-open Barrow for the score. �It was great
to get that TD back,� Wansor said. �I had to run around a lot, but
that�s my style.�
To that point, New York seemed to have
had the better of the game, but it was losing by a touchdown. �We
wanted to get off to a quick start, but the defensive players are just
so good. And it�s hard to install an offense in five days, with guys
who have never played together,� said NYC�s coach Mullen. �After we
had the interception and then lost the two fumbles, we just kept
saying stay calm, stay with it, and things would turn around.�
Finally, New York got the break it was looking for, scoring on a long
pass to complete an 80-yard, 11-play drive that took up the last 3:24
of the half. Quarterback Isaacs made the big plays on the drive -- a
24-yard completion over the middle to Redd, a crucial scramble to
avoid a sack, and then a desperation heave to Lynell Suggs (Lehman)
for the touchdown on the last play of the half. On the 39-yard
touchdown pass, the 6�, 3� Suggs ran down the right sideline, twisted
back for the underthrown rainbow pass, outfought a smaller defensive
back for the ball, and stepped into the end zone. An extra point made
the score 7-7 at halftime.
Second Half
The
second half featured excellent pressure by both defensive lines that
forced quarterbacks to scramble on every attempted pass. The only
scoring threat in the second half came early, after New York City
recovered a fumble by Obozua Ehikioya (West Hempstead) on the Long
Island 29. NYC's new quarterback, Dan Woodford (St. Peters), quickly
moved to a first-and-goal situation. A short passes to D�Arrigo, a
1-yard run by Pitt-Coombs, and another short pass to Drew Williams
(Bayside) left NYC with fourth-and-goal from the 3.
Coach
Munson called a timeout to decide between a short field goal and the
big score. �I thought we had started moving the ball well, and I
wanted to play aggressively,� he said. �It didn�t work out.� Actually,
it wasn't even close. On fourth down, Josh Amaro (Msgr. Farrell) was
stuffed trying to go off-tackle, and lost 4 yards.
Most
of the rest of the third quarter was played in Long Island territory,
but Long Island defensive linemen Larry Abiola (Farmindale), Mike
Denimarck (Miller Place), Olugbemi Otulaja (Freeport), James Parker
(William Floyd), and others, kept NYC at bay.
In the
fourth quarter, Long Island held the territorial advantage, but it
didn�t really threaten. The defensive linemen of New York, led by
Naheem Harris (Poly Prep), who was named his team's MVP, kept Long
Island a long way from the goal line. "This is top-notch competition,"
said Harris. "Most of the time, my opponent only had one good player
on the offensive line, and I could line up away from him. Can't do
that here."
Speaking thoughts shared by many offensive linemen on both teams,
NYC�s Joseph Parker (Lehman) offered respect, but no sympathy. �It�s
hard to get used to new blocking schemes and guys you�re not used to
playing next to," he said. "Plays just happen so fast when the
defensive guys are this talented.�
Overtime Goes to NYC
For
regulation games that end in a tie, the Empire Challenge has adopted
college overtime rules. Each team is given the ball at the 25-yard
line, and can do whatever it can to score. The team with more points
after a round of overtime wins (and each team gets another possession
if it is still tied).
New
York got the ball first, and Coach Munson chose try to try to bull his
way towards the end zone with runs up the middle and short passes.
Interestingly, Munson did not bring in many of the players who started
the game for him. �Coach told us that the second team guys deserved a
chance to win it,� said Parker. �The first-teamers carried us to this
point, and it was our turn.�
First, Pitt-Coombs, who was a starter,
gained a first down on two hard runs up the middle. Then Woodford, who
was the last of the team�s three QBs to play, hit Suggs with a 5-yard
pass in the right flat. NYC running back Kavelle Gordon (August
Martin), who�d had only two carries all game, picked up 4 yards on a
pair of short runs, and NYC faced another crucial decision. Last time,
Munson had gone for the touchdown, but this time he played it
cautiously. D�Arrigo rewarded the coach's decision with the field goal
that gave his team a 10-7 lead.
Handed
the ball at the 25 with a chance to win or tie, Long Island hurt
itself right from the start with a run for no yards and a false start
penalty. Then Wansor hit Barrow with a 23-yard pass, and it was first
and goal from the 7. Wansor ran to the scrimmage line and tried to
call a timeout to set up the series for the winning TD. �The clock
showed that we had two timeouts left, but the referees said we didn�t
have any,� he said.
Forced to rush the play, Wansor
nonetheless found Pennecke in the end zone for apparent game-winner.
But Long Island was called for an illegal formation, no doubt due to
confusion over whether it was running a play or taking a timeout. �My
second touchdown called back in the game,� said Wansor. �It just rips
your heart out.�
But on the next play Wansor came right
back with a bullet pass in the deep right corner of the end zone to
fullback T.J. Sonnenberg ((North Babylon). However, Sonnenberg dropped
the winning throw. �I threw it hard because I wanted to make sure it
got in there. But it hit him in the chest, not the hands,� said Wansor.
Given two reprieves, New York City�s
defense had just enough left, as Shemiah LeGrande (Curtis) sacked
Wansor on second down and pushed him to the 21-yard line. On third
down, Wansor lofted a ball in the left side of the end zone towards
Barrow, and the refs didn�t throw a flag despite a lot of pushing
between Barrow and defensive back Chris Macharie (Canarsie). �We have
two touchdowns called back on penalties, but we don�t get that one
called in the end zone,� said Coach Cellan.
To send the game into a second
overtime, Cellan chose to ask Chris Lynch (Lindenhurst) to kick a
38-yard field goal. But Lynch never got his chance, as a bad snap was
fumbled � the 11th fumble of the game -- and the holder was
tackled. It was an appropriate finish to another defensive battle.
The all-time series now stands in favor
of Long Island, 4-3.
Copyright � 1996 Revised:
July 07, 2026 Empire Challenge. All rights reserved.
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