44°
CROTON-IN-HARMON, N.Y. When asked who his Croton Tigers might meet in the New York State Regional final after winning their own semifinal over Marlboro last week, Kyle Ricciardi didnt have a preference. He did, however, show some competitive fire when asked about Schalmont High, the team that defeated Croton in last years regional final.
Whoever we play, we play, Ricciardi said following the game. It would be pretty cool if we played Schalmont again.
Ricciardi and the unbeaten Tigers (10-0) will get a chance at revenge Saturday when they meet Section 2 representative Schalmont (11-0) in a rematch at 3 p.m. at Kingstons Dietz Stadium. The Sabres rebounded from a 14-7 deficit in last years meeting, scoring three straight touchdowns to earn a 28-14 victory.
Crotons run game rolled over Marlboro with running back Nick Grous having a career day, rushing for a season-best 164 yards and scoring three times in the win. Tigers quarterback Jesse Mainiero, who is a run-pass threat, scored twice. The Tigers will need more offense than they produced last year to outlast Schalmont, which has scored 377 points or 34 per game.
Mainiero has thrown for 895 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for another 892 yards and 22 touchdowns, so he keys the offense.
Crotons defense, led by Ricciardi, who was named the Defensive Player of the Game last week, and co-captains Dennis OConnell and John Brennan, Mainiero and Alex Bowser, have made opposing offenses suffer all season, holding teams to just 64 points (6.4 a game).
Schalmont is led by senior quarterback Niko Nicoletti, who rushed for two touchdowns in the first quarter and tossed another to Alex Hildebrand in the second to give Schalmont a 19-0 lead at the half en route to a 25-20 victory over Peru last week. Crotons defense will key on Nicoletti.
Mainiero, Soares, Dennis Traditi and Ricciardi are the core of a group that coach John Catano led to a 10-1 record last year and will be a year older and a year better than when they lost to Schalmont last fall.
The Tigers seniors, a more mature bunch after a two-year run of winning 20 of 21 games, are focused on erasing the memory of that loss to Schalmont and moving on to the Syracuse University Carrier Dome.
Croton 27-14.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Cortlandt and receive free news updates.
