The Catskill Chronicle

Eldred’s star quarterback Bryan Henry mirrors the pain of defeat – over the last five years, he led the Yellow Jackets to a 42 11 record.

Story and photos by Ted Waddell

KINGSTON – It was the end of a dream, the end of an era.

On Friday afternoon, November 20, the OCIAA Section VII champs, the Vikings of Moriah High School (9-2) squared off against Section IX titleholders, the Eldred Central School Yellow Jackets (10-2) at Dietz Stadium to see who was going on to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse to battle for the NYS High School Class D Football Championship.

A couple of Vikings fans in the stands.

On November 13, Eldred’s veteran coach Frank Kean fulfilled a dream as the Yellow Jackets won the OCIAA Section IX Class D Regional title up in White Plains. But a week later Eldred’s hopes of landing a berth in the state championships came crashing back to earth, as Icarus-like, they were defeated 22-13 by the Vikings, thus bringing down the curtain on Kean’s 36 year career of coaching football.

“I’ll never forget this week, I’m on Cloud 9,” said Kean a few minutes before the opening kickoff.

The Vikings elected to receive the opening kickoff, but their first drive of the game stalled.

Later in the first quarter, Eldred’s QB Bryan Henry was sacked for a loss of 13 yards, setting up a 2nd down and 23 yards situation, which the Yellow Jackets shaved to a 4th and 18 from the six-yard line, forcing a punt.

Moraih’s Willy Burbank tackles Matt Balcolm.

On the punt return, the Vikings returned it to Eldred’s two-yard line, and at 7:50 Nick Gilbo broke through the D-line for a TD. The PAT was good, and Moriah was up 7-0.

With Eldred knocking at the door at about the five-minute mark, Moriah’s Ron Schofield darted in front in front of a Henry end zone bound pass to break it up.

Facing a 4th and three at the goal line, the Yellow Jackets went for it, but came up broke, and the Vikings took over on downs. On the first snap of the second frame, Henry set up to pass but was buried under a host of Vikings.

In a luck of the draw play, Eldred recovered a Moriah fumble at the 22-yard line, and at 10:20 Ian Halloran eluded several tacklers to score.

Eldred’s Ian Halloran breaks for a touchdown after Moriah’s Nick Gilbo just misses a tackle.

The PAT was blocked by a fired up Vikings D-line, Moriad led 7-6.

Henry picked off a Nate Gilbo pass, giving Eldred a first down at their own six-yard line, followed by a couple of good runs by Halloran. Faced with a fourth down, the Yellow Jackets elected to try a field goal from about the 30-yard line, but it fizzled.

To end the first half, Eldred’s Bobby Worden sacked the Vikings QB.

At the 2:19 mark in the third frame, Schofield score don a two-yard rush, but the Pat was wide to the left, and the Vikings were up 13-6.

In the last minute of the quarter, Eldred attempted a half back pass, but it was incomplete.

On the next snap, they tried a repeat performance of the previous play, but it was picked off by Moriah.

With 10-seconds left on the third frame clock, Schofield shattered several tackles, kick in his after burner, and sprinted 59 yards for a TD.

Moriah’s Ron Schofield picks up some yardage - he rushed for 266 yards and two TD’s on 38 carries.

A fake punt turned into a two-yard pass conversion attempt, but it failed, and the Vikings led 19-6.

At the 4-second mark, Henry completed a long range aerial bomb to Matt Balcom deep in Vikings territory as the quarter clock ran out.

At 11:57 in the final frame, Halloran blasted through the Vikings D-line for a two-yard score, the PAT was good, and Eldred had shaved Moriah’s gridiron advantage to six points (19-13).

After the Vikings attempted a field goal, the Yellow Jackets took possession at the 20-yard line, but a couple of Vikings teamed up to sack Henry, for a loss of nine yards, forcing a punt on a 4th and 17-yards situation.

At 1:56, Ryan Mascarenas kicked a 21-yard field goal, for the Vikings, a boot that effectively put the game of out Eldred’s reach.

With about a minute left on the game clock, the Vikings picked off a Henry pass, and Moriah took three consecutive knees to close out the game.

Nate Gilbo was named Moriah’s Defensive Player of the Game, while Ron Schofield was tabbed their Offensive Player of the Game.

Eldred’s Dillon Kulik was selected as his team’s Defensive Player of the Game, while Ian Halloran was honored as the Yellow Jackets Offensive Player of the Game.

The Vikings picked off a pass intended for Bryan Henry.

“We made a good goal line stand to stop ‘em, in a play that could have picked up some momentum for them,” said Vikings coach Don Tesar. “To start the second half, we made some blocking adjustments…we wore down the right side of the line to open up some holes.”

Commenting on Eldred’s D-line, Tesar said, “They were tough…#70 (Scott Hallock, the Yellow Jackets 6’1” 270 pound senior defensive tackle) was probably the best tackle we’ve had top block all year long, he played one heck of a ballgame for them…they were sending nine, ten guys at us all day long.”

In the game against the Vikings, Hallock led Eldred with 16 tackles and a forced fumble.

After the game, Kean made his way into the center of the Vikings victory huddle to congratulate the winners, in a move that elicited “Now that’s a class act”, from several Vikings players and coaches.

“We just ran into a good stop and block team tonight,” said Kean during a post-game interview. “I don’t know whether to smile or cry, because my time has come and it’s time for me to retire and move on…that group in the locker room is the classiest group I’ve ever had, we do nothing but play hard-nosed football.”

Eldred coach Frank Kean calls it quits after 36 years of Yellow Jackets football.

“Bryan Henry is the head and heart of this team, and Ian Halloran is the blood and guts, pound for pound, he’s the toughest kid we had,” added Kean.

After all was said and done, and the field virtually empty in preparation for the next game, Eldred’s long-time football coach stood next to his wife and kids for a family photo.

The end of an era, but not the game.

To view more photos or to purchase prints from Vikings Topple Eldred visit the Chronicle on Zenfolio.