Chester loses state championship by seconds

By Nathan Mayberg
SYRACUSE — The Chester Hambletonian football team was less than one minute from being Class D state champions. With a 41-40 lead against defending champions Randolph on Saturday at the Carrier Dome, they couldn't stop a last-minute drive by quarterback Bryce Morrison, including a scrambling 42-yard pass play in which he narrowly escaped two near-miss sacks, with the season on the line.

Though they lost 48-41, Chester showed they could battle to the end with a team that earned their third straight Class D state title.

Chester settled for their third runner-up finish in the state championship in four years, with their closest finish yet in the school's short football history.

"Everybody was definitely crushed," Chester quarterback Vinny Aloi said.

"It was a tough loss. We played our hearts out," Aloi said.

Aloi threw for 455 yards, including four touchdowns to bring his Section 9 record to 37 touchdowns.

He threw two touchdowns to Justin Feldman including a 31-yard pass play with one minute left to put the team ahead 41-40.

With a state title seemingly at hand, Randolph took over the ball at their own 35 yard line after the kickoff went out of bounds. A 42-yard pass play from Morrison in which he unfathomably was able to break out of a seemingly deadly sack from senior lineman Jeremy Nolasco, followed by an 18-yard throw and a five-yard run from Morrison overtook Chester's dreams.

Chester Assistant Coach Ryan Stover has been with the team alongside his father Ron for all three of Chester's trips to the Class D finals. The elder Stover built the Chester team literally from the ground up 11 years ago when there was no football team at the high school.

"This one hurts a lot more," Ryan Stover said. "The other two weren't that close."

Stover said the team "let it slip away" after taking a 27-6 lead going into halftime.

Chester scored on their first three possessions of the game. They were up 14-0 early after senior running back Angel Suarez ran in a touchdown and caught another from Aloi.

Suarez rushed for 106 yards on the day, bringing his three-game state playoff total to more than 800 blockbuster yards.

After Randolph scored at the end of the first quarter, Chester returned fire under another touchdown run from Suarez.

The team closed out the first half with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Aloi to senior wide receive Brandon Sadlier.

Chester knew Randolph would return in the second half charged up. "They came fired up," Aloi said.

Stover said he expected the defending champs "to put together their best drives of the season."

Chester found themselves unable to stop a Randolph ground onslaught. Randolph running back Devyn Nelsen was able to unleash large gains in the second half as part of a 289-yard rushing day.

Aloi and Stover said the team's defensive effort in the second half could have been due to a bit of complacency after gaining such a large lead early. Aloi said the team might have gotten tired.

Chester also started racking up penalties on the offensive side of the ball which didn't help.

The team gave up four touchdowns in the second half before answering with a drive of their own and a 10-yard touchdown pass from Aloi to Feldman. Aloi ran in a two-point conversion to give the Hambletonians a 35-34 lead with about six minutes left.

Morrison then eluded Chester defenders with a run for a 44-yard touchdown play to retake the lead for Randolph before Aloi's touchdown pass with a minute left briefly put Chester back in the lead.

Stover credited the play of Morrison with turning Randolph's fortunes in the second half. Stover said Chester knew how athletic he was after playing against him last year. Stover said Morrison was the team's best player last year, when he played tight end and defensive back.

Still, "when you have 577 yards of offense you think you'll win the game, Stover said about Chester's dynamic offensive output.

"The kids were distraught," he said. "They are shocked."

The Chester squad does have some bright spots to look forward to next year. The entire line is made up of juniors who will return for another bite.

But the team's two most productive players, Aloi and Suarez, will be gone.

"The reality has hit but it's extremely disappointing," Stover said on Monday.

"We battled all season," Aloi said. "We were definitely doing everything we could to win," he said.

Reporter Nathan Mayberg can be reached at comm.reporter@strausnews.com or by calling 845-469-9000 ext. 359.