Dobbs Ferry advances to Class C football final with 47-20 win over Valhalla

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DOBBS FERRY – Jackson Kearns passed for two touchdowns and ran for two others as second-seeded Dobbs Ferry defeated third-seeded Valhalla, 47-20, in a Section 1 Class C semifinal on Nov. 7.

The game was a bit of redemption for the Eagles, who fell to Valhalla in last year's championship game.

Kearns, who played quarterback through youth leagues, but was a halfback on last year's Dobbs Ferry team, said work to return to the championship began two weeks after last year's loss.

Dobbs Ferry played like a team on a mission, expanding a 13-0 first quarter lead to 20-0 in the opening minutes of the second quarter before Kearns hit senior Dylan Ravage for two touchdown passes before halftime to expand the Eagles' lead to 34-14 entering the third quarter.

Those two strikes of 32 and 16 yards were Ravage's only receptions but they carried special meaning since he'd been victimized at key moments last year on defense in the loss to Valhalla.

"I'm so happy for him," Kearns said. … "He deserves all this."

What it means

Valhalla, which was hamstrung by injuries all season and had two players on the sidelines watching the game while using crutches, finished its season 4-5.

With the win, Dobbs Ferry, 7-2, advanced to the Section 1 Class C championship game. It will face No. 1 Bronxville at noon on Nov. 15 at Mahopac High School.

Bronxville routed Putnam Valley 48-7 in Friday's other Class C semifinal.

Player of the game

Kearns was 5-for-9 passing for 101 yards, including the touchdowns to Ravage and a 31-yard pass to Andrew Zendel that set up Kearns' 2-yard, first-quarter touchdown run.

Kearns, who carried 12 times for 100 yards, got his other touchdown in the fourth quarter, going in almost untouched from 12 yards out.

His passing yards would have been greater but his 49-yard scoring strike to Ryan Mohl was turned into a 13-yard pass due to a penalty on Dobbs Ferry during Mohl's run to the end zone, although Kearns responded with the 32-yard TD strike to Ravage soon after.

Valhalla coach Dan DeMatteo called Kearns a "tough, tough football player."

"He's fun to watch. He's someone to root for," DeMatteo said.

Game stats

The game played on one of Section 1's few remaining grass fields at Gould Park ("You can feel the history," DeMatteo said.), was filled with big plays, as well as old-fashioned, hard-nosed, raise-a-cloud-of-dust for a three-yard-gain football.

Valhalla junior Luke Foisset took part in both.

He had a huge game and a huge season, despite, as DeMatteo explained, playing on a broken leg suffered in one of the first plays in Valhalla's opening game in September. The injury was such that it couldn't get worse by playing but required him to play through pain, which the junior did.

Foisset, who gave no hint he was injured, was often nearly impossible to stop, especially when getting outside.

He scored Valhalla's first touchdown from eight yards out in the second quarter to cap a drive that also saw him run for 77 yards on three carries before his touchdown.

He also had a 60-yard touchdown run.

Valhalla's other score came just before the half with the key play being a fourth-and-11, 40-yard pass from Brayden McGinty to Cole Linsley. A few plays later, McGinty hit Charles Eggleston Jr. with a 9-yard TD pass.

But Dobbs Ferry, whose second touchdown came after it recovered its own onside kick, always seemed to have an answer for a Vikings score.

After Valhalla's and Foisset's first touchdown, Mohl took the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, going right and then, seemingly stopped, cutting back left and running unimpeded.

That was Mohl's second touchdown. Mohl, who gained 58 yards rushing on eight carries, scored the Eagles' first points, running in from 10 yards out with 9:16 left in the first quarter.

Dobbs Ferry's other score was on a 5-yard run by Steve Smith — a misdirection play that was so effective Smith walked into the end zone.

Smith had a big game overall, going 94 yards on 11 carries.

Killian O'Connor, who carried nine times for 60 yards, also had a huge defensive game for Dobbs Ferry before leaving with an injury in the fourth quarter.

They said it

"We're so beat up," said DeMatteo, who noted his team had suffered more injuries in a single season than any other team he'd ever coached.

Valhalla, which gave up the big kickoff touchdown run and lost the onsides kick, was using some freshmen on special teams, and, on offense, the Vikings, who were essentially a Wing-T team, had no halfbacks, DeMatteo noted.

"I'm so proud of this team. It never made excuses. It was a next-man-up mentality," he said.

Of Foisset, he added, "He's a warrior."

Kearns called Foisset an "amazing player," but credited Dobbs Ferry's coaches with forming a defensive game plan that prevented him from doing even more damage.

He pointed to Dobbs Ferry's talent and depth on offense as key in the win, noting the Eagles had multiple players gaining big yards.

"We've been waiting to get back for a year (to beat them)," Kearns said. "It feels amazing to do it. "

Nancy Haggerty covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Dobbs Ferry tops Valhalla to advance to Class C championshp game

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