The Marlboro football team celebrates its win over Spackenkill in the Section 9 Class B quarterfinals.
MARLBORO – They ain’t champs for nothing.
The Marlboro football team erupted in the second half to push ahead and pull away from Spackenkill High School, 28-13, in a Section 9 Class B quarterfinal on Friday.
Before a rollicking home crowd, often implored to “make some noise,” the fourth-seeded Iron Dukes rode running backs Billy Williamson and John Perugino and scored 21 points in a dominant third quarter.
When the smoke settled — literally, too, as the teams played under a steady fog — Marlboro had sent a quick memo to the section and reminded us all of what it is capable, handling No. 5 Spackenkill. Suddenly, that fourth seed doesn’t seem too significant.
The Iron Dukes face top-seeded James I. O’Neill in the semifinals on Saturday, 3 p.m. at Middletown High School. That matchup will be a rematch of the final last season, in which the Iron Dukes prevailed to capture a fifth consecutive section title. Granted, O’Neill did beat Marlboro by 20 points in their meeting earlier this season.
But, by all appearances, this is a different team than it was in September. Heck, in the second half of this contest, the Iron Dukes looked like a different team than it had a half hour prior.
Williamson ran for 176 yards and three touchdowns, and Perugino rushed for 96 yards and a score to lead Marlboro (6-2). Eric Borchert added 73 yards, including a 40-yard burst. Jack Young had an interception and Jovhannie Andrades a sack in the third quarter.
The teams went into halftime tied at 7, but Marlboro responded from the outset of the third quarter, taking the opening second-half possession and marching 80 yards in 2:48 for a go-ahead touchdown. Williamson, whose bruising power runs and pile pushing were the impetus of that drive, scored on a 3-yard scamper. The running back, on a misdirection left, skipped into the end zone untouched to put the Iron Dukes ahead, 14-7.
After Spackenkill pulled within four points on Ryan Espinoza’s short field goal, Marlboro again zipped down the field and replied with a touchdown. This one, John Perugino’s 15-yard burst off the left that made it 21-10 with 4:36 left in the third.
On its next possession, the Iron Dukes put the scoreboard to work again in under a minute. Williamson scored from two yards out with 32 seconds left in the third. That score was set up by Perugino’s 33-yard run, which followed a 17-yard burst from Williamson.
Espinoza booted another field goal with 5:25 remaining, cutting the deficit to 28-13 for the Spartans (5-3).
Spackenkill tied it at 7 late in the first half, thanks to two big plays by Kabongo Barry. On and fourth-and-five, Camron Abalos threw deep to his receiver running a go route from the split end spot. Barry adjusted to the ball, slowed his momentum and twisted to make a leaping catch for 34 yards that brought the Spartans to the 6. On the next play, he took the handoff on a zone read and sprinted outside, around the right tackle, diving into the end zone 2:31 before intermission.
Williamson had put Marlboro on the board with 4:53 left in the second quarter, capitalizing on Young’s diving interception. The running back ran a sweep left and broke a tackle on the edge and outran the pursuit 40 yards up the sideline before dragging a defender into the end zone.
The rivals had met in the season opener in September, and Marlboro surged in the second half to erase a halftime deficit and earn a 46-28 home win.
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4826, Twitter: @StephenHaynes4