With just over a minute left in the game, Herkimer senior quarterback James Aiello took the snap with his team down 20-12 against Onondaga. He rolled out of the pocket to his left and saw junior Tyler Steele had a step on his defender, junior Zachary Delaney, heading towards the sideline.

Aiello let the ball fly, but as Steele slowed down nearing the sideline, Delaney caught up with the receiver and jumped with both arms outstretched for the pass, which was thrown a tad bit too short.

“I knew it was right there,” Delaney said. “I knew we had it in our hands.”

Delaney’s second interception of the night sealed Onondaga’s second sectional championship in three years and their eighth all time. The Tigers sealed the win, 20-12, with a trio of kneel-downs following the interception, and the celebration commenced.

“I’m pretty much speechless; I’m blown away by this win,” Delaney said. “So excited to keep playing with the boys.”

Forcing timely turnovers was the theme of the game for Onondaga, and it started in the second quarter.

After Herkimer’s MVP of the night, Wyatt Renshaw, ran in a three-yard touchdown early in the second quarter to put Herkimer up 6-0 following a missed two-point conversion, Onondaga took the lead just three drives later largely due to an interception by senior Wes Corr. He brought the pick back to the Herkimer four-yard line, and it took senior Jason Holbrook just two plays to pound in a four-yard touchdown run.

Delaney, who also plays at the quarterback position, ran in the two-point conversion to give Onondaga the 8-6 lead.

On the very next drive, Delaney secured his first interception of the game and ran it back to the Herkimer 28-yard line. This time, Onondaga could not take advantage, and the score remained 8-6 heading into halftime.

On the other side of the break, it took nearly the entire third quarter for another score. Starting at their own 43-yard line, Onondaga strung together a drive all the way down the field featuring two big plays from Delaney and Holbrook.

The first, a 24-yard pass to Corr from Delaney, and immediately following that, Holbrook ran for a 21-yard gain to bring the Tigers deep into Herkimer territory. Three plays later, Delaney completed the drive with a three-yard touchdown run, but a failed two-point conversion meant Onondaga held just a one-possession, 14-6 lead.

With less than five minutes to play, Herkimer had the ball with a chance to draw even. But Aiello, looking for a slant route across the middle, floated the pass short of its intended target, and Holbrook was in perfect position for the interception.

“As soon as I saw that ball go up, I knew I was going to get that,” he said. “I caught it, looked at both sides, found where my hole was and immediately went where I thought I could go.”

That hole led him towards the sideline, short of the end zone, but nearing the pylon, Holbrook made a decisive cut back to the middle and past a defender for the insurance marker.

“I knew I had to get into the end zone, or we might not have a chance to push it in,” he said. “I knew that I could make it in, so I decided to keep going and blasted through.”

Herkimer responded with a 60-plus-yard touchdown pass from Aiello to Renshaw on the ensuing drive, but again, the Magicians missed the two-point conversion. Herkimer’s final chance to force overtime was squashed by Delaney’s second interception. And Onondaga held on.

Published on November 2, 2018 at 8:46 pm

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder