By TONY BELLISSIMO
So maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise when senior kick holder T.C. Neuhs turned a failed field goal attempt into a game-winning touchdown pass with 44 seconds left to play, scrambling to avoid three defenders and lofting the ball to senior tight end Blake Malizia in the end zone.
"It was a high snap and T.C. had to get out of his stance to catch it," Denton said. "He knew at that point the field goal wasn't going to happen, so he got himself some throwing room and put it right on the mark. It's something we've worked on just about every day in practice and a blessing that it helped us win a game."
South Side also botched a field-goal try at the end of a scoreless first half, but that mistake resulted in nothing more than a change of possession.
"The fact we have regular-season overtime is why we were trying the field goal at the end of the game," Denton explained. "We started to move the ball well in the second half, and I thought if we could get to overtime we could win it there. Luckily, we didn't need overtime."
Division's only points came on a 27-yard field goal. The Cyclones defense, led by senior tackle Connor Ferguson (six tackles, two sacks), senior linebacker Keith Arcuri and senior cornerback Mike Dolan (a game-sealing interception), was outstanding.
"The defense came up huge," Denton said. "We gave them a short field a couple of times, but we got some key sacks to set them back."
Senior Max Caster and sophomore Dominic Piscelli both saw action at quarterback for South Side, and that's likely to continue for the remainder of the season. Both led promising drives.
On the ground, senior fullback Chris Raven carried nine times for 54 yards, and senior tailback Frank Robustello added 49 yards on eight rushes. "It was a decent start for our running game, but we need to build off it," Denton said.
With no game this week due to the cancellation of Herricks' season, the Cyclones will have some extra practice time. As a result of the forfeit, they'll take a 2-0 record into New Hyde Park on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m.
"We'd much rather be playing [this week]," Denton said. "New Hyde Park will be a very big test for us."
