By Rob Potter
KINGSTON — November 2, 2010 — In their regular season football game against the Cornwall Dragons back on Oct. 8, the Monticello Panthers held a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. But Cornwall responded by scoring 42 straight points to earn a 49-14 win.
When the teams met again on Friday night in a Section IX Class A semifinal at Dietz Stadium in Kingston, Monticello never had the chance to take the lead.
The Dragons set the tone for the game when senior running back Tyree Smallwood ran for a 55-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Cornwall went on to record a 47-0 victory over the Panthers.
Cornwall (8-1), which was ranked 14th among Class A teams in the New York State Sportswriters Association poll released on Oct. 24, will play Wallkill in the Class A championship game at 7 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 5 at Dietz Stadium.
Monticello ended its season, which was its first on the varsity level in 75 years, with a 4-5 record.
After forcing the Panthers to punt on their first possession, Cornwall added to its lead. Quarterback Tyler Lawlor capped a seven-play drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Joe White, which gave the Dragons a 14-0 advantage with 6:06 left in the first quarter.
On the subsequent kickoff, the ball hit a Monticello player and Cornwall recovered the ball at the Panthers’ 6-yard line. Two plays later, Lawlor extended the Dragons’ advantage to 21-0 with a 2-yard TD run.
Cornwall added three touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 40-0 lead at halftime. The first was a 1-yard run by Peter Catal, the second was a 29-yard pass from Lawlor to Alex Cruz and the third was a 30-yard pass from Lawlor to Chris Sime.
Smallwood scored the final Dragons’ TD on a 2-yard run with 7:11 remaining in the third quarter.
Smallwood finished the night with 100 rushing yards on nine carries. Lawlor, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Offensive Player, completed 8 of 9 passes for 205 yards.
Cornwall linebacker Sam Abbanat, who recorded several tackles, was honored as the game’s Most Valuable Defensive Player.
“I thought that coming out and scoring those first two touchdowns gave us some momentum,” Cornwall Coach Marcus Hughes said. “Tyree Smallwood did a great job running the football and Tyler Lawlor played very well.
“This was a good team win for us,” Hughes added.
The Dragons’ defense played an outstanding game. Cornwall contained Monticello quarterback Shane Jackson, who entered the game with 1,272 passing yards and more than 500 rushing yards on the season. The Dragons held Jackson to minus 16 yards rushing on 10 carries and 2 of 5 passing for 15 yards.
Chandler Williams caught both of Jackson’s passes.
Bobby Wagner was the Panthers’ leading rusher with five carries for 12 yards. Jose Cruz added four yards on seven carries for Monticello.
“In our practices, Tyree Smallwood played the role of Shane Jackson,” Hughes said. “He did a good job and our defenders chased him all around the field.”
Sean Reuss led the Panthers’ defense with seven tackles. Mistah Ali had six tackles, while Brandon Reese and Gio Laguna both had five tackles. In addition, Anthony Gray made four tackles and Brandon Corley had four tackles and fumble recovery.
“We were just defeated by a better team,” Monticello Coach Matt Buddenhagen said. “I think that Cornwall is the best Class A team in Section IX. It’s tough because we ran into a very good football team that is hot right now.
“I’m pleased that our guys kept playing hard the whole game,” he added.
Buddenhagen was also happy with the Panthers’ overall season.
“The community is very proud of these guys and the coaches are very proud of these guys,” he said. “We won four games this season and we feel like we should have won six games.
“Monticello is a very diverse community and no sport brings a community together like football,” Buddenhagen continued. “We had great support from the school and community all season. There were more than a 1,000 people at a couple of our home games.”