NYSPHSAA semifinals: O'Neill's stars explode in second half, send Raiders to the Dome
MIDDLETOWN - In six previous trips to the state playoffs, James I. O'Neill's football team had won just once. Now, for the first time in program history, the Raiders don't just have a state-playoff winning streak, they have a chance at the state's biggest prize.
O'Neill committed ill-timed turnovers and trailed by nine points at halftime Saturday, but its stars exploded in the second half to send the Raiders to Syracuse. They scored 28 unanswered points to upset previously unbeaten Warrensburg/North Warren/Lake George 41-22 in the Class C state semifinals at Middletown High School.
O'Neill earned its first lead of the game, 28-22, after its athleticism led to touchdowns on two straight offensive plays in the third quarter. Both were simple passes from Nick Waugh, one that Jadon Spain took 52 yards to the end zone, the next that resulted in a Marek Arbogast 46-yard score.
"I always say that we have playmakers at every part of the field and even more than that the chemistry is so high," said senior Jordan Thompson, who ran for two scores and caught another. "We know that no matter what, if we stay the course and we stand together, we don't really believe any team can beat us."
And part of the confidence came off the performance of the defense. After allowing several long drives against a physical Warrensburg team in the first half, the O'Neill defense held the Wolverines to just one first down all third quarter.
While the offense surged, so did the defense. Junior Grant Lemler was at the heart of it, recording a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a sack.
"The defense just stepped up and played unbelievable in the second half," O'Neill coach Dave Moskowitz said.
More:NYSPHSAA quarterfinal: Westlake runs into a bigger, faster, better O'Neill team
Preview:High school football: What's next for Section 1 and 9 champions in NYSPHSAA semifinals
What it means
O'Neill will now meet Section 3's General Brown, which upended two-time state champ Lackawanna, at the JMA Wireless Dome (formerly the Carrier Dome) for the state title. They're scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Saturday night in Syracuse.
"We're making school history, for sure," Thompson said. "To 'Cuse we go."
Player of the game
Marek Arbogast, O'Neill. The junior scored twice, but both were seminal moments in the Raiders' comeback. First, Arbogast returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown during a first half that saw O'Neill struggle to move the football. Then, with his team starting to gain momentum, he took a short pass from Nick Waugh 56 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Raiders never trailed again.
"We've been doing that all year — me, Jadon and Jordan. I just knew right from there that things would click again," said Arbogast, who caught three passes for 78 yards. "We knew we can put up numbers. We're not scared. We got it."
By the numbers
O'Neill (11-2) - Thompson had 21 carries for 70 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a 20-yard touchdown. ... Nick Waugh finished 12 of 22 and threw for 161 of his 200 yards and all three touchdowns in the second half. Spain caught three passes for 72 yards, including the TD.
Warrensburg/North Warren/Lake George (12-1) - The Wolverines outgained O'Neill 168-57 in the first half, but they were held to just 80 yards and failed to score in the second half. ... Brody McCabe ran for 134 yards and threw a touchdown. Tristen Hitchcock, Caden Allen and Luke Sheldon each scored.
They said it
"(In the Section 9 final), we scored 35 points vs. Burke (Catholic) in one quarter. We said, 'We can do that,'" Arbogast said of the halftime deficit. "We knew we can do the same thing or worse. Credit to them, they are a great team, but we knew we could do it."
"We were beating ourselves," Moskowitz said. "We stuck with what we were doing. We knew we were putting better athletes on the field and that eventually they'd wear them down. We just kept it as simple as possible."
Josh Thomson is the Sports Editor for The Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Middletown Times Herald-Record. He can be reached by e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com, on Twitter at @lohudinsider, and on Instagram at @lohudinsider.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: O'Neill football beat Warrensburg in NYSPHSAA Class C state semifinals
