Football

Sherburne-Earlville 26, Frankfort-Schuyler 20

FRANKFORT – If Sherburne-Earlville makes the Section III playoffs this year, it will point to one terrific defensive stand as the threshold that put it over the top.

The Marauders’ defense held Frankfort-Schuyler’s offense for four plays inside the three-yard line with less than a minute to go to preserve their fifth win of the season.

With a victory next week at unbeaten Herkimer, the Marauders can force a tie for the Class C East title, and most likely sew up a third straight playoff appearance. “It’s by far the best defensive stand we’ve had,” said S-E fifth-year head coach Mike Jasper. “With the pressure of the moment and everything on the line…to stop them four straight plays shows what type of team we have.”

Frankfort-Schuyler hit a big pass play in the flat, and after a broken tackle, the receiver raced down the sideline before getting shoved out of bounds by S-E senior Ben Khoury.

From there, the host club tried four straight running plays – calling timeouts after the first three. On fourth-and-goal, the interior of the S-E line stonewalled the F-S running back.

Situated at the half-yard line, S-E quarterback Cody Marango ran a sneak to run out the clock. “I’ve been to Frankfort-Schuyler three times and come up empty,” Jasper said. “That’s a tough place to play, and it was nice to see the kids dig themselves out of a hole and stick with it.”