Football
Haldane High School lost a heartbreaker on Saturday (March 27) at Albertus Magnus in Rockland County, rallying for 12 points in the final minute but falling short, 13-12.
The Falcons had a 13-0 lead with a minute to play in the game when Darrin Santos, playing quarterback in place of his brother, Dan, who was out with a toe injury, scored on a 3-yard run. A 2-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Blue Devils down 13-6.
On Magnus’ first offensive play, Haldane’s Jake Mason forced a fumble that was recovered by Santos at midfield. With 19 seconds left, Santos connected with Soren Holmbo on a 5-yard touchdown pass.
Coach Ryan McConville decided to go for the win with a 2-point conversion, but the Falcons stopped the Haldane runner short of the goal line.
“Every loss is tough, but when you drive down the field and have an opportunity in the fourth, it really stinks to lose,” McConville said. “But to be down 13-0 and have a chance to win, you can’t be too disappointed. I was amazed at the way our players competed at the end.”
Darrin Santos was clutch all over the field, completing 5 of 12 pass attempts for 56 yards and rushing for 135 yards on 25 carries. Holmbo had four receptions for 37 yards and Doug Donaghy had an interception.
“Darrin was outstanding,” McConville said. “Freshman Evan Giachinta also did well in his first varsity appearance at quarterback. And Dylan Rucker, another freshman, did a nice job at lineman.”
Haldane (0-2) is scheduled to host Woodlands on Saturday (April 3) at 1:30 p.m.
Beacon’s tough season continued when it found itself on the short end of a 39-0 decision on Friday (March 26) at home against Tappan Zee. To add insult to injury, it was later announced that both teams would have to quarantine for 10 days because of a COVID-19 exposure. Beacon’s game at Mahopac on April 1 was canceled; the Bulldogs (0-2) are scheduled to host Class A power Somers (2-0) on Friday (April 9) at 7 p.m.
Against Tappan Zee, “we managed to cause a couple of turnovers and played solid defense — some of the time,” said Coach Jim Phelan. “But we also had four interceptions against us,” including two returned for touchdowns.
Phelan noted that Tyler Haydt had a fumble recovery and forced two fumbles. “We have seen a lot of improvement from the young guys,” Phelan said. “Liebinson Perez Novas, a sophomore inside linebacker, had a strong game defensively” and two catches on offense.
“We’re looking to find something that works,” Phelan said. “The kids are doing well, but it’s a young group.”
Volleyball
The Haldane squad (7-1) picked up a straight-set victory on Wednesday (March 31) at home against Pawling after splitting two earlier matches with Croton.
Against Pawling, Meghan Tomann had 16 assists and two kills, Maria Barry and Rachel Iavicoli each had 14 digs, Iavicoli and Barry each had four kills and Jill Weinpahl had six kills.
“We played pretty well for being without our libero,” Megan Farrell, said Coach Kristina Roling. “She’s a huge anchor for us in the back. Rachel was aggressive and Maria Barry and Jill adjusted to the libero position and rose to the challenge. Kate Jordan showed her talent and potential with some amazing blocks and kills.”
Haldane defeated Croton, 3-0, at home on Saturday (March 27) but fell on the road on Monday by the same score. “They just got in our heads and beat us with their serving,” Roling said of the Monday match.
In the win over Croton, Tomann had 21 assists, Barry and Tomann each had 25 digs, Barry had eight kills and Weinpahl and Tomann each had six.
Beacon dropped a 3-0 decision to Ketcham on Tuesday (March 30) after falling the week before by the same score to John Jay of East Fishkill. The Bulldogs were scheduled to travel to Poughkeepsie on April 1 and Haldane today before hosting Poughkeepsie and Lourdes next week.
After playing Beacon, Haldane will host Pawling on Tuesday (April 6) and Putnam Valley on Thursday.
Girls’ Swimming
Beacon opened its season by defeating league rival Woodlands, 140-77, on March 16 behind personal bests from Bella Haydt, Meara Kumar, Isabel Bunker and Lilly Magurno. The Bulldogs fell to Arlington on March 18, 109-59, before defeating Peekskill, 108-56, and Putnam Valley-Mahopac, 96-74, last week.
The Bulldogs (3-1) were scheduled to take on Poughkeepsie on Thursday (April 1), followed by meets against Mount Vernon and Ketcham next week.
