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Junior quarterback Mike Godino completed 12 of 15 passes in the first half for 147 yards and two touchdowns, and the second-seeded Panthers held on for a 16-14 win over the third-seeded Golden Knights in a Section 1 Class B Football Championship semifinal Friday.
Pleasantville will play top-seeded Our Lady of Lourdes in the title game at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at Mahopac High School.
“The last time we played them they stacked everyone in the box to stop our running game so we wanted to spread them out and keep them honest. We had man-to-man coverage on the outside and we were able to take advantage of it.”
Junior wide receiver Greg Dillock capitalized on single coverage, catching four passes for 100 yards in the first half. Godino hit Owen Reda for a 21-yard touchdown pass and connected with James Leyden on a 3-yard strike.
“We were trying to run a screen the other way but I saw the pass rushers, was able to get outside and then Owen made a great move,” Godino said. “Not many times have we thrown the ball a lot, but it felt great.”
While Pleasantville’s offense was finding success through the air, the defense was suffocating Nanuet’s offense. Pleasantville limited Nanuet to 20 yards on 13 plays in the first half and 32 yards through three quarters.
Nanuet awoke in the fourth quarter behind quarterback Matt Carney.
“We just shut them down through three quarters,” defensive end Kevin Barile said. “We were firing in every facet, but then they made an adjustment and we had to make the adjustment.”
Nanuet had one last chance in the final seconds, which made Barile think back to last year’s game.
“We played them at their place and they scored a touchdown late in the game to beat us,” Barile said. “We were not going to let that happen again.”
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