Horseheads rolls past Vestal for first Section 4 title in football since 1998

Horseheads had gone 26 years without a Section 4 championship football. This year's team ended that drought in emphatic fashion, rolling to a 31-0 win over Vestal in the Class A final Friday night at Horseheads High School.

Bryce Thomas carried 19 times for 189 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Blue Raiders to their first championship since winning three in a row from 1996 to 1998.

"It's amazing," Horseheads head coach Kevin Hillman said. "I'll tell you what, these guys have battled. This goes back to '98, when I played, and all the ups and downs and guys who have played for this program. ... We are a big family and now we did it all not just for ourselves, the community."

Lucas Mosher added 88 yards and a 6-yard touchdown on 11 carries, along with a 49-yard touchdown catch.

Horseheads led 21-0 at halftime in beating Vestal for the second time this season, with the first a 35-20 margin Oct. 18. The Golden Bears had only 23 yards of offense in the first half of the rematch. Horseheads' edge in offense ended up 370-129 for the game.

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"It’s surreal," Mosher said. "First time to do it in forever. We are not done yet. We still have another week ahead of us and we are ready."

Offensive tackle Robert Peckham has been a key part of Horseheads' prolific offense all season, in addition to being a defensive force. He ended Vestal's first drive with a sack Friday, and Hunter Lavigne's sack ended the Bears' second possession.

"I have no words," Peckham said. "I am just so proud of everyone right now. I can't even describe what the feeling is right now."

Stars of the game

Thomas' big rushing day included a 15-yard touchdown to open the scoring, and a 75-yarder to close it with 6:48 remaining.

"He’s that guy, he works so hard and eventually he’s going to wear you out and go," Hillman said. "And we have a bunch of guys like that. Mosher is like that and two weeks ago (Jaxson) Burchard was the guy. We have some athletes now."

Raiders quarterback Dom Cardinale completed four of seven passes for 75 yards and a TD.

Mosher, Griffin Stevens, and Jonah Lamb intercepted passes for Horseheads. Vestal quarterback Josh Kweller completed 19 of 25 passes for just 98 yards.

Trevor Reidy, a weapon all season with strong kickoffs and accuracy on extra points, contributed a 25-yard field goal to give Horseheads a 24-0 lead late in the third quarter. He was 4-for-4 on extra points.

Physical defense led the way

The top-seeded Raiders were scheduled to play Binghamton in a semifinal last week, but the Patriots forfeited. Mosher said Horseheads took advantage of the additional preparation time and came out fresh.

"We really preached all week we wanted to be physical," Hillman said. "A physical defense and don’t let those guys off the line. At times we got some penalties for it, but that’s how we play football. I thought the kids did a really great job today."

Peckham's sack set the tone early in a rematch of the 2023 sectional final Vestal won by a 40-14 score.

"That was the most special moment ever," he said of the sack. "I was just so hyped, so excited four and out."

More:Pass attack helps Elmira beat Corning for back-to-back Section 4 Class AA football titles

Up next

With a new rotation system being used for state quarterfinals, both teams will continue their seasons next weekend.

Horseheads (9-2) takes on Section 3 champion Whitesboro (11-0) at 8 p.m. Nov. 22 at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. Whitesboro beat Corcoran, 35-20, on Friday.

Vestal (5-6) meets Section 9 champ Cornwall at 6 p.m. the same day at Goshen High School. Cornwall (10-1) rallied for a dramatic 27-26 win over Minisink Valley in their sectional final.

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