| COLONIE -- A mind-numbing rally by
the La Salle Institute team suddenly was in serious jeopardy of being
trumped by a last-second drive by Guilderland in the Section II Class AA
Super Bowl Friday night.
With the season for both teams hanging in the balance at Colonie
High, the son of a coach made the kind of decision coaches crave, and
the play netted incredibly satisfying results for his team.
La Salle senior Brian Beaury, the son of College of Saint Rose men's
basketball coach Brian Beaury, ripped the football away from Guilderland
quarterback Andrew Smith and proceeded to race 91 yards untouched for a
touchdown with 15.9 seconds remaining to put the finishing touches on a
captivating 28-17 title victory for the Cadets.
The Dutchmen (8-2) appeared poised to win the game despite
surrendering all of a 17-0 lead in the fourth quarter. Smith, who led
Guilderland with 157 yards rushing, kept the ball on a designed run to
the right when he ran into Beaury.
A split second after Beaury collided with Smith, the senior snatched
the football away and was heading in the other direction -- to the
delight of La Salle's bench. Most of the Cadets on the sideline, along
with coach Al Rapp and his coaching staff, chased Beaury all the way
down the field.
"He was holding the ball out, so I went to grab it. I figured I would
get it one of these times," Beaury calmly said.
"How about Beaury doing that? Unbelievable," Rapp said.
The pulse-pounding comeback by the Cadets (9-1) provided La Salle its
third Section II title since Rapp arrived in 2000. La Salle advances to
a state regional contest next Saturday against the Section IX (Lower
Hudson Valley) champion at Dietz Stadium.
"Never ... I've never seen a comeback like that at this stage of a
game," La Salle senior quarterback Jared Henkel said. "It was amazing.
That last play, I'm still trying to figure what to say about what Brian
did."
La Salle junior running back Marquis Terrell provided the Cadets a
21-17 lead with 3:33 remaining on a 2-yard touchdown run.
Suddenly trailing for the first time, Smith engineered a threatening
drive with his legs and his throwing arm as the Dutchmen confidently
looked to rebound. Beaury's play, of course, changed all that.
"Well, it seemed like his forward progress was stopped," Guilderland
coach Dan Penna said. "But the officials were right on the call."
Fifteen minutes after the game's conclusion, Beaury was still trying
to come to grips with what had happened.
"This really feels amazing," Beaury said.
La Salle assistant coach Gary Lauver then jumped on Beaury's back
yelling, "You're the best."
"We didn't get down on each other. We just knew we all had to step it
up," Beaury said.
Rapp was proud of the composure his team displayed. The Cadets were
outgained 224-23 in the first half and trailed 17-0.
"That's what happens when you believe and you don't give up. That's
all I can tell you," Rapp said. "There was no screaming or yelling at
halftime. All I told them is if we execute the way we have all year,
we'll win this game."
La Salle converted two fourth-down plays -- a 10-yard touchdown pass
from Henkel to sophomore Lou DiNovo and a 38-yard touchdown run by
Terrell on a draw play -- to cut its deficit to 17-14 midway through the
fourth quarter.
"I wasn't ready to stop playing football. None of these guys were,"
Beaury said. |
