Football: Carmel falls to CBA-Syracuse after Brothers' hot start in Class AA state finals

SYRACUSE - Carmel had been able to circumvent any obstacle or challenge that has come its way, overcoming great odds to reach to reach the JMA Dome in Syracuse for its second state finals trip in three years.

Unfortunately for the Rams, their final opponent of the season proved to be their toughest challenge yet. Christian Brothers Academy-Syracuse came loaded with an arsenal of Division I-caliber talent on both sides of the ball, and their amount of speed, size and big-play ability proved to be the difference.

Carmel settled in midway through the second quarter, but by then CBA-Syracuse raced out to a three-touchdown lead, which set the tone early in the Brothers' 31-14 Class AA state championship victory over the Rams.

"We played a good opponent that's coached very well," Carmel coach Tom Donahoe said. "We've had some hurdles to overcome during the season, and it's been like David and Goliath since before Arlington. Even David only had to do it once. We did it three times and came up a little short the fourth time."

The Rams would hold their own with CBA-Syracuse after the Brothers' hot start, outscoring them 14-10 over the final three quarters, but the early deficit was too great to overcome. Carmel got some key stops, and got a couple of Tristan Werlau rushing touchdowns.

Between various injuries and an unexpected coaching change, with longtime great Todd Cayea stepping down from his post in Week 2 due to health reasons, the Rams have grown well-adjusted to defying odds and overcoming challenges.

There were moments the Rams seemed to be building momentum, especially in the second half, but the Brothers were able to respond and protect their lead.

"This team's got no quit, it's a bond that you don't see often in football teams," Carmel senior Matt Risley said. "We've come together, worked our butts off through the whole season. Obviously, it paid off and put us back in the Dome, so I can't complain. It hits the heart a little bit not being able to bring it home, but to be out there with my best friends, look up in the stands and see everybody I love, it doesn't get much better than this."

The Brothers quickly amassed a 21-0 lead, thanks to a first quarter that included a couple of long-distance touchdown passes from Porter Matt to Darien Williams, who connected twice for early end zone trips of 78 and 65 yards each. It appeared CBA-Syracuse was going to run away early.

The Rams started to settle down defensively and got an 80-yard touchdown run from Werlau for their first touchdown of the game. They had a crucial fourth-down red zone stop in the closing seconds of the first half to keep it a 21-7 game going into the break.

"It's a great football team across the lines over there, but we had a couple of adjustments we had to make which changed the whole trajectory of the game," Risley said. "It stinks that we didn't start out well, but we made the change and we played as hard as we could."

Carmel kept CBA-Syracuse in check on the ground, but the Brothers overwhelmed the Rams through the air. They got key third and fourth-down conversions to break Carmel's momentum, even when Ram defenders would be in the right position or smother their opponents in double coverage. 397 of CBA-Syracuse's 504 offensive yards for the entire game came through the air.

"A completed pass does not mean poor coverage, they made five or six completed passes with very good coverage," Donahoe said. "We made a few coaching adjustments, but it's really just getting guys that have a lot of aggression anyway to continue playing very hard and playing hard for each other."

CBA-Syracuse added one last field goal to pad its lead in the closing minutes of the game and got an interception from Andrew Cooney to seal the title.

"With two very talented teams, the ball's got to bounce your way once or twice, and we didn't quite have that in a few key spots, but for a team as well-coached as they are, for several staff members to compliment how our kids never laid down and played hard right until the end and that's true," Donahoe said. "That's a big compliment to our kids."

What it means

Carmel's storybook season ends in the JMA Dome, but unfortunately without championship hardware. Like the Rams, CBA-Syracuse previously won a state title in 2021, when it was still a Class A school.

Although the Rams didn't get the ending they wanted, they are still grateful for the long journey they had to reach this point.

"This is the best environment to be in," Risley said. "It's the best people to be here with. I couldn't be happier to be here with the guys and with the fans, and everybody."

Game ball

Darien Williams, CBA-Syracuse: The junior receiver was more than a handful with his speed and athleticism. Williams finished with seven receptions for 234 yards and three touchdowns. He was named the Class AA state finals Most Valuable Player.

By the numbers

CBA-Syracuse (13-0): Aside from Williams, Jason Brunson caught a five-yard touchdown pass. Syair Torrence had four receptions for 53 yards, and he made an interception on defense. The Brothers had eight receivers chip in for CBA-Syracuse, who logged 504 yards of total offense. Quarterback Porter Matt completed 17 of 31 passes for 397 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Quinten Lewis had 50 rushing yards on 12 carries, while Isaiah Coleman had 47 yards on 13 carries. Everett Gilchrist made a 38-yard field goal. Andrew Cooney had an interception on defense, and the Brothers also recovered a fumbled snap to force another turnover.

Carmel (11-2): Tristan Werlau ran for a game-high 192 yards on 17 carries, with a pair of touchdown runs from 80 and 72 yards out. Brian McGrory entered the game late in the first half after an injury to starting quarterback Christian Nunez. McGrory completed 6 of 9 passes for 100 yards. Christian Nunez completed 2 of 4 passes for 49 yards before exiting the game. Nunez was also named the Sportsmanship Award winner for the Rams. Damien Santiago led Rams' receivers with two catches for 73 yards. Matt Risley had an interception for the Rams. Carmel amassed 325 yards of total offense.

They said it

"The reflection will come later, maybe on the bus ride home, but this has always – out of all the sports – the best one there is for a whole lot of reasons," Donahoe said. "The bond built between these young men is really the best of it, and that's probably been the biggest pleasure I've had this season was just being among those young men and the bonds they formed. Going into the Section 1 championship, there were very few people other than ourselves who thought we had any chance of advancing beyond that. We advanced beyond that, then the regionals and state semifinals, and we plaeyd very hard here, so they'll take that as a great memory for life."

"I know I can use my speed to my advantage, but I just trust my quarterback to put it in a spot where they can't get it because I wouldn't be able to do any of this without him, so I'm really proud of Porter (Matt)," CBA-Syracuse's Darien Williams said of being named MVP. "I've been with him and our other quarterback, Brayden Smith, for a couple of years. I'm proud of Porter, our whole offense, they've really gotten me where I am."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Football: Carmel falls to CBA-Syracuse in Class AA state finals