Khaya Moses sets Section V record but Monroe's perfect season ends in state semifinals

Maine-Endwell, a high school football team working on winning a third consecutive state championship, used its running game to hold off Section V champion Monroe in a state tournament semifinal Saturday.

Monroe led at halftime of the Class B final four game, but touchdown runs by Jaden Branch and Vinny Mancini, plus a safety in the second half gave Maine-Endwell a 29-24 win at Cicero-North Syracuse High.

The Maine-Endwell Spartans (12-0) take a 34-game winning streak into the Class B state championship game Dec. 3 inside the JMA Wireless Dome at Syracuse University, where they will face Section I champion Rye from Westchester County.

Amari Colon scored his second of three touchdowns for Monroe on a 58-yard reception from Khaya Moses to give the Red Jackets a 18-14 lead with 1:03 remaining in the first half. That was Moses' 38th touchdown pass, a new single-season record in Section V.

The Spartans received the second-half kickoff and drove to a touchdown, a 14-yard run by Branch after a fumble recovery by a Maine-Endwell offensive lineman earlier in the possession.

Monroe trailed 20-18 after that score by the team based near Binghamton, and then fumbled the ball back to Maine-Endwell during a sack by Tanner Burlingame, who also recovered the ball.

The Spartans had the ball at the Monroe 25-yard line, and then reached the end zone on a seven-yard run by Mancini to take a 27-18 lead with 6:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Monroe made it to the Maine-Endwell 21 on its next possession, but Spartans linebacker Landon Rollo intercepted a pass. A punt gave Monroe the ball back at the team's 28, and a 41-yard run for another touchdown by Colon made the score 27-24 with 11:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Maine-Endwell's offense put together another drive deep into Monroe's side of the field, but fumbled the ball away, this time to Robert Arnold at the Monroe 3.

Tahjmir Mullins tried to run the ball out of the end zone on Monroe's next offensive play but was tackled for a safety that bumped Maine-Endwell's lead to 29-24 with 9:54 remaining in the final quarter.

The Red Jacket had to kick the ball back to Maine-Endwell after the safety. The Spartans converted a fourth-and-1 as they moved to the Monroe 33, where the Section IV champions fumbled the ball away again to Arnold.

Monroe had the ball at its 39, picked up a first down when the Red Jackets faced a 4th-and-9, but turned the ball over on downs at the Maine-Endwell 41 with 1:29 remaining.

"Sometimes you can do everything right and still not be successful on the scoreboard," Cunningham said. "For me, I've always believed football is a microcosm of life, and I hope my seniors that are going to be graduating are going to be going on to their future endeavors understanding that sometimes you can do everything you're supposed to do and still not come out in the end. But at the end of the day, as long as you continue to work hard and do what you're supposed to do, you'll always be successful."

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Monroe's quest for perfection ends against Maine-Endwell in semifinals