By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
Forever is a long time, especially when it comes to winning championships.
Or, in the case of Penfield High School football, not winning.
Since schools in Section V began competing for football titles, Penfield had never won. Never. As in forever without a trophy.
Which is pretty much why they’ve never been anyone’s pick to win it all. Or to do very much winning at all, for that matter.
“We’ve been doubted every single year,” senior linebacker and tailback Anthony Theodorakakos said.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM DENNIS JOYCE.
They were even doubted in their own backyard.
“People in school are always saying we’re not good,” senior running back Brodie Joyce said. “But the stuff they were saying was right.”
Until Saturday night, that is. After spotting Pittsford a 10-0 lead through three quarters, the Patriots offense erupted for three touchdowns in just four minutes and 26 seconds as Penfield rallied for a 21-10 victory in the Section V Class AA championship game at SUNY Brockport.
“It doesn’t feel real,” Joyce said. “I don’t even know how I feel.”
Who could blame him? With 14 minutes remaining, Pittsford (6-5) had all but locked up victory. The Patriots offense had done little, unable to string together positive gains. Their two third-quarter possessions both ended in punts.
Pittsford, meanwhile, had built the 10-0 lead on a 43-yard field goal by Lorenzo Geminiani-Vega 3:45 before halftime and a 3-yard TD run by Dayshawn Preston late in the third quarter.
Still, Penfield (7-4) players weren’t panicked.
“It’s our mentality, we like to stay in what we call the green zone,” junior defensive back and wideout Jake Maurer said. “We’re not too amped up, we’re not too low. We just told ourselves we’ve been in situations way worse than this.”
Moments later, they had reason to believe. Theodorakakos took charge as Pittsford started a drive at its own 39 with 1:44 remaining in the third quarter.
Clearly motivated to be the difference maker, he powered through the line on first down and smothered Jack Thurley for a five-yard loss. On second down, he barged into the backfield again and this time stripped the ball from Thurley, with Jack Bidleman recovering.
“Coach said ‘You guys gotta get a stop’ so we put our mean faces on and got a stop,” Theodorakakos said.
Given the wake-up call they needed, the Patriots responded, finding the end zone just three plays later. Senior quarterback Dominic Giunta sprinted 34 yards off the right side to set up first down at the Pittsford 17 and two plays later he weaved his way up the middle from 12 yards out to score Penfield’s first touchdown.
On the ensuing Pittsford possession, a false start penalty followed by Evan Layton’s tackle of Preston for a four-yard loss forced the Panthers into a passing situation, and defensive pressure led to incompletions on second and third down.
Then it was Maurer’s turn to wear the hero’s cape. Using a play installed Friday during the practice walk-through, Maurer burst into the Pittsford backfield and, with his right arm, blocked the punt by Geminiani-Vega. It set up first-and-goal at the Panthers 9.
“It opened up like the Red Sea,” Maurer said. “We had a great game plan going in and coach always says a blocked punt can change a game.”
Which is just what happened. Penfield again just needed three plays to find the end zone. This time it was Theodorakakos, who sliced in from three yards out, and Riley Johnson’s PAT-kick gave the Patriots a 14-10 lead with 9:03 remaining.
Before Pittsford could even think about reversing Penfield’s tsunami of momentum, the Patriots had the ball yet again.
Maurer recovered the ensuing squib kickoff at the Pittsford 38 and once again the Patriots needed only three plays to reach the end zone. On third-and-three, Joyce sped around the right edge and was gone, racing 31 yards untouched for the 21-10 lead.
The Panthers couldn’t recover and their hopes of winning the first Section V title as a combined program ended on a Maurer interception in the end zone with 3:45 to play. The last championships by the Pittsford Central School District came during the Mendon threepeat of 1980-81-82.
Penfield players, meanwhile, immediately raced to their classmates in the stands to celebrate.
“We love those guys, they’re our friends in class and outside of class,” Joyce said.
And to think that back in early October, Penfield had a 1-4 record. They’ve now won six straight and will play in the state quarterfinals against Section VI champion Bennett at 6 p.m. Saturday at All High Stadium in Buffalo.
“We had the mindset, ‘We’re that team, we’re going to bounce back,’ ” Joyce said.
Said Patriots coach Anthony Bianchi, who was given the traditional Gatorade bath by his players: “This has been a five-year process.”
Actually it has been decades in the making.
“This was so much more than just our team,” Maurer said. “It’s everyone that came before us.”
Congrats Penfield! Who and when do they play next?