Plainedge flag football falls short of making state final
Plainedge's Kate Franks during the NYSPHSAA Class C semifinal game At Homer Senior High School in Homer, NY on Saturday. Credit: Jorge Marcano
Plainedge’s defense delivered its best performance of the season.
Yet despite a goal-line stand, strong flag pulling and clutch punting, Plainedge fell, 7-0, to Section I’s Pioneer in the Class C state flag football semifinal Saturday at Homer High School.
The game’s only score came with five minutes left in the first half when Jayden Leederman scored on a 2-yard run. But even then, Plainedge never stopped fighting.
“We’ve made big comebacks before,” said Eleni McGlynn, a linebacker and right tackle. “We had time and energy to do it. We just couldn’t make the big plays when we needed them.”
McGlynn had a standout performance with eight flag pulls and led a defense that stopped Pioneer twice on the 1-yard line. The dominant defensive sequence came with 10 minutes left in the second half, when Pioneer was stopped on all four plays on first-and-goal from the 1 before a roughing-the-passer penalty replayed the downs. But Plainedge stood strong, denying the score over eight straight plays.
“Everybody made flag pulls,” McGlynn said. “We worked so hard all season, and it really showed in this game.”
Punter Eliana Dipalo also kept Plainedge in the game with booming 40- and 45-yard punts to flip field position.
Plainedge (11-8-1) had one final shot with under four minutes remaining. On fourth-and-1 near midfield, Ava Renzo made a critical flag pull to get the ball back and give the offense one last chance.
Charlotte Norbury led the offense with five catches for 75 yards, but Plainedge couldn’t find the end zone against a fast, athletic Pioneer (15-1) defense.
“We had some chances there,” coach Adam Hovorka said. “We’re proud of how hard they worked. After those two goal-line stands, we had momentum. But credit to Pioneer, they made more plays than we did.”
Plainedge ended its season knowing it belonged on the state stage, and with every intention to get back. Quarterback Gianna Ponticello echoed the team’s pride despite the loss.
“It showed that you don’t need four years of experience to compete here,” said the sophomore. “No one gave up. Even with 50 seconds left, we still thought we had them.”
