McMurray, defense shine as Bronxville football dominates Pleasantville

BRONXVILLE – The disappointment was audible, a collection of groans heard from the field to the sideline and the stands. Because it was right there for the taking.

“If he had caught that, man, I would’ve gone insane,” quarterback Theo McMurray said. “He works so hard and does a good job, it would’ve been awesome. This whole place would’ve gone crazy, having a moment like that.”

Alas, opportunity literally slipped from their grasp.

Anthony Geremias was able to laugh about it, though, while getting a round of handshakes from teammates that was both congratulatory and consolatory.

Because the defensive tackle made a quick-reaction play, pausing his rush and reaching up to get both hands on a pass intended for a timing route. It went as a batted ball, but he knew that an interception — and the possibility of a big man return in the closing minutes — would’ve put quite the punctuation on this game.

That sequence holds as a playful footnote, though, because the statement had already been made.

Bronxville issued a reminder and defended its position atop the small-school hierarchy with a 35-7 thumping of Pleasantville before a delighted home crowd.

McMurray threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, leading a group of skill position players who took full advantage of a dominant offensive line. Grant Patterson shined at cornerback on a defense that contained a talented Pleasantville squad that had averaged 33.4 points per game against its five previous Section 1 opponents this fall.

Bronxville rolled to a state championship last year, but with the Panthers back in Class C, there was some belief that they could stand as a hurdle in the playoffs. And, that might still be the case as these teams appear to be the obvious favorites in the section.

But, at least for now, the Broncos made a salient argument for there being a couple degrees of separation between them.

Liam Marcus consistently found holes at the line of scrimmage, including his 80-yard touchdown gallop in the third quarter. Will Waterstone, a freshman recently promoted from junior varsity, drove the pile for a physical 6-yards touchdown run with six minutes remaining.

The Broncos (5-1) set an immediate tone, scoring on their first two drives. McMurray hit Marco Pirelli on a post route and the receiver eluded two defenders while cutting across the field and turned it into a 35-yard touchdown four minutes into the game. Marcus took a screen pass and, behind good perimeter blocking, sprinted for a 24-yard touchdown that made it 14-0 with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

Patterson had three pass breakups and a second-quarter interception. Harry Bacigalupo recovered a fumble and James Molloy had two tackles for loss.

The Panthers did have some chances to pull themselves back into, including some short fields set up by four turnovers on downs, the Bronxville defense made it difficult for them to operate.

Connor Day’s 4-yard touchdown run, bouncing off tackles before turning the corner, put Pleasantville (5-2) on the board with 5:42 left in the third.

Stephen Haynes covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: McMurray, defense shine as Bronxville football dominates Pleasantville