Connor Brice lit up the stat sheet in his first—and only—game of the year, accounting for five scores in Tuckahoe’s season opener before being sidelined for the remainder of the year with a hand injury.
On Friday afternoon, he came back in a big way, leading the Tigers to 28-0 win over rival Haldane to claim the Class D Section 1 title at Mahopac High School.
Brice threw for one touchdown and ran for two more in Tuckahoe’s decisive win, showing little signs of rust after a prolonged layoff.
Brice said that working his way back into a position where he could help his team avenge last year’s final loss was at the front of his mind the last two months.
“The grind of making it back was something I was looking forward to,” said Brice. “The feeling is amazing; they beat us last year so we were looking forward to getting this one back.”
Declan Connolly picked up the other Tuckahoe touchdown on a one-yard dive in the second quarter, while Dan Djurkinjak was perfect on four PAT chances.
Tuckahoe head coach John D’Arco Jr. said that he was happy to have the dynamic Brice back, noting that he was a difference-maker against a Haldane team the Tigers topped 12-6 during the regular season.
“He’s a special athlete and having him out there makes us a better team,” said D’Arco. “I think him coming back gave us a boost and the rest of the team stepped up today too.”
Tuckahoe will begin its road to the Dome on Friday, when they play Section 9 champion Burke Catholic at Arlington High School. After defeating Spackenkill for the Section 9 title on Nov. 9—the Eagles won 48-21–Burke Catholic has been off for a week, but D’Arco said that the Tigers’ preparation for Friday would begin nearly immediately after the Haldane game concluded.
“We’re going to enjoy tonight, and then it’s right back to studying tape and getting ready for Burke Catholic,” said D’Arco.
“We know we’re all going to have to be focused this week,” added Brice. “We have to work as hard as we can to get ready for this game and be dialed in all week.”
