RAVENA-COEYMANS-SELKIRK — With only one day left in 2022, we are at the end of our countdown of the Top 5 Stories of the year. So here it is — the Number 1 local story of 2022.
The RCS Indians captured the imagination of their community with their explosive offense and staunch defense. The team was crowned the Class B Section 2 champions and made their way to the state semi-finals for the second year in a row.
Join us in congratulating the RCS Indians for another championship season and for being the top story of the year!
NUMBER 1: Indians ride winning streak into state semi-finals
RAVENA-COEYMANS-SELKIRK — It’s like deja vu all over again.
The RCS Indians again defeated the Peru Knighthawks in a replay of last year’s postseason. This time around, the Indians rolled over their opponents Saturday afternoon by a score of 35-19.
The Indians are now the Class B Section 2 champions, winning the state regional championships with their victory against Peru.
With only four teams left standing, the win sends the 10-2 Indians to face off against the undefeated Pleasantville Panthers, who stand at 11-0 on the season. The Panthers made it into the semi-finals with a 33-7 victory over the Port Jervis Raiders on Friday.
Next weekend’s game will also be a repeat of last year’s semi-finals. In 2021, the Indians took the loss and just missed heading to the state finals in Syracuse.
This year, the hometown team heads into the semi-finals on fire, with the offense racking up huge scores and the defense holding opponents to just a handful of points.
Saturday’s win against Peru came with two rushing touchdowns by Indians senior Aidan Lochner, who has been piling up the TDs in the postseason and led the team in yards Saturday with 227. Senior Frankie Broadhurst scored one rushing touchdown and carried the ball for 70 yards on the day.
Quarterback Luke Misetich also connected with junior Dominick Paljusaj for a pair of passing touchdowns.
The Indians kicked off the game scoring six points in the first quarter, then brought the score to 12-0 in the second on a rushing touchdown. Lochner rushed into the endzone on the 2-point conversion attempt, putting the score at 14-0 in the second.
A 30-yard pass from Misetich to Paljusaj put another TD on the board with a minute to go in the half, putting the score at 20-0.
The Nighthawks would put their first points on the board with a touchdown with less than a minute to go until halftime. The extra point was good, with the two teams heading into the locker room 20-7 at the half.
The second half of the game started slow with both teams kept scoreless in the third quarter, before Paljusaj put another score into the endzone and Lochner converted the 2-point attempt to bring the score to 28-7.
Peru would follow that up with a 1-yard rushing touchdown with five minutes to go in the game, putting the score at 28-13 Indians.
With three minutes left in the game, Broadhurst was not done yet. He would rush for 31 yards into the endzone, bringing the score to 34-13, and Jack McFerran put the extra point attempt through the goalposts for a 35-13 score.
Peru kept at it though, and was able to score the final points of the game with a 1-yard rushing touchdown with two minutes to go. The Nighthawks failed to convert a two-point passing attempt and the game ended at the final score, Indians 35, Nighthawks 19.
The Indians, who are on a seven-game winning streak, next travel to Middletown High School to play against the undefeated Pleasantville Panthers on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 3 p.m. for the state semi-finals. The winner of that game will head to the state finals at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
