Normally a strong second-half team, Marlboro had reason to believe it would be moving on in the chase for another Section 9 Class B football title when it left Dennis Burkett Field holding a 7-0 halftime lead over upstart Red Hook Saturday afternoon.

After all, the Dukes hadn’t lost at home all year and they had easily dispatched the Raiders 29-0 in the season opener.

That’s why in all likelihood it will take second-seeded Marlboro some time to get over a 21-13 loss to third-seeded Red Hook in the semifinal playoff game.

Marlboro coach Ryan Brooks, who finished 7-2 in his first year at the helm, was emotional following the loss.

“I couldn’t think of coming back to a better group of kids in my first year as a coach here,” said Brooks, who coached many of his seniors in modified football. “I’m going to definitely miss the seniors. We have a lot of good, young kids coming in and a lot of guys will be returning. We look forward to the years to come.”

The Dukes’ defense was put to the test right away in the first quarter when Red Hook defender Zac McGee pounced on Collin Casey’s fumble at the Marlboro 32.

The Raiders (8-2) moved to the Dukes’ 15, but Marlboro held firm to stop the scoring opportunity. Red Hook, in fact, had only two first downs in the first half.

A disturbing trend started to develop, though, as senior running back and safety Matt Drake was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury. He was joined on the sidelines in the second half by senior lineman Doug Benfer, senior linebacker Kevin DeSantis and sophomore running back Ryan Durling, who were all injured.

The loss of manpower left the Dukes’ defense thin, something that became painfully evident with several defensive breakdowns that led to long Red Hook pass plays in the second half.

“We had some injuries that happened to us in some key spots,” Brooks admitted. “We had some miscommunication in terms of that. Red Hook hit us with a couple big pass plays.”

Quarterback Dylan O’Banks got the Dukes on the board with a 16-yard scoring toss to Casey to make it 7-0 with 8:14 left in the second quarter.

It remained that way until late in the third quarter when Red Hook put together a 77-yard scoring drive to tie it at 7-7 on a 2-yard run by Gavin Cole. Cole made a spectacular one-handed grab over two defenders to complete a 34-yard pass play from quarterback Landon Ramsey to get the Raiders out of a deep hole.

Marlboro moved into the red zone early in the fourth quarter, but a costly fumble killed the drive.

Ramsey’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Dan Wood gave Red Hook a 13-7 lead with 7:56 remaining, but Ryan Emig blocked the extra point try for Marlboro.

The Dukes came right back as O’Banks hit Sam Lofaro on a fade pattern from 23 yards out to knot it at 13-13 with 5:45 to go. But the Dukes couldn’t take the lead on the extra point due to a botched snap.

Red Hook had plenty of time to put the winning drive together. A blown coverage allowed Cole to run free for 43 yards on a pass from Ramsey to move the ball deep into Marlboro territory.

Three plays later, Ramsey hit Cole with a 21-yard TD pass over the middle between two defenders to make it 19-13 with 3:14 remaining. Ramsey ran in a 2-point conversion to give Red Hook a 21-13 lead.

Red Hook defensive back Carter Brown put an end to the Dukes’ campaign by picking off O’Banks’ desperation heave over the middle.

Durling thinks the Dukes will rebound from Saturday’s tough loss with a strong effort next season.

“I think we have a bright future,” Durling said. “We have a lot of players who will put in the work this off-season. We’re just going to come back next year and be ready. Coach Brooks is a great coach. He took control.

He’s done a lot. I’m looking forward to playing for him again next season.

”Durling led Marlboro’s running game with 47 yards on 11 carries. O’Banks completed 13 of 21 passes for 126 yards and one touchdown.
Senior Trace Napoli led the Dukes’ defense with seven tackles. Senior Alex Holmes added five tackles.
Red Hook will face top-seeded Port Jervis for the Class B title at noon Nov. 13 at Goshen High.