By Keith Harrington
Running back Brice Burr may have stated it best in an interview on the local television news.
"We got 18 points on them in the blink of an eye and just took it from there. We played a really great game today," Burr said.
Cambridge-Salem scored early and often, using just five plays to get on the scoreboard and finding the end zone three teams in the opening quarter and went on to rout Moriah 47-22 in the Class D state semifinals at Faller Field in Middletown.
“We started out sluggish the past couple weeks, so we knew that getting out to a great start was going to be a pivotal part of the game, and we did just that,” Burr added.
Burr began the scoring on an 18-yard run to give Cambridge-Salem a 6-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. A one yard run by quarterback Stephen Yakubec and another from Burr made it 18-0 after the opening stanza.
Riley DeMarais got Moriah on the board with a 57 yard touchdown scamper to cut the lead to 18-6, but Cambridge-Salem answered with an impressive 98-yard drive capped off by a 12-yard run from Alex Luke to make it 25-6 after the PAT kick.
Demarais scored on a one yard run and two point conversion to cut the Viking's deficit to 25-14 at halftime.
Cambridge-Salem put the game away in the third. Yakubec connected with Luke on an eight yard strike to extend the margin to 33-14 after Evan Day's conversion run.
Brayton Cary blew the game further open with a 71 yard TD run to make it 40-14 after the extra point kick.
Day added a 26-yard run for Cambridge-Salem in the fourth quarter after Moriah scored on a touchdown pass.
Burr finished with 59 yards on 14 carries. Day led the offense with 110 yards on 20 carries.
Yakubec was 6 for 8 passing with 115 yards.
Cambridge-Salem will now meet defending state champion Tioga next Saturday at noon at the JMA Wireless Dome.
"As a kid, everybody on this team dreams of being in a place like this. We knew today was another stepping stone, and next week we get a chance to play in the Carrier (JMA Wireless) Dome for something special," Burr said.
Cambridge-Salem is now 13-0 on the season.
Photo Credit-Shay Price
