SYRACUSE -- In a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C football title game that featured the Ogdensburg Free Academy Blue Devils and Newark Valley Cardinals combining for five first quarter turnovers and only four total second half possessions, it appeared the teams emerged from their respective locker rooms and found themselves in the Carrier Dome of a parallel universe after the break.

While the Cardinals took home the hardware with a 39-34 victory, the Devils outscored the Cardinals 14-3 in the second half to battle back from a 36-20 halftime deficit before Newark Valley managed to run out the clock on the Devils' championship aspirations.

OFA head coach Matt Tessmer and his staff had an optimistic halftime message for the Blue Devils squad.

"We stressed the need to grind through it as there was nothing we could do about the first half at that point. We were only two scores down even though a lot of bad stuff had happened against a very good team," Tessmer said.

Speaking directly to the senior Blue Devils, Tessmer emphasized that many players only had 24 more minutes to play football for the rest of their lives.

The message was apparently transmitted loud and clear, as the Devils immediately engineered a cleverly calculated eight-minute drive culminating in a Joey Dalton touchdown pass to sprawling Jackson Troiano. Dalton and Avery Love connected on a short pass to tack on a two-point conversion that made the score 36-28.

Tessmer credited the lengthy 16 play drive with protecting and re-energizing the entire team, particularly the defense.

Game MVP Brett Stewart of Newark Valley kept the OFA defense's hands full with three first half touchdowns. Stewart found the end zone on runs of 13 and 30-yards and a 62-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Chad Wright, who only completed two passes out of six attempts on the day.

After Newark Valley kicker AJ Coleman drilled a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to pad the Cardinals lead at 29-38 and cap off a seven-minute drive, Dalton answered the bell with a two-yard touchdown run to bring the Devils back within one score at 39-34.

OFA kicker Brandon Stewart expertly booted a high kickoff that allowed Zach Bidwell to make a great diving tackle to trip up the Newark Valley return man at the Cardinals' 18-yard line and potentially give the Devils' offense favorable field position.

Unfortunately for Ogdensburg, the Cardinals were able to coax the Devils into jumping offside on a late fourth down before sealing the victory with a series of short ground gains that kept the clock running and chains moving.

Dalton finished the night completing 15 of 26 passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The senior quarterback also rushed 21 times for 80 yards and three touchdowns. Jared Barr rushed 22 times for 82 yards and hauled in two passes for 62 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown reception.

Troiano caught six passes for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Sean Montalvo led the OFA defense with six solo tackles.

The Blue Devils managed to dominate the overall time of possession 29:26 to 18:34, although the statistic was undoubtedly skewed further in the Devils' favor by some of Newark Valley's big first half plays, including Justin Shutts' 90-yard kickoff return touchdown in the second quarter.

Reflecting on both the final game and the entire season, Tessmer expressed appreciation for his historic 2016 squad, who became the first Section X team to appear in a football state title game.

"The kids were incredible to coach. They steadily improved to the point that they clearly belonged with the best teams in the state," Tessmer said.

"They represented our communities, section, and the North Country with class and demonstrated for all to see that there is some good football played in the north. Even though we didn't quite finish the way we wanted, the kids battled, never backed down, and there isn't an ounce of quit in them. There is honor in that and it was an honor to coach them," he added.