New Hartford football finally breaks through to win Class B crown: ‘We finished it this year’ (101 photos)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Regardless of what happens from here on in, the New Hartford football team has guaranteed its place in school lore.

Johnny Vitullo tossed three touchdown passes and Niko Martinez danced into the end zone three times himself to power New Hartford to a 37-14 win over Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central in the Section III Class B title game Saturday in the JMA Wireless Dome.

The win gave the Spartans their first Section III football title since 2008 and a banner after it lost to Indian River in the sectional finals each of the past two seasons.

“It’s just great knowing that in 25 years when we come back to the high school, we can, as a group, look at the banner and know that that was us and we were the group that finally got it done for this program,” said senior wide receiver Peyton Way, who snagged two touchdown passes.

Martinez rushed for a pair of scores and caught a scoring strike. New Hartford (11-0) will meet the Section IV champ in the first round of the states next Saturday at Vestal.

“These past few years we came short and winning it this year just means a lot,” Vitullo said. “You know, the team this year had great chemistry. We played a great game, and we finished it this year.”

ITC finishes 9-2, with both of its losses coming to the Spartans. The Eagles were making their first-ever appearance in the dome for a football final.

ITC punched the Spartans in the mouth early with a sensational 65-yard TD run by Samir Salaam Jennings-Bey on its opening drive.

The Spartans bounced back quickly as Vitullo went to work. He found Way in the left corner of the endzone for an 8-yard score with 2:25 left in the first, and Sammy Rockford‘s PAT put New Hartford on top 7-6.

Way now has 23 touchdown catches on the season, one shy of the state mark set by CBA’s Bruce Williams in 2004.

“My dad’s always been sending me stuff like that in the offseason. Just in the back of my mind, it’s not something I’m like super focused on,” Way said of the potential record. “Obviously could have done it today, but I’ll take a win over anything.”

But Way, who seems to be always open despite being Vitullo’s No. 1 target, was just getting started. Vitullo connected with him again with 9:04 left before half, lofting a 5-yard score into Way’s hands for a 14-6 Spartans edge.

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“Ultimately, Johnny can put the ball in the spot. Some other quarterbacks can’t as well,” said New Hartford coach Jim Kramer. “I’m excited 15 (Vitullo) and 8 (Way) are on our team.”

ITC coach Raquan Pride-Green compared Way to a running back playing wideout.

“So even if he is covered, if he made the catch, he’s likely to break a tackle. So that makes him hard to deal with,” Pride-Green said. “And they put him in positions to get them the ball.”

Then it was time for the Spartans’ defense to get in on the act and pad the lead.

Eagles quarterback Tyquanne Harris dropped back deep in his end zone for a pass and completed it to Jennings-Bey. But the problem was that he, too, was in the end zone. He was dropped there for a safety by Liam Bubnis, pushing New Hartford up 16-6.

“The quarterback had done a lot with his legs. So our focus, try to keep him in the pocket today,” Kramer said. “I thought we did really well. We settled in after that first drive and tackled well and caused some turnovers and just played good team defense.”

Vitullo mixed it up to finish off the first-half scoring with 4:28 left. He dropped a screen pass off to Martinez, and he rumbled 17 yards for the score that sent his team into the locker room enjoying a 23-6 cushion.

“He’s the third head of the monsters,” Kramer said of Martinez. “So obviously people know about Johnny and know about Peyton, but he allows us to stay balanced and he’s improved as the year’s gone on.”

The New Hartford defense more some damage on defense to thwart ITC’s first possession of the second half. As the Eagles were trying to rally with a drive toward midfield, the New Hartford defense forced and then recovered a fumble.

“They played better than I thought they would,” Pride-Green said of New Hartford’s defense. “They usually give up points, but they bought their A game today, so I got to tip my hat to them on that.”

That effort on both sides of the ball gives New Hartford a chance to win even more hardware.

“I think we have a great chance to go far,” Vitullo said. “We got to celebrate today and get to practice on Monday and have a great week of practice and get ready for the game.”

Meanwhile, as Pride-Green watched the Spartans celebrate, he envisioned them as an example for his ascending program.

“Yeah, this was a great season. The kids have nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s part of building a program,” he said. “It’s hard to go from a team that was counted out to the team that wins it. When you look at New Harford, it took them a couple of years to get here and not winning, and it’s their time; they finally got here. So then we got to come back next year and keep building on the momentum we have right now.”

ITC: 6-0-0-8 -- 14

New Hartford: 7-16-0-14 -- 37

First Quarter

ITC: Samir Salaam Jenning-Bey 65-yard run (run failed) 6-0

New Hartford: Peyton Way 8-yard pass from John Vitullo (Sammy Rockford kick) 7-6

Second Quarter

New Hartford: Peyton Way 5-yard pass from John Vitullo (Sammy Rockford kick) 14-6

New Hartford: Safety: Liam Bubnis tackles Samir Salaam Jenning-Bey in end zone 16-6

New Hartford: Nico Martinez 17-yard pass from John Vitullo (Sammy Rockford kick) 23-6

Fourth Quarter

New Hartford: Nico Martinez 6-yard run (Sammy Rockford kick), 30-6

ITC: Tyquanne Harris 70-yard pass to Aiden Griffin (Samir Salaam Jenning-Bey run) 30-14

New Hartford: Nico Martinez 1-yard run (Sammy Rockford kick) 37-14