Update No. 12: FINAL SCORE: Croton-Harmon 23, Saranac Lake 14. Dorien intercepted a last-ditch pass with 30 seconds left. The Tigers are going to the Dome for the first time ever!

Update No. 11: Croton’s Dan Luntz fumbled but Matt Tralli, a hero all day, recovered it for the Tigers, to keep a clock-eating ground drive moving. Luntz converted a fourth-and-one at the Saranac 10 with less that two minutes left. Mainiero got banged up and had to sit out a play, but returned and on fourth-and-one at the two, he kept it around left end for a touchdown. Dorien kicked the PAT that made it a two-score game, with 1:23 to go. Croton 23, Saranac Lake 14.

Update No. 10: Croton just dodged one, and with a personal foul added to Matt Tralli’s breakup of a fourth-down halfback option pass near the goal line, the Tigers have the ball at their own 38, leading 16-14, with 5:56 left.

Update No. 9: Stalled at fourth-and-11 from the Saranac 16, the Tigers called timeout and chose to attempt a 33-yard field goal, no easy feat in this swirling wind. But Dorien knocked it through, and the Tigers lead 16-14 with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth.

Update No. 8: End of third quarter: Saranac Lake 14, Croton 13. The Tigers’ Tyler Dorien just intercepted a Brandon Patraw pass, though, and Croton will start the fourth quarter with a second and six at the Saranac 31.

Update No. 7: An unusual Croton drive resulted in a touchdown, but not a tied game. The Tigers moved deep into Saranac territory, and a late-hit penalty against the Red Storm, after a 14-yard gain by Tyler Keppler, gave Croton first-and-goal at the 10. The Tigers moved to the five, and on third down, Nick Mainiero fumbled the snap. He chased it down behind him, spun and found Tom Moore in the corner of the end zone. Moore made a terrific catch, got both feet down, for a touchdown. But on the PAT kick that would have tied it, a bad snap forced Mainiero to throw again, and this time his pass for Moore fell incomplete. With 4:21 to go in the third, it’s 14-13, Saranac.

Update No. 6: Saranac Lake drove 90 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. John Barge had a 50-yard run on the first offensive play of the half, and caught a 22-yard screen pass, which caught Croton blitzing, for a touchdown. QB Brandon Patraw threw a conversion swing pass to Steven Burpoe, and with 8:33 left in the third, it’s 14-7, Saranac Lake.

Update No. 5: Halftime score: Croton 7, Saranac Lake 6. Can’t imagine coach John Catano will be a happy fellow in the lockerroom. Again Croton drove deep into Saranac territory, beautifully managing the clock by getting out of bounds and using its timeouts. But again, flags against Croton stopped the drive, and the half ended with Mainiero scrambling inside the Saranac 15, after he’d just run for a first down on fourth-and-eight.

Update No. 4: Flashbacks of Nyack last night. Croton is moving the ball at will, and should be up by more than one point … but penalties and turnovers may come back to haunt the Tigers. They drove to the Saranac 14, despite another penalty, and then Mainiero fumbled a handoff for Dan Luntz, and Saranac recovered. Still 7-6.

Update No. 3: Tyler Keppler carried the ball on each of the first five plays of the second quarter, to inside the Saranac 10. But another penalty vs. the Tigers nearly stopped Croton. QB Nick Mainiero, though, threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Dorien. Then Dorien hooked his PAT kick low and left, but it snuck inside the upright for a 7-6 Croton lead with 9:34 left in the half.

Update No. 2: The first quarter just ended with Croton driving, at the Saranac 31. The score after one: Saranac Lake 6, Croton 0.

Update No. 1: Croton moved the ball easily on its opening drive, then stalled; held Saranac Lake to a three-and-out; then the Tigers stopped themselves with procedure penalties. Saranac got the ball back, and after doing nothing with its first four plays of the game, Steven Burpoe busted loose on a sweep right and went 66 yards for a touchdown. The PAT kick missed wide right, so with 3:29 to go in the first, it’s 6-0, Saranac Lake.
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Pregame: We’re a few minutes from kickoff at Dietz Stadium, and when it seemed it couldn’t get any colder than it was yesterday … well it is. Croton coach John Catano is bundled up, although he said he thought about stripping down to his shorts—under his sweatpants—because we talked her yesterday about the Tuckahoe coaches wearing shorts, and the Nyack coaches using better judgment and going with long pants.

Croton, as you know, is the Cinderella team in this tournament, having upset Dobbs Ferry in the sectional semifinals, beating Westlake in the final, and winning its first-ever state playoff game last week. One win from the Dome.

We’ll have updates all day long, for all three state semifinal games, right here. And you can watch the games live by clicking here.