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The matchup will be a battle of the running games led by Woolands' (6-2) star runner Tyrone Barber and Rye Neck's Pedro Cueto, who were instrumental in pulling their teams in to the championship fame. The two teams met in a frantic regular-season game won by the Panthers 41-40, so expect scoring from both sides.
Barber, who rushed for 302 yards and four scores last week in a convincing 39-14 semifinal victory over top-seeded Dobbs Ferry, has 25 touchdowns and nearly 2,000 rushing yards. Rye Neck must stop him to win.
Cueto scored twice last week to lead the Black Hats back from an early deficit to a 28-10 victory over Bronxville in the semifinals.
Rye Neck running backs Jakob Calvini and Ryan Morningstar add speed and more depth to the running game.
On the Falcons' side, Barber gets help from running back Kourtney Blanding and wide receiver Jonathan Stewart.
The winner advances to the state regional playoffs with a bye next week. The winner (Section 1 representative) will play against the Section 9 champion in the state quarterfinals at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Dietz Stadium in Kingston.
* You can check out class-by-class brackets for the Section 1 football playoffs here.
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