In the end, there was just too much Ethan Gallo for the Wallkill football team to handle.

The Minisink Valley Warriors’ senior running back ran for 257 yards and scored four touchdowns as they routed the Panthers, 61-26, on Friday night at Robinson Field in Wallkill.

“He was hard to stop,” Wallkill senior Colin McCartney said. “We tried to employ stuff all week to counteract him, but it just wasn’t enough.”

The loss not only ruined Senior Night for 23 outgoing Panthers, but it also ended the Panthers’ playoff hopes, as they finished with a 2-2 record in Class A Division I, putting them in a tie for third place with the Warwick Wildcats.

The Wildcats get the divisions’ third playoff spot due to their 40-0 win over the Panthers earlier in the season.

It made for a somber talk in the end zone after the game, even though the Panthers have one or two crossover games remaining.

That still didn’t dampen what the Panthers have accomplished this year. They brought themselves to the final game of the regular season, needing a victory to clinch the Class A Division I title themselves, as they held the tiebreaker over the Washingtonville Wizards.

“It was amazing,” McCartney said. “First-year coach, great guy. I love my teammates. This was one of the most gifted teams I’ve been a part of, and I am thankful to be on this team.”

The team’s seniors were among Wallkill coach Joe Pillitteri’s first students when he started working at John G. Borden Middle School.

“I’ve watched them grow into tremendous young people, and they brought this program in the right direction. Ten wins in the past two seasons with a couple of games to go here, that’s the most we’ve had in a relatively long time. We’re putting ourselves in a position where we played a tremendous team, and we had a chance to be divisional champions and get a first-round bye in the higher division. I couldn’t be prouder of these guys.”

The Warriors were the only team standing between the Panthers and the title. The win gave the Warriors the second of the division’s three Section 9 Class A tournament spots.

Even though they couldn’t stop Gallo, the Panthers were able to put some points on the board, especially through the air.

Junior quarterback Chris Bartolone threw three touchdown passes, one to Richie Martinez, one to McCartney and the third to Mason Ondreyko. Sean Perrin scored from two yards out in the first quarter.

“The post route was on,” McCartney said. “Usually, we have athletes that can come down and make the play. But as we got down ourselves, we got in too deep and just couldn’t get anything after that.”
The game was close in the first quarter and the game was tied, 7-7, before the Warriors took the lead for good after Gallo’s second touchdown to take a 13-7 lead after the first quarter.

However, the Warriors took control of the game with a 27-point second quarter to take a 40-20 halftime lead.

“That group of skilled position players is one of the best we’ve had here in a long time,” Pillitteri said. “Chris Bartolone probably had a relatively big night himself. But at the end of the day, we defensively we didn’t execute what we need to.”