NORTH TONAWANDA — How does a defense stop one of the best offenses in New York state?

After three full months, there still isn’t a football team around that’s been able to answer that question.

North Tonawanda has baffled and frustrated defensive coordinators while carving its historic path to Sunday’s Class AA state championship game at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. It’s the first time NT will play for a state title.

They’ll be going up against Section I champion New Rochelle, which knocked off Monroe-Woodbury, then the top-ranked team in New York state.

The Lumberjacks’ vaunted offense is among the reasons North Tonawanda is still playing football in late November, while thousands of football players elsewhere around the state are now focused on winter sports such as basketball and indoor track.

There’s no doubt in Jim Rogers’ mind why the offense has functioned so well.

“I think our offensive line wants it too much, to tell you the truth,” said Rogers, a senior who’s anchored the left side of the line along with junior Jordan Marrs.

“It all starts up front. Whatever push we get, that’s what the whole team gets,” Rogers added. “It just seems like if we don’t get that push, then the whole game lays on us because we didn’t do our job. And we’ve got to protect that guy.”

That guy is senior quarterback Mike Tuzzo, who is charged with the task of making sure that NT’s option offense runs smoothly. Thanks to some great blocking and Tuzzo’s handling of the play calls, the Lumberjacks have moved the ball with ease, explaining why they’ve been averaging close to 40 points and 370 total yards on offense per game all season.

Even the best teams from two other sections couldn’t contain NT’s backfield, which includes junior Joe Montesanti and seniors Tom Sell and Steve Kijowski. NT compiled 367 yards of offense in its state semifinal win last weekend against Baldwinsville. In the state quarterfinal against Webster Schroeder, the Lumberjacks rolled to 500 yards of offense, including 395 on the ground.

“It’s a culmination of a bunch of stuff,” Jacks coach Eric Jantzi said of the offense’s success. “We have a good offensive line, a quarterback who’s been in our offense for five years now, and we’ve got five or six guys that can carry the ball and they don’t really care who’s getting it.”

The Jacks have three backs who have rushed for more than 500 yards on the season, led by Montesanti’s 870. Sell has come on strong in the postseason and has 619, followed by Kijowski (512). While the Jacks haven’t had to pass often, Tuzzo’s numbers aren’t bad; he’s 39-of-70 for 753 yards and 12 passing touchdowns. He was 3-of-3 for 128 yards and a TD against Baldwinsville.

As the key cog in the offense, Tuzzo understands the importance of knowing his reads.

“Coach said early on in the season, ‘If you have a bad day, everybody has a bad day,’ so the responsibility is definitely there,” Tuzzo said. “I just have to work hard, make sure my reads are right, make sure I’m taking the right steps, and everybody else — they know their responsibilities. They know what they have to do and we just have to work together as one unit to make it work.”

Another reason for NT’s offensive dominance is the team’s chemistry. “It’s helped a lot, because we’re not fighting with each other over who gets the ball more,” said Tuzzo.

“We don’t have any Terrell Owens on our team. Everybody’s goal has been to win the game. It doesn’t matter what the stats are. We want to win. We want to put up the points and everything, but it doesn’t matter who does it or how it’s done. We just need to get it done,” he added.

A little hard work also helps.

“Nobody on this team takes a play off,” junior tight end Travis Charsley said. “You’ve got to come out 100 percent every time and show them what you’ve got.”

Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.



CLASS AA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

• WHO: VI-North Tonawanda (12-0) vs. I-New Rochelle (12-0)

• WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday

• WHERE: Carrier Dome, Syracuse University

• TV: Time Warner Cable Sports-13

COMING SATURDAY: Sizing up NT and New Rochelle