SYRACUSE – No comeback was needed. No last-second miracle was required. What it was, instead, was the Christian Brothers Academy football team leaving one more opponent behind them and, by doing so, becoming the first team to win three consecutive New York State Public High School Athletic Associ ation Class AA championships. The Brothers put away Section II chapion Saratoga Springs 41-12 in last Saturday night’s state final at the JMA Dome, the same place where it beat Carmel to win the title in 2023 and then used a touchdown on the final play of the game against Albany CBA to repeat in 2024. Not only is it three straight state championships, it’s also 41 consecutive victories, and in 2025 all but one of the Brothers’ wins was by double digits. On the way to 13-0 this season CBA scored 566 points, averaging more than 43 points per game, and allowed just 119. Ironically, it was Saratoga who dethroned Albany CBA in the Section II final on it way to the title game, but like so many previous opponents it found itself playing catch-up to the Brothers early. CBA’s defense forced a quick punt and, with a short field to work with, seized a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter when Gradyn Dixon found an open Isaiah Coleman who took it 29 yards for a touchdown. Late in the period the Brothers got the ball back and doubled the margin on the first play of the second quarter, this time with Dixon going over the middle from Saratoga’s 34 and finding Javon Edenfield in the end zone. Only here did Saratoga put together its first drive, moving it to CBA’s 23, only to get stopped on fourth down when a long pass to the end zone fell incomplete. Bleeding the rest of the first-half clock, the Brothers again drove into Blue Streaks territory, and what happened here symbolized CBA’s ability to just work past any possible setback by reinforcing itself. Twice penalties threatened to halt the drive, including a TD called back by a holding penalty, but it didn’t matter. Eight seconds before intermission Dixon threw again from the 22 and found Brayden Johnson. This made it 21-0, a margin that, with the combination of CBA’s skill on both sides of the ball, seemed impossible for the Blue Streaks to overcome. Yet as the third quarter started Saratoga began to fight back. Using a trick play 3:20 into the period, Blue Streaks wide receiver Jaden Lockrow found Ben Coryea for a TD, and then it made a quick defensive stop and again drove into CBA territory on a long possession. Right at the end of the period Saratoga converted a fourth down with a Bobby Morris pass to Gavin Lafrance and, on the opening play of the final period, Morris hit Lafrance again on a 10-yard TD pass. But the missed conversion after the Blue Streaks’ scored led to a two-point try here, and the Brothers turned it back, meaning at 21-12 it still had a two-score advantage. After dominating early CBA rarely saw the ball in the second half, but after forcing a punt deep in the Blue Streaks’ end the Brothers turned a short field into a crucial score when it drove to Saratoga’s five and Khalen Reese found the end zone with 6:45 to play. One more fourth-down stop by the defense followed and the Brothers put the proper exclamation point on this season with two more touchdowns in the final minute. Coleman scored on a one-yard run and, 26 seconds later, Tre Williams returned an interception 42 yards for the score. It was Williams’ brother Darien who caught that famous touchdown pass from Brayden Smith 12 months ago in the Dome to win a state title. Now CBA had another, without any need to wait until the final play to start celebrating. ...read more read less