By John Raffel
Derek Teed saved what was arguably the most dramatic play of his high school career for his final moments as an Ithaca defensive lineman.
With the Yellowjackets clinging to a 27-20 lead, Clinton was driving for the tying or winning points in the Division 6 title game at Ford Field on Nov. 27. The Redskins were on their own 46 with 1:18 to play and were faced with fourth down and 10 yards to go. Clinton quarterback Kaden Kelly, who had thrown three straight incomplete passes, was trying to keep the drive going. But Teed had other plans and delivered a sack which clinched the fifth state title in the last six years for the Yellowjackets.
Teed, a senior, who starts at both left guard and at defensive tackle for Ithaca, had two solo tackles and four assists. He had the Yellowjackets’ only sack, but it was huge. “Before the play, I was so focused on getting to that quarterback,” he said. “When I did, I knew we had won the state championship, and it was a very emotional play. I shedded my block and got to the quarterback. We wanted our D-line to get pressure on the quarterback and everybody else focus on the pass.”
Prior to the Clinton-Ithaca game, Martin Luther King drove 97 yards in 37 seconds to score the winning touchdown on the game’s last play, a 40-yard pass, so Teed and his teammates realized how dangerous the the situation was.
“We knew we’d have to make sure there wasn’t any big plays, keep them inbounds and be smart with what we do, with no penalties or anything like that,” Teed said.
Teed was a three-year starter with the Yellowjackets. He indicated that he has a different feeling in 2015 as a state champion compared to 2013, when Ithaca won it for the fourth time. “It’s so much better than my sophomore year, knowing that it’s my [senior season] state title and going out the way it did,” Teed said. “These guys are so awesome.”
His role defensively was to “do my job and take care of business.”
The Clinton offense was effective against Ithaca in building a 13-0 lead.
“The first half, we were having trouble stopping their running game,” Teed said. “We figured it out at halftime and kept rolling on offense. That was the big thing. Our offense kept rolling. Our offense didn’t get going in the first half. In the second half, we got it going.”
Last season, Ithaca lost to St. Mary Catholic Central in the title game and ended a 69-game winning streak and a string of four consecutive state titles.
“I was looking forward to getting back here,” Teed said. “As soon as wrestling was done, my mind was set on getting back here and winning the state title.”