Late Drama Secures the Section III Class A Crown
Ben Berry couldn’t stop sprinting. After 102 minutes of high-intensity play in the Section III Class A boys soccer final on October 30, 2026, the score between Jamesville-DeWitt and two-time defending champion New Hartford remained deadlocked at 1. With penalty kicks looming less than 10 minutes away, a corner kick sailed into the box, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
Berry leapt over his defender, powered a header into the back post, and sprinted straight to the corner flag. A white-jerseyed mob of teammates quickly engulfed him before he raced across the entire turf to celebrate with the J-D student section. The thrilling 2-1 victory earned the Red Rams their first sectional title since 2019, halting New Hartford’s recent dominance in the Class A tournament.
“That was the best feeling of my life,” Berry said. “That was amazing. I can’t explain it.”
From Defensive Sub to Championship Hero
The game-winning moment came unexpectedly for a player who spent most of the night on the bench. Berry, a defensive substitute, had checked into the match just two minutes before finding the back of the net. Before Friday, he had scored only one career goal—another header off a corner kick during the Red Rams’ quarterfinal win over Camden.
“I was just right place, right time,” Berry said. “I’m always at the back of that post; that’s where I score ‘em. I was just ready for it, and as soon as I saw that ball, I knew it was going in.”
For New Hartford, the defeat brought a sharp wave of sectional title game heartbreak. The Spartans had endured final losses in 2022 and 2023 before rolling to dominant championship victories over South Jefferson in 2024 and Central Valley Academy in 2025. Jamesville-DeWitt, meanwhile, had suffered its own postseason frustration, stumbling in the semifinals as top seeds in previous years despite dominant regular-season runs.
“Just heartbreak,” J-D head coach Dan Law said. “Year after year after year.”
Overcoming Early Deficits in DeWitt
The championship match began with a cagey first half dictated by a strong wind blowing toward the J-D goal, limiting clean scoring threats. Three minutes into the second half, New Hartford capitalized when Yusuf Turkakin dispossessed a J-D defender inside the penalty box and hammered a shot past the keeper to break the scoreless tie.
Down 1-0, the Red Rams shifted momentum with relentless pressure. In the 57th minute, talisman Bekzod Abdusattorov drew a crucial free kick on the right flank. He curled his shot toward the back post, where a deflection carried it over the line to equalize.
“I knew I was going to score,” Abdusattorov said. “It’s my spot – I’ve scored so many times from practice. And I just knew it was going to go in; I was confident. Just magic.”
The Road Ahead to Regional Play
Regulation and the first 15-minute overtime period came and went without a breakthrough. Then came Berry’s header in the second overtime, sealing the 2-1 triumph and unleashing years of pent-up emotion from players, coaches, and alumni alike.
“To go through all of that pain and then to get to this moment,” Law said. “The joy, even the underclassmen who weren’t necessarily parts of those teams, but their emotion is pouring out of them. That’s what you live for, is to have that moment and to deliver that opportunity to those boys and to have them seize it and it just fills you up, it really does.”
With the sectional trophy secured, Jamesville-DeWitt advances to face Section X champion Massena in the regional round. That matchup is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 7 at Potsdam High School.
