CLIFTON PARK -- For 17 minutes and 10 seconds Saturday afternoon, Greenwich gave Rensselaer all it could handle.

It took as long as Mico De Los Santos sprinting 54 yards for a touchdown to turn the game completely in Rensselaer's favor.

Rensselaer scored four touchdowns in the final 6:50 of the first half - including three scores in the final 82 seconds before halftime - on the way to a 42-0 lead in the Class D championship game at Shenendehowa High School.

In the end, De Los Santos scored three touchdowns as the Rams ran away to their second straight Section II football title, 42-24 over Greenwich.

Rensselaer (9-1) advances to play Section VII champion Moriah next weekend in the state quarterfinals.

"We played our hearts out, but they were the better team today," Witches senior linebacker Colby Stout said.

"We couldn't produce enough big plays to keep up with their big plays, and their defense is just solid," said Greenwich head coach Brandon Linnett, whose team finished the season 7-3. "We had them on their heels in the first quarter, but they adjusted. That's what good teams do."

The game started out evenly. On their first series, the Witches - powered by junior tailback Tyler Pruiksma - drove the ball from their own 31 to the Rams' 7 before turning the ball over on downs. Pruiksma led all rushers with 112 yards on 27 carries and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

De Los Santos got Rensselaer untracked with his touchdown run midway through the second quarter. Taking a pitch from quarterback Timmy Foust, the Rams' senior speedster darted around left and sprinted down the sideline for a 7-0 lead.

"They were doing their jobs real well, they kept us contained, so we ended up coming out with our other offense," said De Los Santos, who finished with 97 yards on eight carries, and caught four passes for 89 more yards.

"Brandon had his kids ready and they came to play," Rams head coach Joel Preston said. "They stacked up off-tackle on us and they were calling out our plays - they scouted us really well. But you can't abandon your game plan right away, you have to feel them out until you find something that works. We figured we could get them on the perimeter, get to the edge on them, and we broke Mico outside."

Rensselaer's scoring sequence in the final 1:22 of the half broke Greenwich's back.

Jashem Hamilton gave the Rams a 15-0 lead with an 11-yard touchdown run. Two plays later, they got the ball back on Nate Butler's interception return to the Greenwich 37. De Los Santos scored from 7 yards out with 24 seconds left in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff, the ball bounced off a Greenwich player and was recovered by Rensselaer's Paul Dominy at the Witches' 40. After a 26-yard completion to De Los Santos, Foust ran out of bounds at the 1 with two seconds remaining, setting up his own touchdown run for a 28-0 halftime lead.

"I'm kicking myself in the rear over that," Linnett said. "We're down 15-0, and the way they were playing, it felt like we needed some points in a hurry. The kid made a great play on the ball for the interception, then we give the ball right back on the kickoff. We should have just gotten out of the half."

"That was huge," De Los Santos said. "If we didn't score there, we would've been in a real close game."

The Rams added touchdowns on their first two possessions of the third quarter for a 42-0 lead with 4:04 left in the period. Foust completed six of 10 passes for 115 yards.

Greenwich scored three cosmetic touchdowns against Rensselaer's second string - an 8-yard pass from Tony Giroux to Jordan James, and runs of 1 and 33 yards from Pruiksma.

"We had a good season, we brought Greenwich football back," Stout said. "It's a good feeling to get here. We worked hard for it."

"We can't lose sight of the fact that we got to a Section II final for the first time since 1997," Linnett added. "These seniors and juniors brought football back to Greenwich. That's something to be proud of."

Greenwich (7-3) 0 0 8 16 -- 24

Rensselaer (9-1) 0 28 14 0 -- 42

Second Quarter

R - De Los Santos 54 run (Foust kick), 6:50

R - Hamilton 11 run (Hamilton run), 1:22

R - De Los Santos 7 run (Foust kick), :24

R - Foust 1 run (kick failed), :00

Third Quarter

R - De Los Santos 8 run (Foust kick), 8:00

R - Wilkinson 24 pass from Foust (Foust kick), 4:03

G - James 8 pass from Giroux (Pruiksma run), :50

Fourth Quarter

G - Pruiksma 1 run (Pruiksma run), 7:40

G - Pruiksma 33 run (McCormick pass from Giroux), 2:02

TEAM STATISTICS

Gre Ren

First downs 14 14

Rushes-yards 37-152 42-207

Passing yards 60 115

Comp-Att.-Int. 5-14-2 6-13-0

Punts-ave. 3-20.3 3-36.7

Fumbles-lost 5-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 2-20 7-76

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Greenwich: Pruiksma 27-112, 2TD; Niles 5-50, McFee 1-13, Giroux 4-(-23). Rensselaer: De Los Santos 8-97, 3TD; Hamilton 11-47, Butler 5-35; Foust 8-12, 1TD; Sayers 5-8, Dominy 4-6, Munguia 1-2.

PASSING - Greenwich: Giroux 5-14-2, 60 yards, 1TD. Rensselaer: Foust 6-10-0, 115 yards, 1TD; De Los Santos 0-3-0.

RECEIVING - Greenwich: James 3-27, 1TD; McFee 1-28, Pruiksma 1-7. Rensselaer: De Los Santos 4-89; Wilkinson 1-24, 1TD; Munguia 1-2.