When it was over, when his final game at the Carrier Dome had ended, Jake Flaherty trotted toward the Syracuse locker room and looked up at rows and rows of empty silver bleachers. Most of the 28,081 fans had fled, save for a small set of Connecticut supporters reveling in the Huskies 39-14 thumping of the Orange.

The ending fit. The end of Senior Day was gloomy, but it fit. Flaherty, a senior and the starting middle linebacker for Syracuse these past two seasons, has won nine times and lost 36 in his Syracuse career. The Dome holds mostly sour memories these days, even for someone who grew up wishing to wear these colors in front of these fans. Even for someone who wants to remain a part of this program after his playing days end in two weeks.

‘I’ve been coming to games here since I was 3 years old, and I always dreamed about playing here,’ Flaherty said. ‘I think it’s one of those things, I’d like to say teammates know I left everything out on the field today.

‘Maybe it’ll hit me even more, later on.’For now, the specter of Saturday’s implosion is enough.

Donald Brown, the nation’s leading rusher, gashed the Syracuse defense for 131 yards and a 49-yard touchdown. The Syracuse offense, meanwhile, tanked for the second game in a row: A season-low 147 yards and one score.

Syracuse kept it close early, but big plays torpedoed any second-half hopes. By the end of the third quarter, it was over. UConn’s Jasper Howard returned a punt for a touchdown. Two plays later, Robert McClain intercepted an Andrew Robinson pass and streaked in for another score. Syracuse fans flooded the exit gates.

Saturday was business as usual for seniors like Flaherty and defensive back Bruce Williams: An ugly loss with few people watching by the end.

Williams finished the game in street clothes, his leg swollen. ‘It sucked,’ said Williams, a team captain along with Flaherty. ‘Senior Night, all of us seniors wanted to go out with at least a win under all belt for the last game at the Dome. But it didn’t happen.’

The defense, the unit Flaherty leads, was part of the reason for that. He has never been a standout for Syracuse. He will not win All-American or All-Big East honors this year – most of his accolades are for academics. Flaherty’s back often bowed when pulling guards or fullback Anthony Sherman charged through holes to greet him. Blockers tangled him up and shoved him away from the action.

Flaherty whiffed on Jordan Todman in the second quarter as Todman scooted past for a 50-yard touchdown. He was nowhere to be found on Donald Brown’s scoring jaunt.

He finished with a team-high seven tackles. But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t close. These will be his final mementos of playing at the Dome.

All the seniors were honored before the game. They ran out onto the field and greeted family members waiting for them. Flaherty hugged his mother Joellen and his father Todd. His parents attended every game this year. Todd Flaherty lettered here in 1969 as a linebacker.

His son will finish with four letters, improbable as it may be.

In 2004, Scout.com rated Flaherty the 119th best high school linebacker prospect in the country. He made his bones as a quarterback at Rhode Island’s South Kingston High.

But Flaherty bulked up, became a linebacker. He has played in every game of Greg Robinson’s tenure, and nearly every down of the last two seasons. He puts his hands on hips in between plays and looks at the sidelines as assistant defensive coordinator Derrick Jackson flashes signals.

That is his role. The team named him one of four captains this season.

‘They’re my best friends,’ Flaherty said of his teammates. ‘I don’t know. I’m going to miss them a lot. I’m going to miss going to war with them in the Dome, for sure.’

After the game, Flaherty wore his Syracuse warm-ups and spoke with reporters. Beads of water rested in his blonde crew cut. He answered questions for a few minutes, then he was done. He rounded a corner and walked out the Carrier Dome, through the double air-lock doors of stadium control, for the last time as a player.

‘It’s a huge deal, but, you know, my father and I will continue to come to games here,’ Flaherty said. ‘It’ll be different, because I’m not suiting up obviously, but we’ll still come and embrace the program.

‘Someday I might have a son that plays here, too.’

ramccull@syr.edu

Published on November 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm