For two years, the Joe 'Auteri-to-John Cheney magic had done it for South House, pulling impossible wins out of a seemingly impossible hat. But the touchdown connection faltered yesterday in SoHo's 14-12 loss to Kirkland House, when a last-minute two-point conversion attempt rolled off Cheney's fingertips and onto the ground.

"It was just badly thrown," Auteri said of the conversion pass that eluded the diving Cheney. "He was open, and I just screwed up."

South House had scrambled back from a 14-0 halftime deficit to even have a shot at the tie. Kirkland had scored twice in the first half on a pair of Mike Ryan-to-Mark Flood bombs, the first for 36 yards, and the second a 47-yarder.

A massive pass rush more than compensated for an otherwise ineffective Kirkland attack, with Jackson Flanagan, Tom Gillespie, and Jeff Reilly blitzing on three out of every four plays.

"The Kirkland House dynasty has returned after a two-year layoff," K-House coach Paul "Pablo" Smith said after the game. "It's been anchored by the defense so far--and la bomba."

SoHo got Pablo-bit," one observer said in an oblique reference to the practically legendary Kirkland attack.

Pressure

"They did it the way they had to do it," Auteri said. "They gave Jake (Cheney) a hard time getting off the ball, and more importantly, they put a lot of pressure on me."

SoHo took up most of the third quarter and part of the fourth on a tedious, penalty-dominated scoring drive