If the Westhill football team could have perfectly scripted the 2006 season, it could not have gone as well as the reality of it all.
Attain a perfect record? Check. Roll out a balanced, explosive offense capable of big plays? Check again. Present a defense willing to hand out punishment and force turnovers? Another check.
And to cap off the regular-season part of this story, the Warriors just had to lay waste to its biggest rival.
Which it did Friday night, in front of a large and enthusiastic home crowd, as Westhill defeated Solvay, 32-6, to lock up the Class B West regular-season championship.
Even as it raced to a 5-0 start, the Warriors knew that it wouldn’t feel complete unless it got to Solvay. Conversely, the Bearcats, going through a rough 2-3 campaign, could change the entire course of its season by pulling off the upset.
By halftime, it was clear that the Warriors were superior, having built a 25-0 lead based mostly on the strong right arm of quarterback Dan Fetter.
Fetter got it going in the first quarter by capping off an early drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jim Ross.
Jake Burgess became the target of choice in the second quarter, going to the end zone as Fetter found him for 11 and 19-yard TD plays to make it 19-0. Joe Epstein would tack on a three-yard scoring run just before the break.
All the while, junior running back Dale Ross was patiently building up the yardage on the ground to set up these points. His 25 carries for 171 yards left him just 41 yards short of 1,000 for the season.
Solvay could not get much going against Westhill’s quick and ferocious defense. Victor Young’s one-yard TD plunge in the third quarter averted the shutout, but that was it.
To finish an undefeated regular season, Westhill will have to win Friday night at Marcellus (4-2), which is coming off a 38-20 loss to Homer where the Trojans’ star running back, Mark Brenchley, had 411 yards on the ground. They’ll kick off at 7 p.m.
Solvay, currently in fourth place in Class B West, will be at home, taking on Phoenix Friday at 6:30, needing to win to sew up that last Section III playoff spot from the league.
