As the rain came down Friday night, two local football teams met opponents from neighboring Cayuga County – and neither would prove successful. West Genesee saw its Class AA playoff hopes take a hit at muddy Holland Stadium in a 42-22 loss to Auburn, while Jordan-Elbridge hosted unbeaten Weedsport and absorbed a 52-13 loss to the Warriors. In the Wildcats’ case, it played quite well in the first half, only to get burned by Auburn in a disastrous third quarter where the Maroons’ star running back, Ismail Brooks, cut loose again. WG struck first when senior quarterback Connor Zeman took off on a 17-yard scramble to the end zone in the first quarter. Since Mike Moran made the extra point, the Wildcats led 7-6 after one period because, after Brooks took off on a 45-yard TD run, the Maroons missed the conversion. In an electrifying second-quarter play, Zeman somehow threw to Moran – and it turned into a 50-yard TD connection. That, plus a Wildcat defense that kept Brooks in check, left WG in front 14-6 going into the break. No thanks to Brooks, that would not last.
Early in the third quarter, Brooks cut loose at midfield on a 52-yard scamper to the end zone, and quarterback Dave Jacobs ran in for two points, helping Auburn tie it 14-14. Jacobs would put the Maroons in front on its next possesion, passing 13 yards to Julian Richardson for the go-ahead score and also finding Richardson for two points. Then it was back to the Brooks show for the rest of the period. Two more times, Auburn had the ball. Both times, Brooks took it home – one a 36-yard run, the other a 61-yard run. That was 28 unanswered points in a single quarter, clinching Auburn’s fourth consecutive win after a season-opening loss to CBA. And Brooks was on his way to 298 yards for the night on 26 carries. He leads all Section III runners with 1,322 yards and an astonishing 24 touchdowns. Joe Chao would score for WG in the fourth quarter on a 22-yard run, but that only ate into what had become a 42-14 deficit. As this was going on, J-E was hosting Weedsport, the state’s no. 11-ranked Class D team, and finding out just how powerful the Warriors were. Weedsport bolted out to a 13-0 first-quarter lead on TD runs from Brian Quigley (seven yards) and Abe Jordan (three yards), helped in no small part by J-E committing four turnovers in the constant rain. Twice in the second period, the stagnant Eagles offense found the end zone, as Zach Stevenson scored on a one-yard run and Brennen Barrigar caught a 40-yard TD pass from Zach Frost. Still, Weedsport led, 26-13, at the break, and it would do exactly what Auburn did to West Genesee – score four times in the third quarter to put it away. During this period, Quigley had threet touchdowns, including a 56-yard sprint. Overall, Quigley had 255 rushing yards, while Austin Ashby added 120 yards and Justin Rose 61 yards for Weedsport’s ferocious ground attack. J-E closes its regular season next Friday against Hannibal. Meanwhile, West Genesee (1-4) hosts Corcoran (4-1), who is tied with Auburn atop the AA-2 division after beating Utica Proctor 33-20 on Friday. A win against the Cougars or F-M a week later could still put the Wildcats in the playoffs.