Getting one last chance to play in front of home fans on Senior Night, the West Genesee football team found itself struggling more with winless Rome Free Academy than it ever intended.
As such, someone had to provide a spark – and the Wildcats’ defense stepped forward, making three scoring plays, including a safety, that help lead to a 29-14 victory over the Black Knights.
The win clinched a Section III Class AA playoff berth for WG, who improved to 3-1 in the Class AA-1 division and 3-2 overall. It can finish no worse than fourth in the league, and the top four teams earn sectional berths.
But this win still was needed, since the Wildcats close the regular-season with back-to-back road trips to CBA next Friday and to Liverpool on Oct. 17. Combine that with the Senior Night emotions, and some nerves were understandable.
That showed up on the offensive side of the ball, as throughout the first quarter RFA found ways to shut down the Wildcats’ attack. Yet when the period ended, WG still owned an 8-0 lead.
Aggressive on the defensive side, the Wildcats got on the board by pinning RFA deep in its own territory and then watched linebacker Pat Spittle tackle Black Knights running back Keshawn Kinery in the end zone for a safety.
Later in the period, when RFA put together a drive and moved deep into Wildcat territory, the defense struck again, Ra’Qwon Clemons picking off an errant pass at his own 12 and then speeding all the way to the other end zone, an 88-yard touchdown.
More defensive stops in the second quarter allowed WG some time to wait for its attack to piece itself together. Finally, it did so for a scoring drive that culminated with Joey Vetter’s eight-yard TD run with 2:37 left in the half.
But the Wildcats couldn’t feel safe yet, for when Brad Dougherty returned a punt 60 yards for a score, RFA cut its deficit in half, to 14-7, where it stood at the break.
That special-teams play alerted the Wildcats to possible danger, and its offense responded with a pair of impressive drives in the third quarter to seize control of the game.
One drive led to Keshawn Kinery scoring on a one-yard run. The other was stopped on RFA’s goal line, but it still led to points because a blitz by Spiddle, Sean Hagadorn, Jared Bivins and Mike Hanley produced the Wildcats’ second safety of the night and a 22-7 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, Vetter added a second TD on a 10-yard run, which gave WG a cushion as the Black Knights got its lone offensive scoring play of the night on a 77-yard run by Hunter Lewis.
WG could still improve its playoff position in its visit to Alibrandi Stadium. CBA, the defending sectional champions, have struggled this fall, only managing a 2-3 mark, and have lost twice at home, including Friday’s 19-16 defeat to Liverpool where the Warriors erased a 16-6 deficit with two touchdowns in the final six minutes.
