All of the pressure was off the Bishop Ludden football team, at least in terms of having a Section III Class D playoff berth secure.
Having survived that wild 55-49 battle with Sandy Creek on Sept. 30, the Gaelic Knights ventured to Weedsport a week later and continued the Warriors’ season-long miseries, pouring on 28 points in the second quarter of a 49-16 victory that improved Ludden’s record to 4-2, clinching a winning record for the regular season.
Normally a Class D contender each fall, Weedsport was 0-5 going into this game. Thus, the Gaelic Knights could afford patience as it only led 7-0 after one period thanks to Sh’ikem Lee’s 12-yard scoring pass to Keandre Sanders.
Early in the second period, Ludden began to get away as Lee threw a second touchdown pass, 29 yards to Joe Connor, and though Weedsport got on the board with Jordan Dellostritto’s fumble recovery and return for a TD, all that did was make the Gaelic Knights mad.
The getaway commenced with Lee sprinting 20 yards to the end zone, which made it 21-7. Then it was back to the air attack as Lee tacked on a third and fourth TD passes, going 12 yards to John Duffy, and then finding Connor in the end zone from 15 yards out.
That made it 35-8 at halftime, and Ludden switched to ball control over the last two periods, twice scoring on the ground thanks to Kevin Burkhart’s one-yard plunge and Tamir Rowser’s 30-yard run.
Ludden closes the regular season at Bishop Grimes this Saturday at noon. By then, it will know whether it will host a first-round Class D sectional playoff game, since Sandy Creek and Watertown IHC, both 3-2 in Class D North-West, have league games this week – the Comets against Beaver River, the Cavaliers against Weedsport.
Jordan-Elbridge had opened the week’s local football slate Thursday night, hosting Lowville and nearly getting shut out as the Red Raiders, improving to 5-1 on the season, handled the Eagles 36-6.
Lowville quickly took charge by scoring on each of its first two possessions. An opening drive culminated in a one-yard TD plunge by Chris Ozkan, and before the first quarter ended, it got to 14-0 when it again drove to J-E’s one-yard line and Patrick Gardner converted.
Gardner returned in the second period to score a second TD from 17 yards out before Kalani Zehr hit Max French for two points. Minutes later, Zehr found French again, but this time for a 54-yard scoring pass that, with Gardner’s two-point run, left the Eagles staring at a 30-0 halftime deficit.
In five first-half possessions, J-E did not even record a first down against an airtight Red Raiders defense. By the time it finally did so in the third quarter, the game was long decided, Lowville having added a TD on Zehr’s six-yard pass to French. At least Dylan Dunham’s one-yard scoring plunge with 3:55 left prevented a shutout.
J-E is home once more next week, closing the regular season against Pulaski, just as winless West Genesee takes on undefeated, state Class AA no. 10-ranked Christian Brothers Academy in the wake of the Wildcats’ near-comeback in Friday’s 42-35 defeat to Fayetteville-Manlius.
From the start, WG was in catch-up mode at F-M due to Eric Coley’s 76-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage. Mitch Seabury added a 20-yard scoring run before the first quarter was done.
And even when the Wildcats got on the board with Liam Barry’s 19-yard scoring pass to Marcus Hudgins in the second period, F-M added to its lead with two more TD’s from Coley, who caught a 30-yard scoring pass from Henry Josephson and ran 11 yards for another six.
A 28-7 halftime deficit looked too much to overcome, yet even with Seabury breaking free for a 65-yard TD run and Josephson adding a one-yard plunge, WG nearly caught the Hornets.
Dan Purcell scored twice for WG, on a six-yard run and a pass from Barry, who also threw a 55-yard scoring strike to Hudgins. A late drive led to Matt Kot’s one-yard TD plunge, but the Wildcats’ rally fell just short.
