CENTRAL NEW YORK – Though it had more than a week to try to recover from its near-comeback win against Liverpool on Oct. 10, the West Genesee football team found the next assignment even more difficult.
Christian Brothers Academy, the reigning state Class AA champions, no. 2 in the state rankings and holders of a 19-game win streak, welcomed the Wildcats to Alibrandi Stadium Friday night, then unleashed its big-play capability on them.
By the time WG could process all of it, CBA had prevailed 53-21, reinforcing its place atop the local Class AA ladder and giving the Wildcats plenty to work on before the Section III playoffs got underway.
At the very least, though, WG did manage to pull off a couple of big plays against the vaunted Brothers defense, starting when Jack Wade threw deep and found Evan Dufford on a 63-yard touchdown pass.
By itself, this along with Wade finding Dufford again in the end zone from 22 yards out was the most points CBA had allowed in a first half all season.
And it was still a 25-14 margin at the break because the Brothers hurt the Wildcats with its own big-play capability, on both sides of the ball.
Zion Green’s 75-yard TD dash was just the start of it. Brayden Smith would, later in the first quarter, go 65 yards to Darien Williams after throwing a 14-yard scoring pass to Austin Ariola.
Though WG did keep the Brothers offense off the board in the second quarter, an errant Wade pass turned into a 45-yard Adrian Weather interception return for a TD.
Then, in the second half CBA turned to its ground game, its line wearing WG down and leading to TD runs from Lewis, Isaiah Coleman and Daunte Bacheyie after Smith’s third TD pass went 22 yards to Kigehlin Hicks.
For the night, Wade was 11-for-21 for 185 yards, though most of it came early. Most of Elijah Apps’ production came from a late 68-yard TD run as Raul Colon, on defense, recorded 17 tackles, Apps adding 11 tackles and Christian Burns seven tackles.
Earlier that same Friday at Corcoran High School Stadium, Westhill ran into Class B’s surprise team this fall, Institute of Technology Central, and found out that the Eagles’ success was quite legitimate as it took a 34-12 defeat.
The Warriors got on the board in the first quarter with Dominic Vitale’s seven-yard TD run, but that was the team’s lone points of the first half.
Not until Elijah Welch found Brayden Golembeski on a 15-yard scoring pass in the third quarter did Westhill score again, and by then ITC had gained full control.
The duo of Tyquanne Harris and Nyquan Gilbert then sealed the Eagles’ victory with scoring passes of 25 and 59 yards in the final period to extend its 20-12 advantage. Westhill concludes the regular season this Friday at Homer.
Jordan-Elbridge took a 48-28 defeat to Sherburne-Earlville on Friday, the game close until S-E, up 14-12 at halftime, struck for 20 unanswered points in the third quarter led by Justin Race’s 171 rushing yards and Nick Hull’s 136 yards on the ground, the pair combining for three touchdowns.
