PITTSFORD –On a cool late August night in front of a sellout crowd, two heavyweight titans collided to open the Section V season.
Victor and Pittford, two teams steeped in success over the last few years, have eyed this game since the schedule was released.
And, just as in the heavyweight fights of yesteryear where both fighters slug it out round after round, it’s usually a haymaker that ends it.
For Victor, it was two haymakers:
A 79-yard touchdown toss and run on the game’s first play, and a 90-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second half were all the Blue Devil defense needed to post a 16-0 shutout win over Pittsford Thursday in the Teddi Bowl III to benefit Camp Good Days & Special Times at Growney Stadium on the campus of St. John Fisher.
The opening play was something that was planned long before the opening kickoff. In fact, Victor’s game plan was predetermined – at least for the first 10 plays.
“We script our first 10 plays of every game,” Victor coach Geoff Mandile said. “We saw something on film at our scrimmage last week and knew we would have a favorable matchup when we got the ball.”
When Pittsford (0-1) won the coin toss and deferred to the second half giving the Blue Devils the ball to start the game, the script went into action.
The first play was a pass play with the first option going to the tight end. The second option was the slant to the wide receiver. Victor quarterback Hudson Alread saw the play unfold and delivered a perfect strike to wide receiver Kordell Jackson, who caught the ball, split the defensive backs and streaked down the middle of the field. Thirty seconds into the game, Victor was up 7-0 and never looked back.
“My first read is the tight end, but I saw he was covered and then went to my second read to Kordell,” Alread said after the game. “The line gave me great protection on the play.”
“Hudson and I talked this week on how good it would be to open with a touchdown,” Jackson said. “The offensive line gave him great protection, and I got open and Hudson put it in a beautiful spot. I didn’t think I was going to get it because the cornerback got his hands in late, but it was a great pass.”
Outside of that play, the rest of the first half was uneventful, unless you prefer a slugfest in the trenches. Both teams’ defenses stood tall, limiting their opponents time and time again.
Pittsford throttled Victor’s offense after that first play, limiting the Blue Devils to an additional 37 total yards – 19 rushing and 18 passing. But the Panthers offense just couldn’t get on track, and never really threatened in the first half, gaining 104 yards in five possessions.
“I think we set football back 20 years,” Mandile chuckled. “This was a good game for us. It was competitive with both teams know each other well. And it was a great atmosphere.”
But it was only 7-0 and anyone’s game at halftime.
Pittsford’s first drive of the second half stalled and after a 40-yard punt Victor started its opening drive of the second half at their own 8 yard line. On the second play, sophomore running back Rushawn Baker took a handoff over the right side and as he hit the line, the sea of humanity parted and he saw daylight. After that, his sprinter legs took over and 90 yards later he crossed the goal line.
“The line opened up a huge hole for me,” said Baker, who also runs the 100-, 200-, 400-meter dash in spring track. “Once I got into the secondary, I saw that the cornerback didn’t have a good angle and I just kept running.”
Pittsford’s Sonny Imburgia blocked the extra point attempt to take back some of the momentum, and Pittsford trailed 13-0. But the lead was secured a few minutes later when kicker Sam Castiglia booted a 27-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to round out the scoring.
It was a big win for Victor (1-0), who needs to stay out in front of a very competitive Class A field for as long as it can. Pittsford, which finished as the Class AA runner up last year, should be able to build on its defensive performance and the way it owned the time of possession statistic with its ball-control-based offense.
Setting aside the 169 yards on those two scoring plays, the Panthers held Victor to a paltry 69 yards offense, and more than doubled the amount of offensive plays the Blue Devils ran – 69-30. Pittsford finished the game with 237 yards of offense.
Next week, Victor will look to build on their momentum as they host Gates Chili on Friday. Pittsford will look to rebound when it travels to Hilton to take on a scrappy Cadet squad.
PITTSFORD 0
VICTOR 16
Victor 7 0 9 0 – 16
Pittsford 0 0 0 0 – 0
Scoring
V-Kordell Jackson 79 pass from Hudson Alread (Sam Castiglia kick)
V-Rushawn Baker 90 run (kick failed)
V-Sam Castiglia 27 FG
Passing
Victor: Hudson Alread 3-6-1-1-97. Pittsford: Matt LaRocca 9-21-68-0-2-100
Rushing
Victor: Rushawn Baker 3-99, Joey Pezzimenti 12-41, Sutton Boland 5-2, Camden Hay 1-2, Hudson Alread 2-1, Kordell Jackson 1-(-4). Pittsford: Ryan Marmat 4-32, Adrian Brown Jr. 10-29, Matt LaRocca 14-25, Lavontae Bonds 15-23, Isaiah Cotton 1-21, Clyde Williams 2-5, Sonny Imburgia 2-2
Receiving
Victor: Kordell Jackson 1-79, Camden Hay 1-10, Jon Crowley 1-8. Pittsford: Kevin Ryan 3-37, Jackson Westfall 2-31, Will Klenk 1-17, Isaiah Cotton 1-6, Clyde Williams 1-5, Sonny Imburgia 1-4
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