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Weekend Recap: Attica, York/Pavilion crash the Sectional Semifinal party; Irondequoit exacts revenge

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Pittsford kicker Kyle Hennessey (15, center) and the rest of his mates celebrate their overtime win over Fairport, 28-27, Saturday night to advance to the Class AA semifinals against Aquinas. (Photo: PAUL LIOTTI)

BY PAUL LIOTTI

When the Power Seeding Points system was put into place, the idea was to get the Top 4 seeds in each Sectional to the semifinals. Everyone got the memo except for Attica and York/Pavilion, as they logged the only upsets of the Section V football quarterfinal round.

The fifth-seeded Blue Devils knocked off Wayland-Cohocton 31-28 in Class B, while sixth-seed York/Pavilion shut out the Irish of Notre Dame-Batavia 18-0 in Class D to advance.

The two most thrilling games were WayCo-Attica game and Irondequoit-Wilson.

Irondequoit sacked Wilson on the game’s last play inside the five yard line to preserve a 35-27 victory over the Wildcats in Class A, in a rematch of last year’s Class A final that saw Wilson drub the Eagles 40-19.

Over in Wayland, Attica needed a touchdown to win and got it with 4.1 seconds left to advance.

For a look back on this weekend’s quarterfinal results, and see who plays whom in the semis, read on:

CLASS AA

(8) EDISON/SWW 8 (1-7)
(1) AQUINAS 35 (7-1)
Aquinas’s Rueben Torres scored two touchdowns and quarterback Tyler Szalkowski was perfect in one half of play to lead the Irish (No. 7 NYSSWA) to a 35-8 win over Edison/SWW at home.

Torres scored on runs of two and five yards and Szalkowski completed all eight of his passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns — both to Kobe McNair (two and 35 yards) in first half action. Also scoring in the first half was Will Benjamin as the Irish rolled to a 35-0 lead at intermission. McNair finished with 94 yards receiving on five catches and Torres with 82 yards rushing on 16 totes. Edison (1-7) avoided the shutout when Nate Peppard scored from 37 yards out and then ran in the conversion in the fourth quarter. Leading the defense for AQ was Ben Visca with five tackles and an interception and Marcus Cox who also had five tackles, two of which were behind the line.

 

(7) RUSH HENRIETTA 17 (1-6)
(2) MCQUAID 33 (6-1)
Senior running back Mark Passero rushed for two touchdowns to help the McQuaid Jesuit Knights McQuaid (No. 12 NYSSWA) defeat the Rush Henrietta Royal Comets, 33-17. READ MORE.

 

(6) PENFIELD 14 (1-7)
(3) HILTON 35 (7-1)
It was a back and forth game in the first half as Hilton (No. 21 NYSSWA) struck first after a touchdown run by Sean Myers in the first quarter. Penfield would tie the score shortly after after on a quarterback sneak. Myers would add another touchdown late in the first quarter to give the Cadets the lead. Penfield would answer with a 51-yard touchdown pass to tie the score. Hilton’s Nick Romano ran in a touchdown late in the first half to give the Cadets a 21-14 halftime lead. Myers put his third score of the night on the board with a touchdown run to give the Cadets a 28-14 lead. Ryan Butts threw a touchdown pass to Marquis Powell to extend the lead to 35-14.

(5) FAIRPORT 27 (6-1)
(4) PITTSFORD 28 ot (5-2)
Pittsford kicker Kyle Hennessey booted his fourth PAT of the game, this time on the last play of the game as Pittsford rallies to beat Fairport 28-27 in overtime. READ MORE.

Fairport (No. 26 NYSSWA)

A look at the rest of the Class AA playoff picture:

Semifinal Matchups

No. 1 Aquinas vs. No 4 Pittsford/No. 5 Fairport, 5 pm, Saturday, SUNY Brockport

No. 2 McQuaid/No. 7 Rush Henrietta vs. No. 3 Hilton, 8 pm, Saturday, SUNY Brockport

Finals

7 pm, Saturday, November 3, SUNY Brockport

CLASS A

(8) WEBSTER SCHOEDER 21 (4-4)
(1) CANANDAIGUA 24 (8-0)
Canandaigua’s Seth Vigneri rushed for 167 yards on 21 carries and scored one touchdown and quarterback Jack Johnston completed 23-of-31 passes for 269 yards and two scores as the top-seeded Braves rolled early and held off a late Warrior charge. The Braves (No.12/NYSSWA) led 17-0 at halftime, but a 4-yard touchdown toss from Ryan Bellavia to Jack von Ahnen in the third and a one-yard plunge early in the fourth by Steven Plumber cut the lead to 17-13. Vigneri answered on the ensuing drive with a 34-yard run to give the Braves a cushion they wouldn’t relinquish. Bellavia then connected with von Ahnen later in the fourth on another four-yarder to cut the lead to 24-21, but that was as close as WS would get. Bellavia finished 11-of-27 for 161 yards and those two touchdowns. Plumber finished with 86 yards on 11 carries, and Canandaigua wide receiver John DiSalvo snared eight passes for 127 yards and one touchdown.

(7) WILSON 27 (4-4)
(2) IRONDEQUOIT 35 (8-0)
Liam Jones broke through and sacked Wilson’s Samuel Jackson on the game’s last play with the Wildcats inside the five yard line to preserve a 35-27 Eagle win and exorcise some the demons that have haunted Irondequoit since it lost to Wilson in last year’s Class A final. READ MORE.

 

(5) EASTRIDGE 14 (5-3)
(4) VICTOR 44 (6-2)
The Blue Devils used a smothering defense and a pounding ground game to race out to a 31-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 44-14 win. Joey Pezzimenti and Rushawn Baker each topped the 100-mark rushing in the win. READ MORE.

(6) GREECE ARCADIA 7 (5-3)
(3) EAST 14 (7-1)
East (No. 27 NYSSWA Class A) rallied from a 7-0 deficit to score 14 unanswered points, all in the fourth quarter, the last with :25 left to avoid the upset. READ MORE.

 

A look at the rest of the Class A playoff picture:

Semifinal Matchups

No. 1 Canandaigua vs. No 4 Victor, 5 pm, Friday, SUNY Brockport

No. 2 Irondequoit vs. No. 3 East, 8 pm, Friday, SUNY Brockport

Class A Finals

7 pm, Friday, November 2, SUNY Brockport

CLASS B

(8) NEWARK 14 (3-5) 
(1) BATAVIA 51 (8-0) 
Batavia quarterback Ethan Biscaro returned two punts for touchdowns and completed 4-of-6 passing for 101 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils’ (No. 6 NYSSWA) domination. Ray Leach had eight carries for 157 yards and two rushing touchdowns while adding a receiving touchdown for Batavia. Taiyo Iburi-Bethel had two receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Francis also had one reception for 20 yards and a touchdown. It was the seventh time this season Batavia has scored more than 40 points, and pushed the Blue Devils to the top of the Section’s points-per-game list at 44.6 points per game.

(5) UNIVERSITY PREP 8 (5-3)
(4) HONEOYE FALLS-LIMA 25 (7-1)
Honeoye Falls-Lima (No. 25 NYSSWA) and University Prep (No. 28 NYSSWA) met in a rematch from the last regular season game of the year that Honeoye Falls-Lima won on a last second drive. This time it wasn’t as close. The Cougars started strong with a defensive fumble recovery for a touchdown by Shane Enright in the first quarter, and then scored again in the first on a Turner Wilson touchdown run to give them a 13-0 lead. Wilson would add another touchdown run late in the first half to give the Cougars a 19-0 lead at the half. UPrep scored in the second half after a punt return touchdown, cutting the lead to 19-8, but Mason Ferrara added an insurance touchdown late in the game to round out the scoring.

(6) HORNELL 8 (3-5)
(3) WAYNE 27 (7-1)
Eagle quarterback Grayson Zenelovic completed 13-of-19 passes for 248 yards and two scores and Billy Thomson had 16 carries for 75 yards to lead Wayne to a convincing win over Hornell in quarterfinal action. Wayne’s Anthony Muratore put the first points on the board with a 33-yard field goal and John Reagan added to the score with a touchdown run to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead. Zenelovic then hit with a scoring strike to give the Eagles a 17-8 halftime lead. In the second half it would be all Wayne, as Muratore added a 32-yard field goal and Zenelovic hooked up with Blankenberg again for a touchdown. Blankberg had six catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns and Muratore added 6 catches for 100 yards. Wayne’s defense forced two fumbles and an interception and was led by Jonah Pullen’s 16 tackles (9 solo), one sack and two tackles for loss. Hornell finished as a team with 15 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Acton went 7 for 12 for 95 yards and Demetrice Cabic hauled in three catches for 59 yards for the Red Raiders.

 

(7) MONROE 20 (3-5)
(2) LIVONIA 47 (7-1)
Livonia (No. 14 NYSSWA) advanced to the semifinals.

A look at the rest of the Class B playoff picture:

Semifinal Matchups

No. 1 Batavia vs. No 4 Honeoye Falls-Lima, 4 pm, Saturday, Pittsford Sutherland

No. 2 Livonia vs. No. 3 Wayne, 7 pm, Saturday, Pittsford Sutherland

Finals

8 pm, Saturday, November 3, St. John Fisher College

 CLASS C

(8) WATERLOO 32 (3-5)
(1) EAST ROCHESTER/GANANDA 62 (7-1)
East Rochester/Gananda’s (No. 14 NYSSWA) rolled up 622 yards of offense – all on the ground – as the Bombers ran away from their Finger Lakes East rival. Quarterback Corwyn Cleveland finished the night with 21 carries for 285 yards and two touchdowns while Jayden Castrechini added 20 carries for 274 yards and six touchdowns. T.J. Swagler had three rushes for 48 yards and a touchdown. Waterloo’s Julian Ruiz went 3 of 13 for 77 yards and a touchdown. Toby Loucks went 3 of 4 for 43 yards and a touchdown. Jaiquon Lewis added 11 carries for 75 yards and two tochdowns. Kyle Slywka caught a touchdown pass as well as Derek Slywka.

(5) ATTICA 31 (6-2)
(4) WAYLAND-COHOCTON 28 (5-3)
Zachary Strzelec had three receptions for 85 yards and the game-winning touchdown – including the game-winning touchdown reception with 4.1 from his quarterback brother Eric Strezelec to give the Blue Devils the only upset in the Section’s quarterfinal matchups.

Both teams, both ranked in the Top 25 in the state by the NYSSWA, battled it out in a back and forth showdown. Attica (No. 15 NYSSWA) struck first in the first quarter after a Mason Compton touchdown run. Blue Devils’ Dawson Nelson added a field goal later in quarter and staked Attica to a 10-0 lead. Wayland-Cohocton (No. 25 NYSSWA) answered with a touchdown run by Ryan Damboise to shorten the deficit to 10-6 ad then took its first lead of the game at 14-10 after a quarterback sneak by Connor Englert.

Attica would regain the lead after running back Ed Strzelec threw a touchdown pass to wideout Nelson. The Eagles responded again with a touchdown pass from Englert to wide receiver DeAndre Green to regain the lead at 22-17. Edward Strzelec gave Attica the lead late in the third quarter after a touchdown run to make the score 24-22. The Eagles once again answered back with a rushing touchdown by Brandon DeGuarde to make the score 28-24. With 4.1 seconds left in the game, Eric Strzelec threw a touchdown pass to Zachary Strzelec in the back of the end zone to give Attica the victory.

Eric Strzelec finished with 17 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown and went 7-for-13 through the air for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Compton had 13 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown.  Nelson finished with a touchdown catch. On the defensive side, Eric. Strzelec finished with 8 total tackles while Mitchell Cook and Jacob Gross each finished with 7 total tackles.

(7) DANSVILLE 0 (4-4)
(2) PENN YAN 48 (7-1)
Penn Yan’s (No. 16 NYSSWA) offensive dominance continues in the first round of sectionals. Will Rogers continued to move up Section V and State passing charts with a near-perfect 26-of-29, 340-yard, seven-touchdown performance. He also added 28 yards on the ground. Conner Fingar had 12 catches for 177 yards and five touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Kyle Berna had eight catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns while Mekhi Mahan added three catches for 66 yards, one rush for three yards and a two-point conversion. Mahan had a team high 10 tackles. Berna and Fingar added six. Riley Brittingham also had seven tackles. Jack Peterson had two tackles with two sacks.

(6) MYNDERSE 7 (4-3)
(3) LETCHWORTH/WARSAW 35 (7-1)
Letchworth/Warsaw’s (No. 20 NYSSWA) offense exploded in the second quarter to seal the victory. Adrian Figoura had 10 rushes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Dalton English had seven carries for 75 yards and a touchdown. Tom Standera had nine rushes for 22 yards and a touchdown. C.J. Hallopeter also added three rushes for 22 yards and a touchdown. Mynderse’s Tyrent Youngs scored the only touchdown and had 26 carries for 72 yards. Letsaw’s defense continued to shut down its opponents, improving on its fourth-overall scoring-defense ranking in the Section.

A look at the rest of the Class C playoff picture:

Semifinal Matchups

No. 1 East Rochester/Gananda vs. No. 5 Attica, 4 pm, Saturday, Honeoye Falls-Lima

No. 2 Penn Yan vs. No. 3 Letchworth/Warsaw, 7 pm, Saturday, Honeoye Falls-Lima

Finals

5 pm, Saturday, November 3, St. John Fisher College

CLASS D

(8) RED JACKET 12 (4-4)
(1) ALEXANDER 25 (8-0)
Red Jacket put of a tough fight against Alexander (No. 2 NYSSWA) who came into the game averaging 44 points a game. Alexander’s Chris McClinic had 12 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. Ty Woods had three carries for 35 yards and had a rushing touchdown as well as five receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown. Dylan Busch was 10 of 16 passing for 117 yards and had one touchdown. Hayden Walton also added a rushing touchdown. Red Jacket’s Chase Rizzo caught six passes for 64 yards and had a touchdown catch from Matt Record. Logan Kiefer had a rushing touchdown from two yards out in the 4th quarter to make it 19-12 Alexander. Seth Gerlock led the Indians with eight tackles. Hunter Fitzpatrick had five tackles Rizzo had an interception.

(7) DUNDEE 8 (3-5)
(2) CANISTEO-GREENWOOD 20 (6-2)
Canisteo-Greenwood (No. 9 NYSSWA) hosted its first Sectional game since 1998 and won for the first time since 2008, marking only the fifth Sectional win in the school’s history. Jon Davis had eight carries for 135 yards and a had a rushing touchdown and a pick-six on defense. Justin Becker had 13 carries for 38 yards and had seven tackles. Roque Santiago went 9 of 15 for 88 yards and a passing touchdown to Daymon Walters. Blake Ilges had 11 tackles total and Curtis Quick had nine tackles total. Dundee’s Gabriel Kirkendall had the only score of the day on a 20 yard rushing touchdown.

(6) YORK/PAVILION 18 (4-3)
(3) NOTRE DAME-BATAVIA 0 (5-2)
York/Pavilion only rolled up 212 total yards of offense, but used a 12-point fourth quarter to seal the win and eliminate Notre Dame (No. 12 NYSSWA) to advance. Sebastian Hackett scored one touchdowns and finished with 96 yards on just nine carries to lead Y/P. Nate Swede turned in a yeoman’s effort with 23 carries for 67 and a score. York/Pavilion was led by Riley Elliot, who recorded eight tackles, one sack, one tackle behind the line and a fumble recovery. Keith Muckle added nine tackles.

(5) LYONS 26 (4-4)
(4) PERRY/ MOUNT. MORRIS 34 (5-3)
Perry/Mount Morris made it two-in-a-row against the Lions this year, prevailing in a closer game than earlier this year when PMM won 28-0.

A look at the rest of the Class D playoff picture:

Semifinal Matchups

No. 1 Alexander vs. No. 4 Perry/Mount Morris, 4 pm, Saturday, Caledonia-Mumford

No. 2 Canisteo-Greenwood vs.  No. 6 York/Pavilion, 7 pm, Saturday, Caledonia-Mumford

Finals

7 pm, Saturday, November 3, Alfred College

 

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