BY PAUL LIOTTI
There is one thing is certain with the Class D Sectional playoffs this year: There won’t be any surprises when the teams square off in penultimate game of the Sectionals. All four teams — No. 1 Alexander, No. 2 Canisteo-Greenwood, No. 4 Perry/Mount Morris and No. 6 York/Pavilion — all reside in the Livingston County conference and all have faced each other during the regular season.
Alexander is 3-0 against the other three while C-G is 2-1, P/MM 1-2, and Y/P is 0-3.
Alexander is the favorite, but the Trojans were tested for the first time in the quarterfinals against Red Jacket and face a rematch with Perry/Mount Morris of a game played two weeks ago. Canisteo-Greenwood will look to make it two-straight this season against upset-minded York/Pavilion.
Here is how the Sectional sets up, along with a summary of each team:
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
#1 Alexander
Record/NYSSWA Rank: 8-0/No. 2
Quarterfinal Results: def. Red Jacket 26-12
Last Week: The Trojans proved they can win a close game. Red Jacket closed to within 19-12 in the fourth quarter, before the Trojans sealed the deal. It was the closest win of the year for Alexander. Leading the way was RB Chris McClinic who returned after sitting out one game with ankle problems to rush for 81 yards on 12 carries and one score. QB Dylan Busch went 10-of-16 for 117 yards and had one touchdown. .
Notable: Alexander finished the regular season at the top of the Sectional heap in Points Scored, Fewest Points Allowed, Scoring Differential. The Trojans have been ranked all year at No. 2 in the state. Defeated the other three teams Class D semifinals, including Perry/Mount Morris 26-0 in Week 7 to win the LCAA Division IV title outright.
Key Players: Balanced attack that can explode on the ground or through the air with McClinic and Bush. On defense, Alexander is fast to the ball.
What to Watch For: The 26-0 shutout of P/MM two weeks ago should not be taken as a precursor to this week’s game as the effort put forth by Perry/Mount Morris was not evident in the final score. The Trojans will have their hands full, as it’s difficult to beat a team twice in one season, doubly difficult when those two teams have faced each other as many times as happened since this year’s preseason started.
Through the Eyes of the Coach: “We set some goals this year: Winning our Division was one of our goals and winning a sectional championship is another goal. To do that, we have to take care of business this week. There will be no championship game if we don’t first play at a very high level in the semis. We have this saying in our program: ‘The biggest game of the year is the next game,’ and we’ve done a good job keeping the next opponent in our sites all year long. I expect (P/MM) will come ready to play. It should be a very good game,” says coach Tim Sawyer.
#2 Canisteo-Greenwood
Record/NYSSWA Rank: 6-2/No. 9
Quarterfinal Results: def. Dundee 20-8
Last Week: Hosted its first Sectional playoff game since 1998 and ended a 10-year plus Sectional dry spell. RB Jon Davis had eight carries for 135 yards and one score and QB Roque Santiago completed 9-15 passes for 88 yards and one touchdown to TE Daymon Walters. DT Blake Ilges had 11 tackles while LB Curtis Quick nine tackles. Won the Livingston County Division III title outright.
Notable: Opened the season 0-2 but have ripped off six-straight wins. Went from not mentioned in state rankings all the way to No. 9 in the last poll. Defeated York/Pavilion in Week 4 23-8, but split games with Perry/Mount Morris and Alexander during the regular season.
Key Players: Santiago (40-67-526-3TDs), RBs Justin Becker (146-807), who is the grinder, and Davis (47-504-5) who averages more than 10 yards a carry. Quick (68/10 TFL) and Igles (58 tackles/15 TFL) are ball-hawkers who can get penetration in the backfield.
Key Matchups: C-G’s defensive front against the power of York-Pavilion’s rushing attack.
What to Watch For: How well will Santiago, who is a sophomore, handle the pressure of the big stage.
Through the Eyes of the Coach: “Our team has really bought into the philosophy of working to get better each week and to have a sense of urgency and to practice with purpose and intent. It truly has been a total team effort all the way from the coaches down to the players. Both teams like to run the football and play fast on defense. They have some fantastic running backs and have some great size up front in the trenches. ,” says coach Paul Keeley.
#4 Perry/Mount Morris
Record/NYSSWA Rank: 5-3/NR
Quarterfinal Results: def. Lyons/Sodus 34-26
Last Week: The win over Lyons was the second time P/MM beat the Lions this season.
Notable: Went 1-2 against the other Class D semifinalists, including a 26-0 shutout to Alexander in Week 7. P/MM beat York/Pavilion and lost to Canisteo-Greenwood.
Key Players: TE/DE Ben Snell and RB/LB Blake Wolfinger.
What to Watch For: Can Perry/Mount Morris put its shutout loss behind them? Both teams are very familiar with each other, as they squared off in the preseason several times – three times in 7-on-7 workouts and one time in a scrimmage as well as the game two weeks ago. The coaches are very good friends.
#6 York/Pavilion
Record/NYSSWA Rank: 5-3/NR
Quarterfinal Results: def. Notre Dame-Batavia 18-0
Last Week: Only rolled up 212 total yards of offense, but used a 12-point fourth quarter to seal the upset and eliminate Notre Dame. RBs Sebastian Hackett (9-96-1) and Nate Swede (23-67-1) supplied most of the offense.
Notable: Y/P was one of only two teams to score upsets in the Section in the Quarterfinals (Attica). It has played the other three teams that have advanced to the Semifinals and have lost all of them, including a 23-8 setback to Canesteo-Greenwood in Week 4. 78% of the offense comes on the ground
Key Players: The running game features a two-pronged attack by Swede (109-697-9TDs) and Hackett (116-687-9TDs), veteran Matt McFarland under center could mix things up through the air. On defense, the linebacking crew of Keith Muckle (62/4 TFL), Colby Tillotson (52/11 TFL) and Ethan Doran (57/7 TFL) clean up anything that gets past DL anchor Riley Elliott (51/17 TFL).
Key Matchups: Y/P’s defense against the Redskins’ balanced attack.
Through the Eyes of the Coach: “This week we are really just focused on what we can do in practice to get better as a team, and bring our best effort this Saturday night. We know that Canisteo is a well-coached team, we played them in Week 4 and they got the better of us. We also know that they will be ready to play on Saturday,” says coach Kurt Schneider.
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