BY PAUL LIOTTI
CLARENCE – In the end, there wasn’t an heroic last-second drive. There was no miracle finish.
In the end, it was the power rushing game of West Seneca East that was too much for the Irondequoit Eagles to overcome, and the Trojans moved on to the state semifinals, with a 15-8 upset victory over the Eagles on cold, wet, slushy Friday night in the Class A Far West Regionals.
Irondequoit brought its perfect 10-0 record and No. 3 NYSSWA ranking into the match against surprise entrant West Seneca East.
There was no overlooking the Trojans; the coaching staff and players knew West Seneca East was a formidable opponent.
But the Eagles also knew they were formidable themselves, what with a snarling strong defense, a multi-phased and talented offense, and a little magic guiding their way this season.
Late-game heroics seemed to be the calling card of these Eagles this year.
Like when Freddy June scored with :03 left for the Section V title against Victor last week. Or in the Sectional quarterfinals, when Liam Jones dropped the Wilson quarterback inside the five yard line on the last play to seal a come-from-behind 35-27 win over Wilson. Or when June scored with :18 seconds left to beat Victor in Week 4. All games that easily could have ended with the Eagles on the short end of the score.
But they didn’t and Irondequoit was perfect on the season.
So when Irondequoit blocked a field goal with 5:12 left and took over the ball on its own 11-yard line trailing 15-8, those who know the Eagles felt the game was a long way from being over.
The difference between those last-second wins and Friday night, was a stout Trojan defense that had made Irondequoit’s offensive life miserable over the previous 43 minutes of the game.
The Eagles (10-1) advanced the ball out to the 36 on the legs of senior Jaden Turner, but four plays later, June was sacked by a ferocious front Trojan front line on fourth down with 2:25 left.
There was no more magic in the wand and no more rabbits to pull out of the hat.
WSE ran the remaining 2:25 off the clock and ended the Eagles season.
“We all thought that when we stopped them and got the ball at the end of the game, that this was it,” Irondequoit coach Dan Fitcher said. “But it just didn’t work out that way. If you play this game long enough you’ll run into an opponent that will beat you; that’s what happened tonight.”
The Trojans (10-1/No. 9 NYSSWA), who upset cross-town rival West Seneca West last week to win its first Section VI title since 1981 and in the process, snapped the defending state champ’s 24-game win streak, harassed the Irondequoit offense all night. Outside of their scoring play to cap their second drive of the game, the Eagle could not muster sustained drives or bust a trademark big play.
Turner — a shifty back who can turn on a dime, pick it up and make change – never got into second gear and only broke downfield three times, the longest run covering 15 yards.
June, who has terrorized Section V for two seasons, was bottled up by the spies on Trojan defensive and was rattled into completing just one pass in 10 tries. He also fumbled inside his own 10 yard line to set up the eventual game winning touchdown late in the third quarter.
Taylor (20-90) and June (22-64) combined for just 154 yards on 44 carries, well off their season average, and 18 of those 42 carries went for one yard or less during the game.
“Those were some tough kids and a really good team,” said Turner, who earned the Irondequoit MVP award for his performance. “Even though we came out on the short end tonight, I wouldn’t have traded this season for anything. The bonds I made on this team will be with me forever.”
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On the other side of the ball stood senior bulldozing all-everything back Shaun Dolac, who ran with authority all night long. While his game totals of 31 carries for 137 yards weren’t monstrous, he picked up first down after first down despite a herculean effort from the Eagle defense, which was without standout middle linebacker Jimmy Clement who did not suit up.
“The kids battled all season long, all game long, right to the last second,” Fitcher said. “It was a honor to coach these kids this year and our seniors led us every step of the way. Tonight we just met a better football team.”
June opened the scoring late in the first quarter when danced in from 8 yards out. His conversion run was good and with 1:28 to go in the first quarter, Irondequoit led 8-0. The drive started when IQ forced a fumble and pounced on it on the 26 yard line.
West Seneca East responded on its next series with a seven rushing play drive — with Dolac carrying six times. Dolac covered the last 11 yards of the drive by running over Eagle defenderes, then added the conversion run to knot it at 8-all with 9:28 to go in the second.
Each team pounded on each other for several series, but the turning point in the game came when the Trojan defenders sacked June on his six-yard line driving the ball out of his hands. A pileup ensued and it was several moments before the signal pointed WSE’s way. on the very next play Peter Thomas scored, Matt Sztaba added the kick and with 9:19 left in the third, the Trojans took the lead they would never relinquish.
| IQ | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| WSE | 0 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 15 | ||
| Scoring | |||||||
| IQ | Freddy June Jr 1 run (Freddy June run) | ||||||
| WSE | Shaun Dolac 12 run (Shaun Dolac run) | ||||||
| WSE | Peter Thomas 6 run (Matt Sztaba kick) | ||||||
| Rushing | |||||||
| IQ | Jaden Turner 20-90, Freddy June Jr 22-64, Ryan DeRosa 4-28 | ||||||
| Passing | |||||||
| IQ | Freddy June Jr 1-10-0-1-16 | ||||||
| Receiving | |||||||
| IQ | Patrick Thomas IV 1-16 | ||||||
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