By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Aquinas Li’l Irish (No. 13 NYSSWA Class AA) needed only 13 plays from scrimmage to put 30 points on the scoreboard and scored on their first five possessions Friday night en route to a 58-26 victory over Webster Schroeder.
Tyler Szalkowski threw for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Will Benjamin and Manny Russell accounted for 232 yards from scrimmage and 26 points in the Li’l Irish’s sixth straight win.
Russell and Szalkowski connected for a 23-yard strike on AQ’s opening drive of six plays. Benjamin capped the first possession with a one-yard plunge to start the scoring.
Will Benjamin caps a 6-play drive scoring from the 1. 8:41 remaining in the first: AQ 7 Schroeder 0 pic.twitter.com/4t0QlRHYLg
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 18, 2019
After a penalty on the ensuing kickoff, Schroeder started inside its five-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Russell tackled a Warriors ball carrier in the end zone for a safety and then took the resulting free kick 68 yards for a 16-0 Aquinas advantage with 8:12 remaining in the first quarter.
Manny Russell. House call. PAT. 8:11 to go in the first: AQ 16 Schroeder 0 pic.twitter.com/PMtppPwh2l
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 18, 2019
Aquinas stopped Schroeder on downs the following drive.
Szalkowski and Benjamin then hooked up on a 51-yard strike for a 23-0 Aquinas lead with 3:23 to go in the opening period.
3rd and 5 from the 49. Tyler Szalkowski hits Will Benjamin over the middle. 3:23 remaining in the first: AQ 23 Schroeder 0 pic.twitter.com/uMyqvUy1Ne
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 18, 2019
“That’s great to have explosive weapons like that,” Aquinas coach Derek Annechino said. “I’m just thankful they’re on our side.”
Steven Mahar and Bryan Magee scored a touchdown apiece in the second quarter as part of a 37-12 halftime lead.
As effective as AQ’s offense was in the first half, though, a rash of penalties in the final 24 minutes weighed on Annechino’s mind.
“We executed well on both sides of the ball, but we got to fix that,” the third-year coach said. “That is a big problem.”
Benjamin ended the game with 12 carries for 59 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore also made three catches for 108 yards and another score. On the defensive side, Benjamin had one interception. He has 12 touchdowns on the season.
Szalkowski connected on 15 of 18 passes.
Poise in the pocket: Tyler Szalkowski finds Manny Russell for 23 yards. pic.twitter.com/osMB4dlwAm
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 18, 2019
Russell made four receptions for 65 yards. Magee rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Mahar had four catches for 59 yards.
Andre Gaskin and Patrick Fenton led the Aquinas defense with eight and seven tackles respectively.
Victor Snow scored twice for Schroeder. The junior rushed for a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter and then connected with Braden Pumputis on a 63-yard strike for the Warriors final points of the game.
Victor Snow takes the pitch and goes 14 yards to get @SchroederSports on the board. 10:22 remaining in the half: Aquinas leads 30-6. pic.twitter.com/qre28BZaG5
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 18, 2019
Pumputis hit Ethan Fame on a 26-yard catch-and-run for a second quarter touchdown. Darius Johnson also scored for the Warriors.
4th and 4 from the 26: Braden Pumputis connects with Ethan Fame for a @SchroederSports TD. Conversion is no good. 2:57 remaining in the half: Aquinas leads 37-12 Darius Johnson: “Money” pic.twitter.com/Fx8gkUTm8i
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 19, 2019
Schroeder (3-4) played without starting quarterback Travis Dear who was injured in last week’s loss to McQuaid.
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