By JOHN LIKANJE
Coming into Saturday’s contest, the Bath-Haverling and Le Roy varsity football programs allowed a combined 15.7 points per game. Both teams were well aware that points would be a premium and whichever squad committed less mistakes would most likely emerge victorious.
In this case, the victor was Bath-Haverling. Not only did the Rams hold the Oatkan Knights to six points, they committed zero turnovers and forced six takeaways en route to a 16-6 win.
“Defensively, we were relentless,” Bath-Haverling head coach Matthew Ford said after the game. “I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. Our guys in the backfield were getting up front and making plays. Our guys persevered and we got through it. We came away with a W against a fantastic Le Roy football team that hits and those guys are fast off the ball.”
Anthony Brotz, Jr. led the team effort with his all-around performance. On offense, the junior wide receiver scored a touchdown. On defense, he accumulated four interceptions. Finally, on special teams, his punts constantly forced the Knights to commence possessions deep in their own territory.
Brotz’s heroics started early in the second quarter when he snagged his first pick, which led to a Nathan Musso 29-yard field goal and broke the scoreless stalemate.
After the Knights took the lead into intermission, Brotz put the Rams in the red zone with a 41-yard reception. Ford called the 5-foot-7 junior’s number again with an eight-yard run into paydirt for a 10-6 lead they didn’t relinquish.
Brotz followed up his touchdown with another interception on the opening play of the ensuing drive. The junior wideout capped off his evening with back-to-back picks to end the game. Brotz finished with three catches for 46 receiving yards and six carries for 27 rushing yards.
“AJ Brotz is one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached,” Ford said about his junior wide receiver. “He can do everything. He can punt. He can catch footballs. He plays great defense. He’s just one of those skill players that doesn’t come around very often and we just know we can count on him. He’s something special.”
Damien Hall, the Rams’ second-leading rusher, added a touchdown of his own. After the Knights’ defense held him in check for the majority of the game, the junior running back finally broke through for a five-yard score with four and a half minutes remaining. Hall recovered a fumble on a Knights’ fake punt attempt near the end of the opening period as well. Overall, the 5-foot-6 junior had 91 rushing yards on 19 carries.
Owen Eggleston led the stout defense with nine tackles. Diallo Wallace followed up with six. Senior linebacker Hunter Cupp added four tackles and recovered a fumble in enemy territory in the second quarter. Austin Thorius had three tackles and a sack.
“They know they all have to pursue the ball,” Ford said when praising his team’s defensive effort. “You got to play aggressive every down. No plays off. Try to force turnovers. Pressure the quarterback. Do your job. Be quick off the ball and hit.”
For LeRoy, Nate Andrews grappled a 33-yard touchdown catch with 1:46 left in the first half for a 6-3 lead. The senior running back finished with five catches for 56 yards and 11 carries for 28 more. Alex Panepento completed 7-of-16 passes for 60 yards.
Jack Tonzi and Zach Vanderhoof led the defense with nine tackles each, including two for loss. Tonzi added two assisted tackles as well. Andrew Kettle and Tyler Strollo followed up with five tackles apiece.
Brian Herdlein’s squad struggled to find any type of offensive consistency. Along with the six turnovers, nine of their 12 drives started from their 25-yard line or farther.
Le Roy concludes the 2021 season with a 5-2 record and the No. 3 seed in Class C. The Oatkan Knights compiled wins over Attica, Dansville, East Rochester/Gananda, Letchworth/Warsaw and Wellsville and outscored their opponents this season, 175-43.
“All year long, our kids battled through whatever was going on,” Herdlein said. “Last week, we played a tough Livonia team. Our team battled for four quarters. Things weren’t going our way tonight, but we played right to the end and that’s a credit to our kids.”
“As long as you have a little bit of success, we’re going to want to get the kids to come out, perform and get better. This group of seniors that we had were a big part of what we did last year as well. I think we have a pretty good core of guys coming back and coming up. Our JV team was pretty successful.”
The Rams will be missing a key player in Justin Yehl for the sectional final. The sophomore quarterback suffered a fractured collarbone on the first play of the game. Senior backup play-caller Ian DiDomineck subbed in for Yehl and completed 5-of-8 passes for 81 yards. DiDominack is expected to start in the championship game as well.
“Our second-string quarterback, DiDomineck, gets reps during practice, so we just got to go with what we have,” Ford explained. “Next Ram in. That’s the mentality. That’s obviously a football thing and everybody’s got to be ready to fill in that spot at any given moment.”
Bath-Haverling will take on top-seeded Livonia. The Bulldogs defeated Waterloo, 50-6, in the other semifinal game, Saturday night.
“We just have to continue doing what we’re doing,” Ford said in anticipation of the matchup with Livonia. “Defensively, we just got to be tough. Offensively, we got to make some tweaks now.”
“Our defense has got to show up if we want to have any chance next week against Livonia. We know that they are a big, fast, strong and physical football team. We know that they’re a top team in the state. This is just Livingston County football. We always used to play Livonia, so we understand their hitting level. It’s going to be a big challenge, but I believe our guys will be up for it.”
Leave a Reply