Livonia runs over Waterloo en route to Class C Final

By TIM IRVING

Livonia scored on the second play from scrimmage and the Bulldogs’ defense shut down Waterloo in a 50-6 win in the Section V Class C football semifinals on Saturday night.

The top-seeded Bulldogs host number two Bath-Haverling in the finals next weekend.

Jake Smith took a handoff on the second play from scrimmage and ran 67 yards up the middle to set the tone for Livonia, running a modified version of the double wing offense that Spencerport runs.

“We come out unbalanced and Jake is very patient, waiting for his blockers to pull,” says head coach Chris Genthner.

Senior quarterback Alex Minnehan scored on a two-yard run and then on a 33-yard keeper on an option read and the lead was 20-0 with three minutes left in the opening quarter.

Waterloo turned to their spread offense and started to convert a couple first downs, including a fake punt on fourth down and early in the second quarter, senior Brian Oddi hit Kyle Slywka for 27 yards to get the Indians on the board.

“He’s a good quarterback and they have tall receivers. We focused a lot on pass defense in practice because most teams we see just don’t run it (the spread) in our league or Class C, “ Genthner said. “The key for us was getting pressure so they wouldn’t be able to use their height advantage against our secondary.”

With just under a minute to play in the half, Minnehan scored his third touchdown of the game and the lead was 26-6.

Waterloo attempted another fake punt but his time, Jake Watkins picked it off. Minnehan hit Troy Galbraith to the 17-yard line and then found him again over the middle with five seconds left for the score and a 34-6 advantage.

Waterloo’s first series of the second half ended with the first of two interceptions by Kevin Travis in the third quarter and Smith turned it into points with a 38-yard TD. The senior finished with 15 carries for 211 yards.

Fullback Trevor Allen capped the scoring with two minutes to play in the third quarter on a one-yard run.

The Bulldogs host the Rams Friday in what promises to be a game worthy of two unbeaten teams. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play a Sectional Final on our home field but we’ve got our hands full with Bath. We’re playing a mirror image of ourselves, they run a similar offense, we’ve gotta be at our best, “ Genthner remarked.