By JOHN LIKANJE
Sunday’s rainy affair between Alexander and Oakfield-Alabama/Elba was reminiscent of an old school football game: a plethora of rushing plays on offense, staunch defense on both sides and a low-scoring contest which was decided on the last play of the match.
Considering how the first 47 minutes and 52 seconds transpired, it was fitting that the game came down to a 27-yard field goal attempt. It was also fitting that the attempt was blocked by Trojans’ leading tackler, Devin Dean.
Dean, who entered the contest with a team-high 39 tackles, blocked what would’ve been the go-ahead field goal to preserve a 9-7 victory for Alexander at Van Detta Stadium.
Due to the Aggies’ defense limiting their offense to three field goals, the Trojans’ defense stepped up and made important stops all game long. They just needed one more on a drive which started at the Aggies’ 36-yard line.
The Trojans had done their part in containing Aggies’ leading rusher, Ty Mott, up to that point. However, the senior running back wouldn’t be denied as he scampered for a 13-yard run. After gaining only two more on his next handoff, Mott pushed six yards forward and set up a Ty Kornow field goal attempt with another five-yard run.
Trojans head coach Timothy Sawyer called a timeout to ice the kicker. After a small delay to set up both teams’ lines, Aggies’ offensive lineman Peyton Yasses snapped the ball for Kornow. The Trojans immediately swarmed the senior kicker while Dean reached out and swatted the attempt back into the ground with his outstretched arms.
“We had a little overload scheme on one side,” Sawyer explained on the last play of the game. “Devin Dean’s just a playmaker. I think he came through the B-gap pretty clean and blocked it. That sealed the game for us.”
“Even to the very last second with a field goal attempt, we gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game,” Oakfield-Alabama/Elba head coach Tyler Winter said. “We came up short.”
Overall, Dean finished with eight tackles. Nick Kramer led the defensive effort with 10 tackles and a fourth-quarter interception. Junior linebacker Jacob Laney added eight tackles of his own. Senior defensive lineman Spencer Wuest recovered a pair of fumbles in the first half.
“We weren’t too crazy productive offensively,” Sawyer noted. “Our defense kept us in the game. Kind of the way we saw it going. We expected a tough football game.”
Kramer and Brayden Woods spearheaded the offense by wearing down the Aggies’ defense. The junior duo combined for 162 rushing yards on 39 carries. Kramer led with 18 carries for 93 yards while Woods followed up with 69 yards on 21 attempts.
“Nick’s a tough kid,” Sawyer said about Kramer. “He prepares well. He’s very coachable. He’s the type of player that really doesn’t come off the field for us.”
“Brayden didn’t get in the end zone for us today but he finished runs,” the Trojans head coach said about Woods. “He’s running through defenders. Oakfield-Alabama/Elba is in the same boat as us. They got a lot of two-way players. It was a physically tough football game. A game that used all 48 minutes. He had excellent ball security. Good and strong running. Nothing flashy, but was highly effective.”
Junior kicker Eric Cline accounted for all the scoring with three field goals, including the go-ahead attempt with 11:08 remaining in the game.
For Oakfield-Alabama/Elba, Bodie Hyde broke free for a 58-yard touchdown run to take a 7-3 lead midway through the opening period. The freshman quarterback accumulated game-highs of 114 rushing yards and 76 passing yards.
“I’m so proud of Bodie,” Winter said about Hyde. “Up until this season, he was a running back. One of the players that we had envisioned for our quarterback position this year had to have offseason surgery in February. When we went back to the drawing board, we asked Bodie how comfortable he’d be at the quarterback position.”
“Bodie met that challenge head-on and he was very determined to put in the work and do a nice job for this team. I can’t say enough about the year he has had. He has grown immensely before my eyes just in the past seven weeks. He absolutely stepped up in a big way for us today and put us in a spot to win the game both on the ground with his legs and through the air with his passing. We’re real excited about Bodie’s future.”
Mott, who entered Sunday’s contest averaging 230.5 rushing yards per game, was held to 91 yards on 20 carries.
“We were able to get Ty going a little bit in the second half,” Winter said about Mott. “We were able to try a few things offensively to get him the ball and try to get him the ball a little bit more in space.”
Yasses led the defense with 13 tackles, including one for a loss. Junior defensive back Kaden Cusmano followed up with eight tackles, including two for a loss, and a sack. Dontrell Jenkins compiled seven tackles, including one for a loss, one sack and a fumble recovery.
Oakfield-Alabama/Elba concludes the 2021 season with a 5-2 record and the top seed in Class D. The Aggies compiled wins over Avon, Canisteo-Greenwood, Cuba-Rushford, Geneseo/Mount Morris and York/Pavilion and outscored their opponents this season, 248-61.
“This was a big moment for our guys,” Winter said. “Playing in 8-Man football the past couple of years and now being the No. 1 seed and having a home playoff game against a good opponent like Alexander. That was a big challenge.”
Alexander will take on No. 2 seed Avon. The Braves defeated Canisteo-Greenwood, 16-8, in the other semifinal game, Sunday afternoon. This will be a rematch of a Week Two contest in which the Braves defeated the Trojans, 21-0.
“We’ve come far since then,” Sawyer said in anticipation of facing Avon for the second time this season. “They are a very good team though. We’re excited to have the rematch. We’re healthy now. We should have a full squad of players in. That first game, we were undermanned a little bit. I think we were missing four boys. We’re happy to be back in the finals and try to put together a game plan that’ll give us a chance.”
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