By JOHN LIKANJE
Thirteen of the 14 Section V teams who were recognized in last week’s installment of the New York State Sportswriters Association weekly poll made it again in Week Four. Four squads rose in their respective classifications, including two which finished just outside the Top 10.
As expected, McQuaid (No. 3 NYSSWA Class AA) cruised to an easy 44-0 shutout win over Rush-Henrietta, Friday night, to remain No. 3 in the state. But Aquinas finally gained some ground in the rankings after its 28-14 road victory over winless Monroe, Saturday afternoon. After ranking No. 13 in the state over the first two polls, the L’il Irish hopped to No. 11 this week. Eimaj Giddens continued to be a valuable sidekick for Will Benjamin with 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns on Saturday. The L’il Irish have a great opportunity to fatten up its record this week as they host the Royal Comets on Friday evening at 6 p.m.
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The more the season progresses, the more Brighton (No. 12 NYSSWA Class A) looks like a legitimate contender. Not only did the Bruins go on the road and defeat Webster Schroeder this past week, they did so convincingly. The Bruins accumulated 353 rushing yards on offense and held the Warriors, who had averaged 24 points per game going into Friday’s contest, to seven en route to a commanding 28-7 victory. It’s not as if the Bruins have had an easy schedule as well. They’ve accounted for UPrep’s and Webster Schroeder’s lone losses while Webster Thomas was undefeated at the time they faced each other.
Overall, the Bruins have outscored their opponents, 114-40, thus far. Things don’t get any easier as they prepare for a Penfield squad coming off its first win of the season. Despite their record, the Patriots have proven to be a tough customer, especially on defense as they held Irondequoit and UPrep to a combined 35 points. Game is slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Brighton High School.
Apparently, defeating its winless archrival was all Spencerport (No. 21 NYSSWA Class A) needed to move up from the bottom of the Class A rankings. The Rangers leapfrogged three spots this week after a 40-27 Homecoming victory over Brockport, Saturday afternoon. John Dowd’s squad now ranks second among Section V Class A teams in scoring with 162 points (40.5 PPG) behind reigning champion Canandaigua (183 points scored and 45.8 PPG), who is No. 3 in the state yet again.
Expect the Rangers to continue their dominance this upcoming Friday against a Greece Athena team which has dropped back-to-back games. This contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Greece Athena High School.
Honeoye Falls-Lima (No. 5 NYSSWA Class B) passed its second major test of the season to maintain its spot as the top-ranked Section V small school. The Cougars went on the road and rallied to take down Wayne, 21-20, in a matchup between two of the three undefeated teams left in Class B. The fact that this was their first close game of the season (The Cougars had won their first three contests by a combined 90 points) and they kept their composure and came back in the final moments is a testament to their recent success. The senior duo of Zachary Meacham (378 rushing yards and four touchdowns) and Brody Young (465 passing yards and six touchdowns) are leading the charge.
The Cougars won’t have to worry about grinding out back-to-back close games as they welcome Bishop Kearney for a Saturday afternoon tilt at 2 p.m.
East Rochester/Gananda (No. 8 NYSSWA Class C) will have something to be more motivated about going into this weekend’s games. The Bombers are the only undefeated squad left in what has been a top-heavy Class C and have won all their games by double-digits, including this past Friday over Attica. But, similar to last week, they were placed right behind Livonia in the Class C rankings despite the Bulldogs not playing over the weekend. The Bombers seek to their solidify their case Friday night at Waterloo at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs are back in action Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Penn Yan/Dundee.
Avon (No. 2 NYSSWA Class D) has a case for being the best Class D football team in New York State. Besides being the reigning sectional champions and having played two more games than top-ranked Tioga (IV), the Braves are one of two undefeated Section V Class D teams (Oakfield-Alabama/Elba), which includes a win over sectionals runner-up, Alexander, and have outscored their opponents, 107-32. Andy Englert’s squad features four players (Michael Rowland, Dylan Smith, Chris Thompson and Thomas Welch) with over 100 receiving yards as well. Welch has also amassed 500 rushing yards, 14 tackles and nine touchdowns. Senior quarterback Andrew Rowland has exploded for 506 passing yards, 389 rushing yards, 18 tackles and seven touchdowns as well.
The Braves are hoping a road win over Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale, Thursday night, will boost them into the No. 1 spot next week.
NYSSWA RANKINGS
CLASS AA
No. 3 – McQuaid (4-0)
No. 11 – Aquinas (4-0)
CLASS A
No. 3 – Canandaigua (4-0)
No. 12 – Brighton (4-0)
No. 21 – Spencerport (4-0)
CLASS B
No. 5 – Honeoye Falls-Lima (4-0)
No. 6 – Batavia (4-0)
CLASS C
No. 7 -Livonia (2-1)
No. 8 – East Rochester/Gananda (4-0)
CLASS D
No. 2 – Avon (4-0)
No. 10 – Alexander (3-1)
No. 13 – Bolivar-Richburg (3-1)
8-MAN
No. 1 – Red Jacket (3-0)
For the full list of rankings, go here.
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