By JOHN LIKANJE
Ever since Section V switched the sport of football to a Federation schedule two years ago, sectionals have almost always featured teams who already faced off in the regular season. That was the case, Saturday night, as Irondequoit and Webster Thomas not only matched up in the Class A1 sectional quarterfinals, but it was the second straight week they were playing each other.
The result of Saturday’s contest was similar to last Friday’s regular season finale as the Titans shut out the Eagles, 28-0. It’s the Titans’ first sectionals victory since the 2014 Class AA quarterfinals when they defeated McQuaid, 31-7.
“We went in with a similar gameplan,” Webster Thomas head coach Scott Deuschle said about facing the Eagles back-to-back games. “Defensive fronts that they threw at us in the first half was everything from a two-man to a four-man front.”
The first half of the match was dominated by defense as, after the Titans scored on the game’s opening possession, both squads combined to force five fumbles. Deuschle made adjustments during halftime and his team responded with 21 points in the final two periods en route to their second consecutive shutout.
The Titans’ defense stood tall from start to finish, amassing 55 tackles and four takeaways while stopping the Eagles’ fourth-down conversion attempts on numerous occasions. Dillon English, William Henry and Joseph Ives all recovered a fumble and Marley English posted a 20-yard pick-six.
“They’ve been playing great all year,” Deuschle said about his defense. “They really set the tone for our team. Our frontage played great. The two English brothers are leading the back end of our defense. They’re kind of what we’re hanging our hat on at this point in time.”
Junior defensive lineman Ja’Mar Harvey led the stout effort with 11 tackles. Dillon English and Henry both followed up with seven.
Eli Adams provided all the Titans’ offense with three touchdowns. The senior quarterback scrambled 19 yards to the end zone on the first possession of the game.
.@SecVFootball A1 Quarterfinals – @WIEagles vs. @WTTitanFootball: Eli Adams gets the scoring started on the 1st drive of the game with a 19-yard TD run. 7:21 1Q: Webster Thomas 7 Irondequoit 0. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/RbzKiChmpv
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) October 23, 2021
Then Adams threw touchdown passes on back-to-back drives spanning the third and fourth quarter: a 33-yard delivery to Thomas Chambers and an eight-yard checkdown to David Petz.
.@SecVFootball A1 Quarterfinals – @WIEagles vs. @WTTitanFootball: Eli Adams 8-yard TD pass to David Petz. 10:02 4Q: Webster Thomas 28 Irondequoit 0. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/D6O6YXnjrF
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) October 24, 2021
Adams completed 14-of-20 passes for 191 yards and gained 23 more on the ground via eight carries. The senior quarterback was essential on special teams as well as his punts forced the Eagles to start in their own territory on 11 of their 12 possessions. Adams chipped in two tackles on defense.
“Honestly, I wasn’t really planning on them bringing so much pressure,” Adams said on the Eagles’ defense. “But once we saw that, we knew that we have matchups all across the board and I have a lot of faith in my receivers, my (offensive) line, my running back and we all got the job done today.”
“There weren’t any big adjustments. A big factor was consistency. Holding them to zero points the first week and then the second week is not easy, especially in Varsity football games.”
“Our whole offense runs through him,” Deuschle said about Adams. “If he’s on, that helps everything else. He did a great job all year. Hopefully we can continue his success and limit the mistakes from him.”
Petz reeled in nine balls for 109 yards. Dillon English led the ground game with 57 rushing yards on 10 handoffs.
“We did move the ball pretty well,” Deuschle commented. “I was happy with that. The kids rallied and focused on mistakes in the second half”
For Irondequoit, junior running back Lamere Smith led with 14 carries and 82 yards. Senior defensive back Julian Taylor led the defense with nine tackles. Andre Bigham and Corey Freeman both followed up with eight. Freeman forced a fumble and recovered it as well. Senior defensive lineman Dominic Ferra registered six tackles, including a sack. Cameron Freeman and Joshua Luciano both recovered a fumble.
.@SecVFootball A1 Quarterfinals – @WIEagles vs. @WTTitanFootball: Fumble recoveries on back-to-back plays. 1st by Titans defensive lineman Joseph Ives. Then this 1 by Eagles defensive back Cameron Freeman. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/x8QvfGJgrM
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) October 24, 2021
Webster Thomas advances to the sectional semifinals to take on top-seeded Brighton. Brighton defeated Churchville-Chili, 42-16, in its quarterfinals matchup, Friday night. The Bruins defeated the Titans, 21-14, in Week Three on September 17th.
“There’s no real, crazy gameplan that we’re probably going to have,” Adams said. “Coach will draw one up and we’ll buy into it. They’re going to be a tough, physical team and we just got to be able to match their level of physicality.”
“Now we get to play Brighton, which was a tight game last time,” Deuschle said. “They’re the No. 1 seed for a reason. They run the ball better than anybody we’ve seen this year. We have a tall task at hand this week.”
“Trying to stop 13 (Brighton quarterback Brennan Clasgens). He’s not only a great quarterback, but probably one of the top runners in the section. He’s the complete package. Everything runs through that kid. Their offensive line is very well-coached and very disciplined. They have a slew of running backs that can carry the load, too.”
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