Pickin' Splinters

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Wiggins keys late East rally

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Ervin Wiggins’s interception early in the third quarter keyed an East High rally as the Eagles defeated Canandaigua, 26-21. (Photo: PAUL GOTHAM)

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It was a matter of playing his part.

Trailing in the third quarter with the ball deep in its own territory, East High’s defense needed a turnover.

Ervin Wiggins delivered just that.

On second down from the 28-yard line, Wiggins dropped into coverage. When East’s front line created pressure on Canandaigua quarterback Drew Williamee, Wiggins took advantage for an interception.

Three drives later, East regained a lead it did not surrender.

“In my head, I had to make a play,” the junior defensive back said after East’s 26-21 victory in a battle of state-ranked teams. “All I had to do is make a play.”

The interception helped stop a Canandaigua offense that at one point had converted on three of four drives for 21 straight points. Canandaigua had taken over on its own 39-yard line. Five plays later highlighted by a Tysheed Crockton 27-yard jaunt, the Braves looked ready to add to their lead.

“Erv is a person who stays focused out there,” East High co-head coach James Vann said. “It doesn’t matter what play it is. He’s just ready to go. He knew it was coming. He knew to stay home, do his job and believe in the other 10 guys on the field.”

Jeremiah LaMar Tucker forced Williamee out of the pocket. Wiggins read the play and dropped off his man.

“I had a man and gave him off to Ant. (Anthony Diaz),” Wiggins explained. “He rolled out.  I hooked up from the other side, got us the ball back.”

The turnover was one of two that East capitalized on in the second half. The Eagles forced a fumble inside their own five-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Zymeir Jackson completed 11 of 19 passes including a 73-yard strike catch-and-run to Kelvin Shepard that put the Eagles on the Canandaigua nine-yard line.

Amari Young scored from there for the final margin of victory.

“This team’s about winning and not individual stuff,” East High co-head coach Steve Flagler stated. “Knowing that you’ve put in the work, having confidence and knowing that you can beat this team. They’re gritty. We dealt with adversity well.”

The Eagles sprinted to a 20-0 lead to start the game.

Diaz took the opening kickoff and ran it back 75 yards for a touchdown. East’s defense held Canandaigua to a three-and-out on the next possession. The Eagles took over on their own 33 and needed nine plays to go the length of the field. Jackson led Diaz into the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 East lead.

East traveled 96 yards in six plays on its next drive to extend the lead. Jackson hit Shepard in the corner of the end zone. East was cruising early in the second quarter.

Canandaigua didn’t flinch.

Jude York ran the ensuing kickoff to the East 31-yard line. Crockton got Canandaigua on the scoreboard.

After an exchange of possessions, Canandaigua’s defense forced a fumble and recovered at the East 15-yard line. Williamee needed one play to get the ball in the end zone. The sophomore signal caller hit Mason Lloyd and the deficit was six points at 20-14.

Canandaigua stopped East on the next drive and went 61 yards in three plays. This time Williamee found Crockton in the middle of the field for a 44-yard catch-and-run.

The three-time sectional champs had a 21-20 lead and momentum on their side.

“It’s been a trend for us to come out of the gate hot and jump on teams,” Flagler said. “We kinda have a lull in the second quarter. It’s a trend we’ve been working on in practice. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy with them. Our guys, they put the work in. They’re confident. They trust each other.”

Canandaigua had another possession late in the second quarter but couldn’t take advantage. The Braves received the second-half kickoff and looked like they had regained their rhythm as they drove 33 yards into East territory.

Wiggins stopped the three-time reigning sectional champs in their tracks.

“We went into halftime, in the locker room, and we talked about making the play, do your 1/11th,” Wiggins said. “That’s it. There are 11 players on the field. You are one. Everybody’s one. There are 11 players on the field, do your 1/11th. I saw the ball, went and attacked it. That’s all I had to do.”

The Eagles’ defense eventually held Canandaigua scoreless on its last five drives.

Edwin Spencer led the way with 11 tackles and one sack. The senior linebacker recovered the fumble that set up the go-ahead touchdown. Nigel Copeland had eight tackles including two for a loss and two sacks. Brandon Franklin had five tackles, two for a loss and two sacks. Young had two tackles and 3.5 sacks.

“They weren’t running successfully on us,” Flagler said of East’s success on defense. “We knew they were passing the ball. That’s how they were having success. It allowed our D-line to pin their ears back and go to town. We got a lot speed and good pass rushers. When it turned into a one-dimensional game, we could pin our ears back and go. We got some dawgs on our team.”

Shepard finished with five catches for 164 yards. Diaz had four receptions for 73 yards. Young carried the ball 16 times for 77 yards.

East (4-0/No. 11 NYSSWA) travels to play at Eastridge next Saturday. A 2 p.m. kickoff is scheduled.

Canandaigua (3-1/No. 4 NYSSWA) will host Brockport next Friday for a 7 p.m. start.

Canandaigua beat East 33-16 when the two teams met in the regular season last year. The Braves also had the upper hand in the (spring) 2021 final 32-7 and in the 2019 final, 21-13.

“It’s a good win, a team win,” Vann said putting the game in perspective. “For everyone else outside, not Canandaigua and East, everyone thinks this was a big game. We know for a fact that if you want to win and you want to get to the chip, you’re going to have to get through Canandaigua. This is great during the (regular) season, but playoffs are a whole new season.”

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