PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Pittsford head coach Keith Molinich credited the possibility of a supernatural presence guiding the efforts of his team from the beyond.
The air attack of Caleb Lewis and Jackson Green didn’t need much help on Friday night.
Lewis and Green combined for 169 yards and two touchdowns as the host Panthers defeated Aquinas, 26-17.
The duo connected on a pair of passes in a three-play, 60-yard drive midway through the third quarter for the go-ahead touchdown.
“Caleb was spinning the ball like I’ve never seen him,” Molinich said. “He was putting things in windows that were incredible.”
The senior signal caller finished 14-of-27 on the night for 211 yards. His favorite target, without question, was Green who made 11 catches on the night.
Caleb Lewis hits Jackson Green along the left sideline for an 18-yard touchdown. Green had three receptions for 41 yards on the 51-yard drive. pic.twitter.com/mHFY8yIEDg
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 30, 2022
“We’ve been building up for this game,” Green said of the contest against Aquinas which eliminated the Panthers in last year’s semifinals. “Every single game matters but this game is really special especially to Coach Molinich who’s come up short a couple times. This one feels good for him.”
The game started slowly for the Pittsford, though.
CJ Robinson scored from 64 yards out on the first play from scrimmage to give Aquinas an early lead.
Pittsford turned it over on downs on its first drive of the game. The Panthers then went three-and-out on their next possession. A fumbled punt gave Pittsford the ball on the Aquinas 45-yard line, but the Panthers managed only a field goal to get on the scoreboard at 7-3.
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On the next drive, Lewis-to -Green found its stride. Pittsford went 51 yards in six plays.
“We had to adjust protection to give them a little bit more time,” Molinich explained. “We tried to roll him (Lewis) out. We had to adjust things up front to make sure that we could have that time to get him (Green) the ball.”
Lewis to Green capped the drive with an 18-yard strike down the left sideline for a 10-7 lead with 6:08 remaining in the first half.
Aquinas tied the score in the third quarter, but Pittsford needed just :24 seconds of game time to go 60 yards for a lead it did not surrender.
“We were just trying to find ways for me to get open because they had a guy over the top,” Green explained. “The short stuff worked. It helped us gain momentum. When they started covering the short stuff, we went deep.”
Jackson Green makes second, third and fourth effort for Pittsford first down. pic.twitter.com/WQh0X0xWGW
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 30, 2022
Lewis hit Green on a 25-yard pass to start the drive. The 6-foot-2 quarterback then scrambled for 16 more yards before hitting Green for a nine-yard touchdown reception.
Pittsford had a 16-10 advantage and didn’t look back.
“It’s all my teammates,” Green said pointing to the rest of the lineup that contributed to the win. “We set each other up. (Teammate) Luke Fliss is a great wide receiver. He gains a lot of attention from the defense. It just sets me up. We got a lot of chemistry. It’s great especially going into these last few games of the season. It’s a great feeling. We’ve got a team with a lot of energy, and we’re very close.”
Nathan Rodi capped an eight-play, 47-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown as Pittsford added to its lead at 23-10.
Sophomore quarterback Ben Newman connected with Eimaj Giddens on a 19-yard touchdown to pull Aquinas within six at 23-17 with 7:15 remaining in the game.
Aquinas got the ball back with 5:35 left in the game, but Pittsford’s defense stopped the Li’l Irish without a first down. Rodi put an exclamation mark on the effort with a sack on fourth down. Rodi finished with 16 tackles to lead a Pittford defense which kept Aquinas out of the end zone for 39-plus minutes of game time.
“We have not played a defensive game like that yet,” Molinich said. “It was phenomenal what the young men did. Great game plan from (assistant coaches) Jason Bernas and Steve Marriott. It’s unreal. They figured out what to do without pieces that we usually have.”
Molinich recalled the 2012 meeting between the two programs.
“We came up short in the sectional finals, 15-14. Since then we have not beaten them.”
Friday night had one difference for the 16-year head coach.
“This is their first time with Coach Ordiway’s spirit,” Molinich said referring John Ordiway, the program’s first coach who passed away in 1968 after a brief illness. “First time they’ve ever been here.
“Happy ghosts. Good ghosts. I believe in those things.”
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