By JOHN LIKANJE
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. – An integral key to Canandaigua’s postseason success was its defense. Coming into this weekend’s state tournament opener, Jeff Welch’s squad had held its three opponents to a combined 33 points (11 points per contest). Meanwhile, the Braves’ offense had been rolling to the tune of 95 points (31.7 points per game). On Friday night at Shenendehowa High School, one side held its own while the other struggled to finish possessions.
The Braves’ defense held Section II champion, Niskayuna, in check but couldn’t muster consistent offense in a 14-7, season-ending setback in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) regionals.
Welch’s defensive front limited the Silver Warriors to a pair of touchdowns in 12 possessions. Both of those scores occurred on the Silver Warriors’ opening drive of each half as they found the end zone a minute and a half into the game and the 7:55 mark of the third quarter on pass plays of 65 and 28 yards, respectively. Otherwise, the Braves forced a pair of turnovers in the opening stanza, a missed field goal right before halftime and seven penalties. Junior linebacker Jude York accounted for both takeaways with two fumble recoveries. The Braves forced the Silver Warriors to go three-and-out four times as well.
However, the Braves’ offense didn’t navigate into the end zone until their last play of the match: a 62-yard catch-and-run by senior wideout Tysheed Crockton. Before that, Welch’s squad was held scoreless on the previous nine possessions. Five of those resulted in a turnover on downs, including three in the red zone. The Braves strung together drives of 11, eight and seven yards, respectively, as well. Besides their late touchdown, the closest the four-time sectional champs came to scoring was their second-to-last possession when York reeled in a splashdown zone catch, but was ruled out-of-bounds despite hitting the pylon.
Crockton finished with 157 total yards, including 68 via the trenches on 20 carries, in the final game of his career.
The Braves concluded the 2022 season with a 9-3 record, the No. 2 seed in class A2 and its fourth consecutive sectional title.
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