Buttles, Aquinas outlast Lancaster

By PAUL GOTHAM

BROCKPORT, N.Y. — The pass, lofted in the air, came down among three players.

That Trent Buttles secured the ball in his hands was fitting.

The Aquinas sophomore, who had accounted for all three of the Li’l Irish’s touchdowns, put to rest a come-from-behind 21-19 victory with a game-saving interception.

With the win, Aquinas (10-2) clinched a spot in next weekend’s state semifinals where they will face either Elmira/Southside (IV) or Christian Brothers Academy (III).

“We battled adversity well,” said Buttles who found the end zone twice on rushing touchdowns and on the defensive side made a pair of interceptions including one that he returned 95 yards for another score. “In the past few weeks, we haven’t really had any adversity. I’m proud of my guys to come out here and do that.”

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In a game in which neither team held a commanding lead, at least not for very long, Aquinas scored 21 straight points to erase a 13-0 deficit and then made enough plays in the final minutes to hold off Section VI champion, Lancaster.

“Our boys started the year out talking about grit,” said second-year head coach Moe Jackson. “It took grit tonight from a lot of guys in crucial moments. They stepped up. They stepped up to the moment and made the plays that we needed them to make.”

Aquinas improved to 11-4 in state quarterfinal games. Friday’s win was the first such since 2018.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” Jackson said. “Our defense is lights out when we need to be. Our offense had a tough, tough defense to face, and we stepped to the plate and did what we had to do, putting up points on the board to win the game.”

Trailing 13-0 early in the second quarter, Aquinas went 59 yards in less than three minutes of game time to get on the scoreboard.

Derrion Battle jumpstarted the drive with a 20-yard gain. Buttles and Alex Rosado connected on consecutive passing plays of 16 and 4 yards before Jeffery Logan III went 13 yards on the ground to set up the Li’l Irish at first and goal from the six.

One play later, Buttles scored from four yards out on a draw play. With 6:09 left in the second quarter, Aquinas had cut the deficit to six at 13-7.

“I love making plays,” Buttles said. “That’s what we come out here to do.”

Aquinas took the kickoff to start the third quarter and marched 77 yards in 15 plays. Again, Buttles capped the drive on a keeper, this one from 11 yards out.

Aquinas had the lead for the first time in the game at 14-13.

It appeared Lancaster would regain an advantage early in the fourth quarter. The Legends drove 62 yards and had the ball first and goal. The Aquinas defense stopped made three stops, and then Buttles stepped in front of Lancaster’s Blake Minsterman and intercepted an Alex Krupa pass.

He went untouched down the sideline for an Aquinas touchdown and a 21-13 lead.

“Trent has been doing this since he was kid,” Jackson said. “The lights are never too bright for him. He wants to do it. He wants to be the man. He wants to make those plays, and he goes out and does it every chance he gets. He seizes every moment he has.”

The play came as the result of a wrinkle on defense.

“In practice we went over that,” Buttles said. “We drew up that play. Coach (Billy) Harmon and Coach (Alex) Ruta they told me where I had to be, told me my drop. They said this was going to be the game for me to get a pick. I applied what they taught me and it led to that.”

With Aquinas in a zone defense, cover two, Logan moved over from his linebacker spot to cover the middle.

“That gave me the freedom to stay outside and jump any pass I could get,” Buttles said.

Early on, Aquinas struggled to stop the Legends with any consistency.

Lancaster took the game’s opening kickoff and went into Aquinas territory. The drive stalled, but the Legends had established their running game, and after a Li’l Irish fumble gave them the ball in opposing territory, the Section VI champs needed just five plays to go 32 yards for a touchdown.

Aquinas went three and out on its next possession.

Lancaster took over on its own 45 and gained four first downs before the Aquinas defense held on fourth down at its own nine.

A fumble three plays later gave Lancaster the ball at the Aquinas one. Andrew Moberg scored from one yard out for a 13-0 Lancaster lead.

“We were a little too wide,” Aquinas defensive coordinator Billy Harmon said of the early struggles. “We put more guys inside the tackles. We just squeezed them.

“They’re more of a throwing team than a running team the last three weeks. We had (Brendan) Mangone last week from R-H who runs like a deer. We had (Will) DiMarco (McQuaid) two weeks ago who runs like a deer. The fact that that quarterback couldn’t run was a big difference.”

A Lancaster team that came into the action averaging better than 30 points per game was held without any offensive production from the middle of the second quarter until the fourth – a span of 27-plus minutes.

“We adjusted everybody,” said Harmon. “We brought our tackles in. We brought our ‘backers in a little bit tighter.”

But Aquinas could not put away its counterpart.

Lancaster’s Daniel Ahearn scored from 11 yards out with 6:07 remaining. A failed 2-point conversion left Aquinas with a 21-19 edge.

The Li’l Irish did not generate any offense on its next possession.

After a punt, Lancaster had the ball at its own 23. An Alex Krupa pass to John Gang went for 38 yards. Two plays later, the Legends were inside the AQ 20-yard.

The Aquinas defense held and on fourth and 12 from the 16, Krupa’s pass fell incomplete.

AQ took possession with :36 seconds remaining. Lancaster used its three timeouts and stopped the Li’l Irish on three consecutive plays to get one more chance to win the game.

With :11 seconds remaining, Krupa rolled to his right and delivered a pass on the final play of the game. Buttles won a jump ball.

Showers covered the field throughout the first half of Friday’s contest.

The game comes one year after Buffalo Bennett beat McQuaid at the buzzer in the 2023 Class AA regional.

The next stop for Aquinas is Vestal High School next Saturday when a 6 p.m. kickoff is scheduled.

“We’re going to play a good team,” Buttles said. We’re going to get ready for that game. We’re going to come out and play the best football that we possibly can.”

*Article has been updated.