by TYLER HATHAWAY
ROCHESTER, NY — Irondequoit turned the ball over four times while also turning the ball over on downs once, but the Eagles did enough to hold off a late Brockport scare to win 20-14 on Friday night and reach 6-0 on the season.
“I mean, that (the win) gives you character,” said Irondequoit head coach Daniel Fichter.”It builds wins in sectionals. That’s where you have to come from behind, and you have to play uncomfortable.”
“I think it’s great,” senior running back Cooper Moore said of the effort his team showed. “It’s gonna pay off in sectionals when we’re playing good teams every game. We gotta stick with it. It wasn’t our brand of football tonight.”
Moore led Irondequoit in rushing with 21 carries for 141 yards and two touchdowns. The six-point victory was the smallest margin in any Irondequoit win this year and least amount of points scored by the Eagles in a game as well.
“Tonight just shows that even if we don’t play our best we can still win games,” said the senior. “It’s great to know that.”
“We always have battles with Brockport,” Fichter said. “Always. As long as I’ve been here. So it feels great. I mean, being 6-0 at any time of your life is great. I’m proud of the kids.”
After winning the toss and electing to take the ball, the Irondequoit opening drive was over after four plays due to an Eagles fumble. A few Brockport plays and a Tyler Davis 10-yard touchdown run later, and it was 7-0. But the Irondequoit offense did not flinch, instead responding with a less than three-minute touchdown drive capped off by a seven-yard touchdown run by Landon Bryan.
“It’s the character of our kids,” Fichter said about the resilience his team showed despite the miscues. “They bend, they don’t break. They just get up, line up, and keep coming at you. That’s what I love about it. I don’t know how good we are, but I know we have great kids, and they played hard.”
The Eagles’ defense came out the next drive and forced a three and out, their first of eight forced punts of the day. Brockport’s offense was averaging 33 points per game in its previous two contests prior to Friday’s game.
“I thought we had a really good defensive game plan,” said Fichter. “I think people underestimate our defense. We can run around back there pretty good, and our down four came to play.”
Irondequoit’s next score came early in the second quarter when Moore took a handoff 20-yards into the endzone to make it 14-7. The Eagles totaled over 300 rushing yards on the night, and coming into Friday, averaged 45.4 points per game.
“I just follow my offensive line,” said Moore about his mindset running the football. “I know they’re gonna block for me every play, and that’s why I can do what I do.”
“It’s the belief in the system that we have,” Fichter explained as the cause of the offense’s success. “That’s what it is. We’ve been running it for the past three years now, and it’s all they know. They don’t know how to screw it up.”
The 14-7 score held into halftime. After forcing another Brockport punt to open the third quarter, the Irondequoit offense quickly scored on Moore’s second touchdown of the game to make it 20-7. Both defenses started to lock things down as the half progressed, with Irondequoit getting a stop on a fake punt and Brockport forcing its third fumble of the game.
Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Irondequoit offense driving into Brockport territory, the Blue Devils got an interception that kept their hopes alive. Less than three minutes later they found the endzone on a carry by Tyler Davis, and Irondequoit’s lead was suddenly cut to six.
Moore would end up recovering an onside kick try by Brockport and would pick up a key first down to help Irondequoit ice the game. Fichter met with his offense before the drive.
“I said, hey, what we do is run the ball. We need to get a first down. You guys can end the game.”
Sam Thore led the Eagles with 12 tackles. Myles Kedley had 11 tackles and a sack. Anthony Major made eight tackles and had a pair of sacks. Landon Bryan ended with seven tackles. Owen Smalline totaled six tackles, and Sebastian Reidmiller added five tackles.
Irondequoit hits the road to face Churchville-Chili in its regular season finale next Friday night.
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