by TYLER HATHAWAY
WEBSTER, N.Y– Webster Schroeder (4-3) scored on its opening drive and never trailed in a 31-21 win over Brighton (5-2) on Friday night that was the regular season finale for both teams. The Warriors scored three times in the first half on its way to a 21-7 halftime lead, and at one point in the third quarter led by 21 points.
“Our kids played really well,” said Webster Schroeder head coach Mike Stumpf. “They had a really good week of practice, and we talked to them before the game and just told them you got to believe, you got to believe that you’re good. I think they came out here and tried to send a message that, you know, maybe we’re gonna be a team this year that’s gonna be tough to battle in sectionals.”
“We were confident heading into this game, we knew what we had to do,” said senior wide receiver AJ Amico, who finished with five catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. “Brighton had a great gameplan, but we were able to take care of business today and we’re ready for next week.”
It was the third straight win for a Webster Schroeder team that will be the No. 6 seed in the Class A1 sectional tournament.
“We’ve talked about it since August that we’re trying to get better each week,” Stumpf explained. “Earlier in the season I think I did a poor job putting our kids in a position to be successful. Just back to basics, trying to get better each week, and you know, you want to be playing your best football now as opposed to in September. So hopefully this win lets our kids get a little bit more confident.”
Quarterback Junior Watkins led the offense, completing 14 of 18 passes for 144 yards, and scored four total touchdowns- two through the air, and two on the ground.
“There’s no question he’s got to be one of the best quarterbacks in all of Section V,” Stumpf said of Watkins. “He’s a dual threat, he can run the ball, he can throw the ball. His his command tonight was unbelievable, he made smart decisions. I think we’re pretty lucky to have him, but we’re also lucky to have all of the guys around him that made plays. Our offensive line played really well, our receivers did really well, our backs did really well.”
While Stumpf appreciates the win, in the bigger picture, it’s not as important to him compared to what comes next- sectionals.
“At the end of the day, this doesn’t even matter. This was a scrimmage. We just had seven scrimmages. The real ball games start next week, that’s when it all matters.”
Webster Schroeder got the ball after the coin toss and put together a slow, emphatic drive that burnt up nearly eight minutes of clock and had multiple Warriors involved. Watkins used his legs to pick up a 4th and short at midfield, connected with Daniel Hilfiker a few plays later that moved the ball into the redzone, and followed it up with another completion, this time to Robert Kenny, to set up first and goal. Watkins would keep it on an option play on second and goal to find the endzone and give Webster Schroeder an early seven point lead.
After the teams would trade punts on their next two drives, Brighton took over in Webster Schroeder territory after Patrick Rohl returned a punt to the 35-yard line. It wasn’t long after that when quarterback Ethan Bialaszewski hit Leo Hopkins for a 19-yard touchdown to knot the game at seven. Stumpf had nothing but praise for a Bruins team that won the Class A title in 2024.
“They’re gonna be right there at the end,” Stumpf said. “They’re one of the top teams in Class A1. So to compete with them and then actually come out with a win, that’s pretty good.”
The Warriors would respond with another lengthy drive. Amico would make a clutch catch on third and six that would keep the drive alive, and Antonio Tebo would break a 35-yard run the next play to flip the field. In the redzone, Watkins and Amico connected again, this time on a 13-yard touchdown to help Webster Schroeder retake the lead.
“When everyone’s playing well, we have a chance to be pretty good on offense,” said Stumpf. “We got to continue to get better and do that, that’s for sure.”
Webster Schroeder would go on to force another punt thanks in part to a third-down sack by Tebo, and took over at the 31-yard line of Brighton. The first play of the drive saw Watkins evade multiple Brighton defenders and extend the play with his legs before finding Kenny to move the Warriors down to the one-yard line.
Two plays later, Watkins took a QB power into the endzone for his third touchdown of the game, and the score was 21-7 Warriors. The following Bruin drive made it just shy of midfield, but Webster Schroeder forced a turnover on downs with just a few seconds left until halftime. Outside of the touchdown drive, Brighton didn’t run a play inside the Webster Schroeder 45-yard line in the first half.
“There’s no question that our defense played really well tonight,” said Stumpf. “That’s the best tackling we’ve done all season. And that’s (Brighton) a challenging team. They have dynamic running backs, physical ones. It’s not easy to bring them down. I’m really proud of our kids. They rallied to the football, the pursuit was really good.”
After the defense forced its third three-and-out of the game on Brighton’s opening drive of the second half, multiple players made plays to boost Webster Schroeder’s offense. Watkins had a 17-yard run, Amico made an eight-yard catch, and Tebo kept his legs on turning on a long run that set Schroeder up into the redzone. Shortly after, Watkins threw a strike to receiver Zachary Kaldas to boost the Warriors’ lead to 21.
“It’s all about everybody,” Amico said about the team’s success. “I got my guys, we’re all very close. And that’s what it’s all about. We’re close to each other. We’ve been putting the work in so that we’re gonna be ready come next week.”
Just as it seemed that the Warriors were in complete control, Brighton came alive. Rohl returned a kick 88 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 15, and after the defense forced a turnover on downs at midfield, Zachary Rossignol capped off a three minute drive with a five-yard touchdown run. The Bruins would convert a two-point try, and suddenly, it was 28-21.
But Webster Schroeder didn’t back down, in fact, it would go on to completely extinguish Brighton’s momentum. What came after the back-to-back scores was a crushing near seven-minute drive that featured a solid run by Liam Torpey, some nice throws by Watkins, and a few catches by Amico. Eventually, a 22-yard field goal by senior kicker Mikey Leonard would make it 31-21 with less than five minutes left, and an interception by Tre Washington a few minutes later would ice the game for the Warriors.
“It was humongous,” Stumpf said about the field goal drive. “We obviously wanted to score points that drive, I wanted to score a touchdown, but we had a couple big plays. It was really nice for Mikey. He just started football this year, so his senior year to kick a big field goal, it was pretty special during probably his last home game at Schroeder.”
Tebo ran the ball 14 times for 80 yards. Kenny caught six passes for 62 yards. Torpey accrued 37 rushing yards. Watkins had 27 yards on the ground.
For Brighton, Bialaszewski completed 13 of 17 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Hopkins caught four passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. Rossignol carried the ball eight times for 34 yards and made six tackles on defense. Rohr caught two passes for 17 yards and had four tackles. Zahmar Tookes and Matthew Heininger each made 13 tackles. Justin Medina had seven tackles.
The Warriors will travel on the road next week to the No. 3 seed in A1, Hilton (5-2), for the first round of sectionals. The two teams met in Week 1 in Webster, with Webster Schroeder coming out with a 34-14 win in a game that ended up being the most points the Cadets allowed all season.
“We’ve won a few games in a row now but it doesn’t matter,” said Stumpf. “We’re fortunate to be able to play in the postseason.”
Prior to kickoff, Webster Schroeder held a moment of silence for Jim Kruze, who passed away Tuesday evening. Cruze was a beloved teacher, coach, and supervisor at Webster Schroeder who was deeply involved in its athletic programs for over 40 years.
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