By PAUL GOTHAM
BUFFALO, N.Y. – With five minutes remaining in Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class AA quarterfinal, Penfield football recovered a fumble at the opposing 46-yard line.
Nine plays and less than two minutes later, senior quarterback Dominic Giunta scored on a keeper from one yard out. A successful point-after attempt pulled the Patriots within one score of tying Section VI champion Bennett High.
Last week, Anthony Bianchi’s squad pulled off the improbable, scoring three touchdowns in four minutes and 26 seconds to erase a second-half deficit of 10 points.
So to think Penfield could score twice in five minutes was not a stretch.
But the Patriots magical run ran out of pixie dust and came to an end at Robert C. Rich All High Stadium with a 26-14 loss.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM DENNIS JOYCE.
“They’re just incredible,” Bianchi said of his team. “Our kids fought the whole way. No matter if there were penalties, bad plays they just kept being positive saying ‘Next play! Next play!’ They’re great character kids. We just love them. They raised the bar for our program.”
Penfield (7-5) started the season 1-4 before rattling off six straight wins including a program-first sectional title to reach Saturday’s state quarterfinal for the first time.
By contrast, they were facing a Bennett squad making its fourth regional appearance in five years.
“We approached it as another game,” Bianchi said. “Our kids, you could tell, weren’t intimidated. They came out and played hard. Bennett’s a great program, a lot of speed, good-sized kids. They’re well-coached. We knew it was going to be a tough game, and it really came down to the end.”
Penfield, playing without leading rusher Zane Kropman (1,435 yards and 13 touchdowns) who was sidelined with an ankle injury, took a 7-6 lead when Giunta hit Ronan Boyle on a five-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.
Bennett (10-1) responded. Carl Barnes and Dontre Hampton connected on an 88-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a lead they did not surrender.
“Right there we kinda peaked for the game,” said Bennett head coach Steven McDuffie. “We needed to play that level for the whole game. We didn’t until the end of the game. Thank God they did execute, or we would have fallen a little short.”
Jimmy Valentine scored from two yards out. After Barnes and Jack Eskridge IV combined for a 2-point conversion, Bennett led 20-7 with 4:11 to go in the third quarter.
“Today, we just got lucky,” McDuffie said. “I thought Eskridge made some huge plays for us down the stretch and so did Valentine. Both of them stepped up. They were the leaders that we needed to pull us through.”
Valentine capped the game’s scoring with a 19-yard touchdown run.
NYS Class AA: After recovering a fumble, Penfield goes 46 yards in 9 plays. Dominic Giunta scores on the keeper. 3:29 remaining Bennett 20-14. pic.twitter.com/kDBY5nkzcG
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 23, 2025
Jimmy Valentine scores from 19 yards out. 2-point conversion is no good. 1:37 remaining Bennett 26 Penfield 14 pic.twitter.com/mtV7stnej1
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 23, 2025
Bennett will play Christian Brothers Academy (III) next Saturday in the NYSPHAA Class AA semfinals. That game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.
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