by TYLER HATHAWAY
WEBSTER, N.Y– Since Rush-Henrietta fell in the Class AA semifinals a season ago, the most important thing discussed amongst players and staff alike was the ability to finish games.
“Our word has been ‘finish'”, said Rush-Henrietta head coach Bruce Johnson. “It’s written on our walls, it’s written on the back of our t-shirts. Last year we didn’t finish, we came close. The year before that, came close. This year, we know we have to finish, and that is the emphasis going forward.”
So it was of course fitting when the Royal Comets’ first game of 2026 came down to the final minutes, giving Johnson’s bunch the opportunity to deliver on the word that’s become engrained into their program. Webster Schroeder put together two touchdown drives in an eight-minute span to take a 13-7 lead, leaving the Royal Comets needing a touchdown with five minutes left in regulation.
Senior quarterback Brendon Mangone then led a drive that went over 70 yards and was capped off by a nine-yard touchdown pass to Robert Carter with 29 seconds left that helped finish Rush-Henrietta’s 14-13 win over the Warriors on Friday night.
“We’ve just been preaching to finish this entire offseason,” said Johnson. “We knew were going into a battle this week, but at the end of the day, as long as we stuck together when we faced adversity, which is what we did, we thought we could come out with the W.”
The game-winning drive featured two third and long conversions, and the touchdown came on an improvised play on fourth and goal.
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“I’m definitely big on responding under pressure,” Johnson explained. “Pressure either makes diamonds or it bursts pipes. I preach that to the guys all the time. We came out with five minutes on the clock, and we had some plays that were working all game. We just had to make a couple adjustments to scheme them up a little more. When we got to that final play, it was something we just drew up in the sand and it ended up working. That’s just a testament to the athletes that we have.”
Mangone, who missed most of 2025 to injury, made plays on third down throughout the game, including a 50-yard bomb to Carter in the first half that gave the Royal Comets a 7-0 lead entering the break. He ended the night with over 200 yards through the air.
“He’s very poised,” Johnson said of his quarterback. “I think a lot of people forgot that in the first four games last year, the kid had 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns. I mean, he was leading the entire Monroe County in passing. So I think for him, getting hurt last year in Week 5 against Pittsford, and missing the majority of the games, that put a chip on his shoulder. He has something to prove, and I think that when you watch him on film, it looks that way.”
Carter was also on the receiving end of the long third down conversions on the final drive and paired his two touchdown catches with over 100 receiving yards.
“He’s a beast,” Johnson said of the wideout. “He played some quarterback last year, he played out of position. We were able to really give him an opportunity to showcase his skills at receiver. I told him tonight that we were getting into crunch time and there’s nobody else I’m going to go to besides you. I’m always gonna trust that kid to make a big play. Big time players make big time plays, and that’s what he did.”
After the late score, the Royal Comets defense was able to get a stop on Webster Schroeder’s final possession, with a long field goal try coming up short thanks to a Rush-Henrietta player getting a hand on the ball.
“Finish,” Johnson said of what he told his defense in the final seconds. “We need to finish. We still had 29 seconds left on the clock.”
Rush-Henrietta came up with a fourth down stop and had two interceptions to keep the Warriors out of the endzone for the first 35 minutes.
“We were missing three big pieces on our offense and defense tonight and it showed,” Johnson explained. “But the good thing is we had younger guys or less experienced guys in those starting positions tonight, and they were able to fight through adversity and make plays. That’s going to make our depth better, and we all know once those guys come back it’s going to get scary on defense.”
Webster Schroeder quarterback Junior Watkins scored both touchdowns for the Warriors, scoring on a one-yard run and a 38-yard run. In between the touchdowns, Watkins made an interception to stop a promising Rush-Henrietta drive.
Rush-Henrietta’s season continues next week with its home opener, a Thursday tilt against Pittsford.
“I think we’re a very high powered team, and obviously we got some things to clean up, but I think we’ll come back better next week,” Johnson said.
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