CANANDAIGA — When opponents face each other for the first time, it’s a guessing game as much as it is a football game.
Such was the scenario for Friday night’s Section V Class A2 semifinal at CA Stadium between the No. 1 Canandaigua Academy Gray Wolves and the No. 4 Vertus Warriors.
But by halftime, the guessing was over.
The Gray Wolves (8-1) had five first-half possessions and scored touchdowns on all of them, setting the stage for the 34-0 victory that sent them back to a Section V championship for the sixth time in the last eight seasons. Vertus (4-5) also had five possessions in the first half which ended with three punts, a lost fumble and an intercepted pass.
“We have a group of young guys,” said Vertus coach Maurice Jackson, whose team won its first Section V playoff game in school history last week. “I think we got caught up in the big stage and we could have performed better. We’ll use this as a learning experience and go forward.”
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Speaking of going forward, Canandaigua did a lot of that in the first half. Junior Aleks Hawryschuk scored CA’s first three TDs on runs of 15, 7 and 1 yards. The only blemish for the Gray Wolves was a missed extra-point, so the lead was 20-0 with 4:21 left in the first half.
It wasn’t an ideal situation for Vertus, but it wasn’t unmanageable. But that’s when the mistakes cost the Warriors dearly.
On the first play from scrimmage following Hawryschuk’s third TD, Canandaigua senior Ronan Hitchcock recovered a fumble at midfield and a third-and-10 pass from Brady Davern to Isaac Dolph set the Gray Wolves up at the Vertus 3-yard-line with 54 seconds left and on the next play, Dolph’s short run pushed CA’s lead to 27-0.
On the ensuing Vertus possession, junior Declan Cooney intercepted a pass at the 27-yard-line with 33 seconds left in the first half and that set up Davern’s 20-yard TD pass to sophomore Landon Mortier with 6 seconds left for a 34-0 lead.
“In the first half, I think we executed well,” Canandaigua coach Jeff Welch said. “And on defense, we had a really good game. We knew we had to swarm tackle because of some of their offensive weapons and then we got a couple of breaks there late.”
Those breaks allowed the Gray Wolves to drop the offensive hammer and they did most of their swinging on the ground, which is precisely what they wanted to do. Hawrschuk finished with 118 yards on 21 carries and Dolph gained 72 yards on 9 carries.
“We wanted to win the front line, that was the plan,” senior lineman Derek Smith said. “And I think for the most part, that happened.”
And while “easy” remains a relative term when it comes to a contact sport like football, Dolph said the work of the Canandaigua offensive line made moving the ball less difficult.
“We had a nice tempo and pace going,” said Dolph.
Of course, reaching the championship game is the goal for any team in any season, but Welch is particularly thrilled for this team.
“They earned this and they deserve it,” he said. “It’s a group that does everything right, on and off the field … This is a great group to coach.”
Senior lineman Lucas Wyand was part of the offensive line that helped set the early tone for CA but was quick to credit the defense as well. Posting a shutout in a Section V semifinal game is no small feat.
“The linebackers and secondary especially,” he said. “We had some great coverage and the linebackers made some great tackles.”
Throw in a passing game that had Davern complete 6 of 13 passes for 140 yards and Mortier catching 2 passes for 40 yards and the result is a chance to win a 13th Section V title. The Gray Wolves will play No. 7 seed Greece Athena (4-5), a 43-41 winner over No. 6 Irondequoit on Friday night.
The Section V Class A2 championship game is Friday at 5 p.m. at Gates Chili High School.
“We’re exactly where we want to be,” said Smith.
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