by TYLER HATHAWAY
PITTSFORD, N.Y– On Saturday afternoon, a few of the most historic programs in Section V history took the field to crown a champion.
On one side of the field was the Caledonia-Mumford/Le Roy Rivals. Le Roy is responsible for 16 sectional titles, while Caledonia-Mumford has won 15 sectional championships.
On the other side, the Hornell/Arkport-Canaseraga Red Raiders. Hornell has won the fifth most titles in Section V history, with 13 championships to its name.
That is, until Saturday.
The Red Raiders (10-1) used a 15-0 advantage in a three minute span late in the third quarter to break the game open and win 22-12 over the Rivals (9-2) to win the 2026 Section V Class C championship at St. John Fisher University.
It was the first sectional championship for Hornell since 2017 and the first ever one for Arkport-Canaseraga.
“It feels awesome for this program, for these kids,” said Red Raiders head coach Ismail Mehr. “It’s not about me, or these coaches. We put a lot of time into making these guys feel great. It’s been a long time since Hornell’s been great. As an alum, it’s a pretty happy moment.”
“This is great,” said running back Tyrone Buchanan. “Me and my guys just work every day at practice. Late nights, early mornings. It doesn’t really matter, just go out there and play.”
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Buchanan was named the game’s most valuable player. He ran for a pair of touchdowns and had two interceptions on defense.
“I couldn’t have done it without my line,” said Buchanan. “I always say that, I couldn’t do it without them.”
The win avenged Hornell/Arkport-Canaseraga’s only loss in the regular season, a 47-32 game that the Rivals won back in September.
“We’ve been saying since the beginning of the year that we’re a different team,” said Buchanan. “Every week, we come to work hard at practice and we get better. That’s really our model, it’s just go to work, get better, and I think we’ve done that throughout the past weeks.”
Defense was the story in the first half, with Hornell/Arkport-Canaseraga getting a 7-6 lead thanks in part to a 48-yard touchdown pass from Brenton Booth to Dylan Czarnecki on the first play from scrimmage.
The Red Raiders made their run late in the third quarter. Defensive back James Smith came away with an interception to set up Hornell/Arkport-Canaseraga on the Rivals’ 34-yard line, and a few plays later Buchanan broke a 25-yard touchdown run to make it 15-6 Red Raiders.
After recovering their own squib kickoff, Buchanan broke another run a few plays later for a 24-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 22-6. The sophomore ran for over 75 yards in the third quarter alone.
“We knew we had to limit our mistakes,” Mehr said of what changed between the first and second half. “We made some mistakes, let them score early. We were able to run the ball (in the second half), that was the thing. Sometimes you just got to get down and run, and then we took our shots when we needed to to get first downs. It’s easy when we have Tyrone (Buchanan) running the ball and an o-line that was determined to get the job done today.”
Caledonia-Mumford/Le Roy started to threaten in the fourth quarter. A 74-yard touchdown pass from Rivals quarterback Brady McClurg to Jude Christ on the first play of the fourth quarter made it 22-12.
“Young men sometimes get too excited, and it’s our job as coaches, and their mentors, to tell them to relax and settle down,” Mehr explained. “Just reminded them it’s still a ball game. We still have 12 minutes, we have to finish.”
Deeper into the fourth, the Rivals got multiple drives into Red Raider territory. But a pass break up by Smith on fourth down and two interceptions by Buchanan helped seal the win.
“Those guys are relentless,” Mehr said of his secondary. “We know that when the ball is in the air, we’re going to get there. We have some great defensive backs across the board.”
“We said before the game that turnovers were going to be the difference in this game,” said Mehr.
James Smith was named the game’s defensive player of the game, while quarterback Brenton Booth was the offensive player of the game.
Caledonia-Mumford/Le Roy’s Simon Greene was the lineman of the game.
Hornell/Arkport-Canaseraga will advance to face Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton (VI) in the Class C Far West Regional next weekend.
“We can’t get ahead of ourselves,” said Buchanan of what it will take to make a state run. “We got to stay composed, go 1-0 every single week.”
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