The best games of Friday, October 25, 2024

ROCHESTER — On the brink of sectional play, two Class A weights delivered a thriller that Section V football fans can only hope is a preview of what’s to come.

In the regular season finale for both teams, section champion East High/World of Inquiry knocked off undefeated Canandaigua, 42-35, in a game worthy of its reputation.

With a chance to force overtime, Canandaigua’s field goal from East’s 7-yard line with one second left in the fourth quarter fell incomplete, prompting a celebration from the Eagles players and a sigh of relief from their pitching staff. coaches.

Canandaigua’s last gasp was made possible only by East’s fourth-and-1 fumble from its own 36 with 1:29 remaining, which, if converted, would have iced the game.

“I’m glad we won the game,” East co-coach Steve Flagler said.

A loss would have been a tough pill to swallow, as East had two-touchdown leads on several occasions. Anthony Hampton (8 yard flow) and Kelvin Shepard (89-yard reception) scored the first touchdowns of the game to put the Eagles ahead.

There was no letting up in Canandaigua, though, despite the 14-0 hole. Gray Wolves Trey Comella responded with two short-range scores and Drew Williams punched in a QB sneak on the final play of the first half to put Canandaigua ahead 21-14 — a score partially attributed to East’s three fumbles (the teams combined for five such first-half sacks) .

While the turnovers disappeared in the second half, the scoring did not. East scored four of its next five touchdowns, two of which were from the Jeremiah Tucker, to take a 42-28 lead. Tucker, one returns The entire Rochester selectionwas the spark for East’s second-half offense and finished with 82 yards on seven carries in addition to 10 tackles on defense.

“He brought the leadership,” Eagles co-coach James Vann said. “He led by example, showed his teammates that he wanted to go out there and win and continued to push on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. I don’t think he left the field. Thank him for doing this. “

While East walks away satisfied with the win, Canandaigua’s comeback efforts are a reminder of the gauntlet that is Class A football in Section V. One too many mistakes, or a short lapse in execution, and now it could mean the end of a season.

“Class A is loaded. I think it’s the best in Section V,” Flagler said. “You have to bring it every week to win. We know that last year.”

The message for the week ahead?

“You go 1-0,” Vann said.

Best Section V performances on Friday: The quarterback posts a 300-yard game in a huge win

Fairport 31, McQuaid 21

The Fairport Red Raiders have an important win to go along with everyone else and possibly the No. 1 seed for the Section V Class AA tournament.

McQuaid’s layup came with less than 15 seconds left in the first half. McQuaid trailed 17-14, but the Knights had reached the Fairport 35-yard line, where it was fourth down and four yards for a first down.

Senior quarterback McQuaid Will DiMarco he sent a pass that went out of a receiver’s hands and into the hands of the Fairport senior John Gossinwho went to make a tackle. Gossin caught the ball on the run and scored with 4.1 seconds left to give Fairport a 24-14 halftime lead.

Allen Nesmith scored on a one-yard run to put McQuaid up 24-21 with about nine minutes left in the third quarter. But the Fairport quarterback Sam Roselli added his second touchdown of the game.

The Fairport Red Raiders, on a three-game winning streak in 2023, improved to 7-1 after coming off a loss to University Prep in Week 7. McQuaid, the winner of the contest last five Section V Class AA championshipsit’s 6-2.

Brighton 14, Victor 0

No team has beaten the Brighton Bruins, who went undefeated through the eight-week Section V football regular season.

The Bruins scored both touchdowns during the second quarter. Senior running back Gavin Parks scored from the Victor 2-yard line to give Brighton the lead. Grady Hopkins added a 23-yard touchdown run and the second conversion kick.

Brighton’s defence, led by Luke DeSandis, Matthew Heininger and Amari Snowdenhe did the rest for the win. Victor is 2-6.

East Rochester/Gananda 42, LeRoy/Caledonia-Mumford 29

Coach Tim Rose named Cadearell Sneed Jr. Player of the game after rushing for over 200 yards and scoring four touchdowns in the Bombers’ seventh straight win.

East Rochester/Gananda (7-1, 7-0) won the No. 1 of Section V, Class C. The Bombers earned a postseason bye and will host a semifinal after defeating the defending section champions at Don Quinn Field.

LeRoy/Cal-Mum (4-4, 4-3) controlled the tempo early and took a 22-20 lead into halftime after Cameron Riggs returned a blocked punt 23 yards. Ben Newman — who recently became the program’s career passing touchdown leader — threw touchdowns to Judge Allen and Noah Wagner to regain the lead at 34-22 midway through the third.

Rivals tight end Peter Clark ran a clear route on fourth-and-goal for an 11-yard touchdown reception from Brady McClurg on route 34-29. The Bombers didn’t seal the game until Sneed’s 54-yarder with 1:18 left.

East Rochester/Gananda avenged last year’s semifinal loss to a now-merged Caledonia-Mumford LeRoy team, archrivals since 1900. Coach Mike Humphrey’s offense held true and rushed nearly 40 times. As he started running back Jake Egeling didn’t play Jude Sherman and Zach Boop each scored and combined for over 150 yards rushing. They often ran behind Ethan Larzelerewho played right and left tackle and on the strong side of unbalanced fronts.

LeRoy/Cal-Mum earned the No. 3 seed and will host a Class C quarterfinal game next week.

“We’re playing a lot better now than we were at the beginning of the season,” Rose said. “I don’t think we’re playing to our full potential yet… We’re still making some mistakes. We’ll work on that next week so when the semis come around we’re better than we were tonight. “