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Grand Island, OP reach playoffs


Niagara Falls advances; Kenmore West edges East


10/23/2005
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John Hickey/Buffalo News
Williamsville East's Kevin Moffitt rolls to a 21-yard touchdown run against Williamsville North.

 

Grand Island secured its place in the Section VI playoffs on Saturday with a decisive 20-0 victory over visiting Starpoint at windy, rainy Masters Field.

Ryan Harvey carried 29 times for 164 yards and quarterback Ryan Breier ran for two TDs to lead the Vikings (7-1 overall, 5-1 in Class A), ranked No. 8 among large schools in Western New York. GI will play at Hamburg, a team it beat in Week One, 14-13, in the Class A semifinals next weekend.

Section VI will announce the dates and times of playoff games today.

"We were told right off the bat that we were going to try to pound the ball and we got it accomplished," said Harvey, whose effort helped the Vikings enjoy a 187-13 advantage in rushing yardage and 217-20 overall. "I just kept pushing and thinking that we had the playoffs ahead of us."

Harvey accounted for all except the final yard on Grand Island's first scoring drive, a 68-yarder on nine plays.

After Breier scored on a 5-yard run to cap a 51-yard drive highlighted by Harvey's 35-yard burst up the middle, the Vikings put on the finishing touches when James Rayhill blocked a punt by Starpoint's Mike Ridge and Grand Island linebacker Derek Moody scooped it at the Starpoint 2 and ran it in for a score. Rayhill had five tackles and two sacks as Vikings won their sixth straight.

Iroquois 36, Williamsville South 12: QB Kyle Shevlin connected with Mike Perillo and Charlie Specht on TD passes, rushed for another score and had a fumble recovery on defense for the playoff-bound Chiefs (7-1, 5-1).

Freshman RB Brandon Murie, making his varsity debut, scored on a 41-yard run on his first carry. The Chiefs go into Sweet Home next week having won four in a row. Fifth-year coach Frank Payne tied Chuck Funke for most coaching wins with 38.


Class AA

Orchard Park 42, Jamestown 0: Ron Fulton scored three TDs in a span of 2 minutes, 37 seconds as the Quakers clinched the Class AA South and claimed their fifth straight playoff berth. In a 35-point second quarter, Fulton caught a TD pass from Matt Ciambella, returned a punt 44 yards and returned an interception 73 yards. Sean Moran and Nick Brink had rushing scores while Greg Michaels had a TD catch for the Quakers (8-0, 6-0).

Niagara Falls 26, Lockport 7: The Wolverines (5-3, 4-2) clinched a playoff spot, their first since their merger with LaSalle in 2000. Ken Armstrong had 126 yards on 17 carries. Jay Rose ripped off a 93-yard run and had 13 tackles from his LB spot. Bryan Harris had an interception and joined Josh Drozek with nine tackles. Greg Duval recovered a blocked punt in end zone for the Lions.

Clarence 14, Niagara-Wheatfield 13: The Red Devils (1-7, 1-5) rallied for 14 unanswered points in the second half and forced five turnovers to win. Nick DiPirro (156 yards on 29 carries) scored on a 33-yard run in the third quarter and a 3-yard run with nine minutes left. Joe Kephart and QB Byron Mulkey hooked up on both TDs for N-W (3-5, 3-3).


Class B

Olean 14, Eden 0: Neil Fay rushed for 160 yards on 32 carries with a touchdown and Jared Parks caught a 9-yard TD pass from Justin George for the Huskies (5-3, 4-3). Eden's Mike Zittel was in on 12 tackles.


Class D

Sherman 15, Brocton 0: Tyler Gabriel rushed for 153 yards on 21 carries and joined Travis Furlow with a rushing TD as the Wildcats (1-7) won their first.


Harvard Cup

South Park 8, Burgard 6: Rodney Rogers caught a 26-yard pass from Nate Rojek as the Sparks (2-5, 2-4) made a first-quarter touchdown hold up while knocking Burgard out of first place. Rogers set up his own score with 50-yard kickoff return. RB Pat Dolan had 15 carries for 102 yards, including a 66-yard pass reception and 10 solo tackles.

Burgard (6-1, 5-1) made six trips inside South Park 20-yard line but couldn't score. Terell Henry recovered a punt blocked by Andrew Hampton for the Bulldogs' TD.

McKinley 12, Bennett 6: The Macks, which trailed 6-0 after three quarters, lost seven of nine fumbles but held on. Sean Rogan scored the go-ahead TD on a 13-yard run. Chris Pratt scored earlier in the quarter from 1 yard out after Anthony Harmon blocked a punt. Nose guard Steven Chauby had 13 tackles and Sergio Smith added nine for the Macks (6-0), who are alone in first place.

Hutch-Tech 33, Lafayette 0: Sammy Smith rushed for 150 yards, giving him 808 this season, and two TDs as the Engineers recorded their third straight shutout. Tech forced five turnovers, including Julius Bryant's third interception of the year. QB Justin Nicpon scored twice on the ground.

Seneca 8, East 0: Michael Worthy had four sacks and David Bishop scored on a 6-yard run as the Indians held East to three first downs for their first win. Michael Williams had one interception and a forced fumble.

Riverside 13, Grover Cleveland 0: Marcus Ponzo caught a TD pass and rushed for another as Riverside (5-3, 4-3) eliminated the Presidents (4-4, 4-3) from the postseason. With one second left in the first half, Ponzo caught a 30-yard pass from Josh Covington. In the third quarter he scored on a 5-yard run after Mike Bolton had raced for 66 yards.

Terrice Lias had nine tackles and Mike Williams five tackles with an interception as the Frontiers had their second straight shutout.


Nonleague

Kenmore West 19, Kenmore East 14: Matt McDougle scored with 1:49 left as the Blue Devils (1-7) eked out a win over the rival Bulldogs (1-7). Linemen Craig Benson, Zack Rutkowski and Jeff Duquette opened the hole for McDougle (250 yards on 40 carries). West held East on downs with seven minutes left before driving 85 yards for the winning score.

West, which took a 30-15-2 lead in the series, has won 20 of the last 21 meetings.

Williamsville East 20, Williamsville North 6: Joe Schreiver returned an interception a school record 99 yards as the Flames (5-3) beat the rival Spartans (3-5) to win the Williamsville Cup. Steve Zasirakis had an interception, a fumble recovery and seven tackles. David Convertino and Kevin Moffitt added rushing TDs for the Flames.

Odessa 21, Nichols 8: Bryan Smith scored for the Vikings and defensive end Bennett Kenyon had nine tackles and three sacks.