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.