If this was wrestling season, the high school athletes would all more or less be locked into their roles for the season since lightweights don't suddenly move up to compete as heavyweights.
But there are no such restrictions on football players changing positions. This week’s linebacker could be next week’s quarterback depending on what the team’s needs are at the moment. We were reminded of that this weekend as four teams improvised their way to victories.
First there was the case of Jake Luce, who was an offensive lineman and linebacker until he scored his first touchdown last week. Suddenly the senior was thrust into the role of fullback for
Lansingburgh (Troy), and he rushed 15 times for 106 yards and three touchdowns as the Knights fought off Averill Park.
"It's every lineman's dream to carry the ball and to score touchdowns, and I'm living the dream," Luce told The Times Union of Albany. For good measure, he also recovered a fumble.
In Section I,
Roosevelt (Yonkers) – already dealing with a small roster – was left scrambling for help when injuries hit just in time for a big Class A game against Rye.
Kevin Outlaw, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound receiver, was enlisted to fill in on the defensive line and rewarded Coach Mike Meade's hunch with a sack-and-strip hit at the Roosevelt 7 in the final minute to preserve a 19-15 victory.
"That's what this team is all about," Meade told The Journal News. "I haven't got many, but I've got a few good men. We're like the Marines."
The special teams improvisational act of the week came from
Midlakes (Clifton Springs) in a 15-14 victory over East Rochester/Gananda. The Screaming Eagles prevailed in the fourth overtime on an extra-point kick by junior Tyler Fisher, who had not attempted a kick this season but was pressed into action by injuries.
The only conventional switcheroo on the list came from
East Rockaway. An injury to starting quarterback Andrew Bashford on the first series of the game couldn't derail a 40-27 win over Clarke as fill-in Sean Bohan threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Tesoriero in the fourth quarter on his only attempt and carried three times for 57 yards and a 1-yard score in the first quarter as East Rockaway took the lead for good.
Senior Mike Castellano ran 27 times for a career-high 241 yards and scored on a 12-yard rush and a 41-yard punt return in the victory.
SHAKING UP THE ‘B’ LIST Six of New York’s 20 best Class B teams, five of which had been unbeaten this fall, bit the dust over the weekend with the two presumed prime threats to defending state champ Hornell topping the list.
Westhill (Syracuse), an NYSPHSAA tournament semifinalist in 2009 and riding a 14-game winning streak against Section III opponents, suffered a 21-14 loss to
Homer despite
Nathan Nigollan's 234 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Hunter Osborne of Homer intercepted a pair of passes, taking the second back 28 yards for a touchdown.
Albany Academy for Boys' week started bad and got worse. Junior quarterback Hunter McCarthy, a three-year starter, found out Monday that the knee injury he suffered vs. Hudson on Sept. 16 has ended his season and will require surgery. On Saturday, the Cadets, ranked third in Class B by the New York State Sportswriters Association, dropped a 35-23 decision to
Bishop Maginn (Albany), which was powered by a pair of touchdowns in the final 2:40 of the first half.
Other highly regarded teams in the class suffering losses were Bayport-Blue Point, Pioneer, Buffalo East and Schuylerville.
Seniors Dakota Drake (29 carries, 230 yards, three touchdowns) and Artem Trerise combined for 380 rushing yards as
Hudson Falls beat Schuylerville 32-15 to set up a clash with Schalmont in Week 6 to determine who’s in the driver’s seat in Section II with sectionals on the horizon.
Depew, the fourth-best team in the class, had to go to overtime to avoid joining the losing side of the ledger.
Anthony Emmanuele scored on a 20-yard rush on the first play of overtime to beat Cheektowaga 26-20. The Wildcats sent the game into overtime on
Sam Sallaj's 15-yard pass from
Aaron Ertel with 1:53 left.
HUGE PERFORMANCES BY QUARTERBACKS* Senior
Tyler Heuer completed 13 of 18 passes for 297 yards and six touchdowns as
Oceanside steamrolled East Meadow 48-7. Heuer's sixth scoring strike, a 34-yarder to
James Keane with 7:13 left in the third quarter, broke the school's single-game record, set in 1988 by future NFL quarterback Jay Fiedler. Oceanside is off to its first 4-0 start since 1977 in large part due to Heuer's 15 scoring throws and six runs for scores.
*
Williamsville South senior
Joe Licata moved to No. 1 on the all-time Section VI list for touchdown passes after throwing four during a 33-31 victory over Iroquois. Licata went 15-for-20 for 197 yards. The record-breaking touchdown was thrown to Kevin O'Connell midway through the third quarter to eclipse the career mark of 71 by Maple Grove's Randall Secky; he added No. 73 to Sammy Hasan in the fourth quarter.
*
Williamsville North beat North Tonawanda 46-25 as Kevin Hall went 19 of 32 for 387 yards and six touchdowns. Glenn Gronkowski caught four touchdown passes for 200 yards.
* Sophomore
Jordan Treen ran for 206 yards and passed for 273 through the air on 13-for-25 accuracy as
Proctor (Utica) beat West Genesee 40-26 with a 19-point fourth quarter.
* Shane Jackson rushed for two scores, threw for two and returned a kickoff 76 yards for still another score as
Monticello defeated Goshen 42-20. He was 5-for-11 for 100 yards and ran seven times for 94 yards.
* Chaynce Pelio carried 18 times for 124 yards and threw for 183 yards for
Washingtonville to squeak past Minisink Valley 14-7.
*
Edgemont (Scarsdale) topped Somers JFK 26-12 as Joseph Hoffman threw for 194 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards and another score.
*
Carey (Franklin Square) beat Bellmore JFK 45-27 to remain unbeaten thanks to Kyle Zahradka throwing for 267 yards and four touchdowns on 12-for-21 accuracy and running 11 times for 93 yards and a touchdown.
*
Skaneateles beat Hannibal 56-20 as Conor Herr went 20 of 27 for 389 yards and six touchdowns.
MORE EYE-CATCHING PERFORMANCES*
Christopher Murphy ran for 227 yards last week for
St. Joseph-by-the-Sea (Staten Island) but was felled by a knee injury in the first quarter vs. St. Francis Prep. Enter
John Diaz, who rushed for 319 yards and five touchdowns en route to a 46-20 victory. Three of his scores covered 52, 53 and 96 yards after St. Francis Prep broke out to a 14-12 lead.
*
Cardinal Hayes (Bronx) senior Donald Thomas ran for 250 yards and six touchdowns to beat Cardinal Spellman 44-14.
*
Tyler Robinson is up to 998 yards for the season after carrying for 333 yards and four touchdowns for
Starpoint (Lockport) in a 41-16 win against Kenmore East.
* Senior Jaquan Smith rushed seven times for 236 yards and three touchdowns — all in the first half — as
Elmont Memorial beat Calhoun 35-7.
*
South Lewis (Turin) outgunned Mohawk 50-36 as Dylan Peebles rushed 23 times for 267 yards and scored six touchdowns. Peebles also kicked two extra points and ran in two conversions. He generated 231 all-purpose yards in the first half, including a 69-yard kick return after Mohawk had taken a 14-7 lead.
*
Vestal built a 24-point lead with the help of Thad Zaparzynski (36 carries for 268 yards and five touchdowns) but
Elmira Free Academy fought back for a 36-32 victory.
Deshawn Banks capped the rally with a 41-yard scoring run with 3:54 to go.
*
Brockport senior Dylan Brown ran 19 times for a school-record 308 yards and scored four touchdowns to break the school career mark with 44 as the Blue Devils defeated Spencerport 32-14.
* Linebacker Gabe Rodriguez had nine tackles, a sack, a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown and a tackle in the end zone for a safety as
Hewlett beat Levittown Division 46-7. Hewlett rang up two safeties and also recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown.
* Tom O'Riordan kicked three field goals, including one from 50 yards out, as
North Rockland (Thiells) defeated Ramapo 16-0.
* Evan Vandoros rolled up 331 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries to lift
North Shore (Glen Head) over Locust Valley 26-19. Vandoros scored on a 62-yard run late in the third quarter and on a 29-yard effort with 5:04 to play to close out the scoring.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING* Two-time defending NYSPHSAA Class A champion
Sweet Home (Amherst) was outgained 429-255 but still beat Buffalo McKinley 41-32 to run its winning streak to 31 games. The Panthers led 35-12 at halftime as quarterback Jordan Johnson scampered into the end zone on carries of 75 and 28 yards.
* The 38-37 victory for
Williamsville East (East Amherst) over Grand Island wasn’t secured until sophomore Mitch Wagner pulled down his fifth interception of the season on Grand Island's final possession.
*
Rye senior quarterback
Connor Eck converted six straight fourth-down situations in the first half to start the Garnets on their way to a 30-20 victory over Spring Valley. Two fourth-down passes to
Brian Pickup kept the game's first drive alive, and Eck went on to score on a 5-yard carry.
*
Letchworth (Gainesville), which is on pace to meet two-time defending state Class C champ Southwestern in the NYSPHSAA quarterfinals, has outscored its five opponents by 192-0 after routing Avon 41-0.
Chris Nevinger picked up 256 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
*
Troy surrendered its first points of the season but rolled up 345 yards of offense in the second half to defeat Saratoga 33-12. The Flying Horses lost star senior running back Shatiek Lewis to an ankle injury after his first carry of the game.
*
Kennedy (Cheektowaga) snapped a 15-yame losing streak by beating Akron 23-22 on
James Quinn's 27-yard field goal with 2:33 left after a
Josh Jamieson fumble recovery.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.