Kicking off: Williamsville South quarterback Joe Licata moved to No. 1 on the all-time Western New York list for
touchdown passes last night after throwing four during a 33-31 victory over Iroquois.
Licata went 15-for-20 for 197 yards and four touchdowns. The record-breaking TD 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 to build a comfortable lead before two late Iroquois scores.
Williamsville South is ranked sixth in Class A by the New York State Sportswriters Association.
First down: QB Eric Wellmon's 1-yard pass to running back Dominick Calvanico and kicker Pat Toole's extra point gave No. 17 Wallkill a 7-6 win over five-time defending Section 9 Class A champion Cornwall, ranked fourth in the state.
Wallkill drive 75 yards in 2:32 en route to the win.
Cornwall had beaten the Panthers eight straight times (including the last three sectional finals) over the previous five seasons by a combined 253-58.
Cornwall, which had been averaging 46 points a game, took the lead on a 27-yard run by Tyler Lawlor with 3:24 left in the third quarter. The extra-point kick sailed wide.
Second down: A couple of games went four overtimes to determine a winner.
Class B No. 18 Midlakes fought off East Rochester/Gananda 15-14 on an extra-point kick by junior Tyler Fisher, who had not attempted a kick this season.
“I have kicked before but just not this year. I knew I could do it,” Fisher told The Daily Messenger.
ER/Gananda tied the score at 8-8 midway through the fourth quarter. Midlakes (5-0) finished the game with its third-string quarterback in the game.
“I’m looking at the free-agent waiver wire right now,” Screaming Eagles coach John Lombardi joked.
Midlakes next faces Wayne, which is 5-0 for the first time in school history following a 21-14 victory over Palmyra-Macedon courtesy of five interceptions. Cory McNamara's fifth pick of the season in the end zone ended Pal-Mac's final drive with 1:30 to play.
The other four-OT affair was Port Richmond's 43-42 thriller against Midwood. Sophomore tight end RaSean Scott caught Ricky Cardenas' TD pass and Nevres Buljubasic kicked the extra point.
The score was 22-22 at the end of regulation. The quirky stat of the night was that the teams combined for just seven completed passes but six went for touchdowns.
The Hornets took the lead in the fourth OT when QB Dominic Clarke (23 carries, 106 yards) hit Bernard Boakye for a 19-yard TD on fourth down, but the two-point conversion pass was batted away.
Halftime: Class B No. 2 Westhill’s 14-game winning streak against Section 3 opponents ended with a 21-14 loss to Homer despite Nathan Nigolian's eight catches for 132 yards, 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.
Andy Parker scored on a 6-yard run with 3:00 to play to stretch the lead 20 21-7, but Nigolian brought back the kickoff 82 yards for a TD and Westhill recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Warriors drove to the Homer 11 before turning the ball over on downs.
Third down: Baldwinsville sophomore running back Tyler Rouse put up more big numbers -- 37 carries for 237 yards and two touchdowns plus a scoring reception -- but the Bees also did big damage through the air to beat Rome Free Academy 34-14.
QB Casey Colligan went 8-of-13 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns, including a 59-yarder to Rouse to end the first half for the Bees, ranked third in Class AA.
“We can throw the ball if we have to,” B'ville coach Carl Sanfilippo told The Post-Standard. “We just choose not to. But if we have to, we’re going to throw the ball.”
It was Baldwinsville’s 16th straight win over Section 3 competition.
Fourth down: Rye senior QB Connor Eck converted six straight fourth-down situations in the first half to start the No. 15 Garnets toward a 30-20 victory over Spring Valley in Section 1 Class A action.
