HS Football: “Road to the Ralph” Preview

Twenty of the best high school football programs in Western New York are just one victory away from playing for their respective class title in the Section VI finals, held at Ralph Wilson Stadium on November 5^th and 6^th.

Classes A and B invade the Ralph next Thursday, November 5^th with Classes AA, C and D play for their title the following day.

Before any of that happens, each school faces one final stern test.  Here’s a quick preview of this weekend’s semi-final games:

CLASS AA

Niagara Falls (2 North) at Orchard Park (1 South)

Niagara Falls got to this point with a hard fought 14-12 win over defending state Class AA champion Jamestown last weekend, powered by a Jaquan Hudson 95-yard kick return.  Falls is led by quarterback Drew Spurback and wide receiver DaQuan Hubbard.

Meanwhile, Orchard Park has sat right behind Canisius all season long as the second-ranked large school in WNY.   The Quakers defeated Clarence in the quarterfinals and are led by junior quarterback Dillon Janca, who has developed into one of the area’s best pure passers.  Josh Dual paces the running game while Chris Liberatore is one of many receiving threats.  Ronnie Shul anchors a very strong defense.

Lancaster (2 South) at Kenmore West (1 North)

Many expect this to potentially be the most hotly contested of any semifinal.  Lancaster held off a stiff challenge from Lockport to win last week, 42-34.  Lancaster loves to pound the ball on the ground and are led by running back Zach Samborski, whose well over 1,000 yards rushing this season. When they throw the ball, Dan Speyer has a very capable arm.

Kenmore West, while not particularly big is one of the most explosive teams in Western New York.  The Blue Devils have run off seven straight wins since losing their opener to Orchard Park, including a 49-20 win over Hutch Tech last week. Terrell Ford is one of, if not most dangerous players in all of Section VI.  The senior RB/WR scored a school-record six touchdowns in a win over Kenmore East two weeks ago and found the end zone four times in last week’s playoff win.  Quarterback DeAngelo Walker-Johnson is as willing to beat you with his legs as his arm, and Charlie Milks has racked up 95 tackles to anchor an undersized but proficient defense.

CLASS A

West Seneca East (2 South) at Williamsville North (1 North)

Alongside the Lancaster/Ken West slugfest Saturday, this game is the best of the group.  There may not be a more complete football player in Western New York than West Seneca East’s RB/LB John Dolac III.  The senior has found his way into the end zone every way possible all season and in a playoff win over North Tonawanda last week, Dolac III scored four times.  East also has a dangerous quarterback in Austin Breidenstein and a special teams unit with a knack for making big plays.

Williamsville North shut out Hamburg, 28-0 as quarterback Jason Hawang did the bulk of his damage on the ground with two short touchdown runs.  The strength of North’s run to a top seed is a stout defense anchored by standouts like Tory Rogers and Nick Pilon.  Anthony Maniscalco is a ball hawk in the secondary, as is Nick Maranto.

Iroquois (3 South) at South Park (1 South)

The Sparks have been a favorite all season and have a real superstar in senior quarterback Tyree Brown, who may be the front-runner to win this year’s Connolly Cup.   Brown threw for two scores, ran for another and picked off three passes on defense as South Park beat Williamsville South, 45-20 in the quarterfinals.  Dave Thomas and Darryl Moore are deadly weapons at Brown’s disposal, and don’t sleep on Leeland Coleman either.

Iroquois pulled off the shock of the first round by blanking favored Starpoint, 21-0. The Chiefs  got a blocked kick return for a touchdown from Jordan Huber during that game.  Star running back Brandon Yax, has ran for well over 1,000 yards and will need to have a huge game for Iroquois to have a shot at pulling off the upset.

CLASS B

Burgard (4) at Alden (1 North)

The tandem of Dejean McCullough (192 yards rushing) and Isaiah Jameson (two touchdown passes) helped the Bulldogs advance to the semifinals with a 32-21 win over Dunkirk.  Dominic Prince is one of the more talented backs in Section VI, as is offensive lineman Terrance Bass.

Alden needed three overtimes to defeat East Aurora, 45-42 in the most exciting of the first round matchups. Lyle Grant ran for 193 yards and three touchdowns in that game, which was finally run on a short field goal by Riley Pastuszynski. Andrew Marx and JJ Foster help anchor a strong defense.

Springville (3) at Cheektowaga (2)

Favored Cheektowaga got all they could handle from Lewiston-Porter before pulling away for a 44-26 win. Tyree Billingslea ran for 191 yards and Eric Bardnick scored three times for Cheektowaga, who’s been the top-ranked small school most of the season.

Ian Baker led Springville’s vaunted triple option run attack with 196 yards on 34 carries and scored four times to lead them over Depew last weekend, 44-28.  Springville ran for nearly 400 yards on Depew and it will be a formidable task for Cheektowaga to slow them down.  If Cheektowaga tries to key on Baker too much, Bryce Szudik has the ability to do damage.

CLASS C

Lackawanna (3 North) vs Bennett (1 North)

Bennett is far and away the crème of the Class C crop and heavily favored to make it to Ralph Wilson Stadium next week. They’re led by sensational junior RB/LB standout Isaiah McDuffie, who’s already verbally committed to Syracuse.   McDuffie ran for 165 yards and two scores last week as Bennett blew out Allegany-Limestone, 48-7.  Derek Bishop can do damage on defense and special teams. The Tigers only blemish so far this year is a 27-16 loss to Orchard Park.

Lackawanna trailed at halftime against Gowanda before mounting a comeback to win and advance, 26-21.  The Steelers have an excellent offensive combination in quarterback Noble Smith and running back Khalil Horton. They’ll have their hands full in trying to avenge a 32-13 defeat to Bennett on October 16.

Cleveland Hill (2 North) at Maple Grove/Cautauqua Lake (1 South)

Cleveland Hill rolls into the semifinals with a 56-14 drubbing of Southwestern. Grayson Taylor, who scored two touchdowns in the win is one of the leading rushers in WNY and a strong Connolly Cup candidate.  Daytwon Burney is an underrated running back that can cause a lot of damage.  The Golden Eagles may be the lower seed, but they’ll be tough to beat.

Maple Grove/Cautauqua Lake went undefeated in league play and is 7-1 overall after knocking off Silver Creek/Forestville handily in the opening round, 41-13.    The Thunder Dragons are paced by a strong running game led by Bradley Benson and a capable quarterback in Michael Welsh.  Trevor Micek is one of the better all-around players in WNY most fans don’t know about.

CLASS D

Cattaraugus/Little Valley (4) at Ellicottville/Franklinville (1)

Cattaraugus edged Portville, 23-21 last Friday to advance on a Kellen Martin 24-yard field goal that hit the crossbar before falling over the post on the final play of the game to earn the victory.  Kyle O’Donnell is a dual QB/RB threat for the Timberwovles and an accomplished defender.

Ellicotville/Franklinville drew a bye for being the top seed. The Titans are 6-1 on the season and led by running back Caleb Rinko, who has run 656 yards and scored 12 touchdowns this season.  William Bays and Andrew Quinn are solid on the defensive side.  The Titans shut out Cattaraugus/LV earlier this season, 22-0.

Westfield (7) at Frewsburg (3)

Westfield ended Randolph’s run of three consecutive state Class D titles with a 20-13 over the weekend to advance. Incredibly, Westfield lost to Randolph just one week earlier, 35-0.  Alec Chelton anchors the ground game and scored the winning touchdown against Randolph, while Max Bates can throw the ball when he has to for the Wolverines.

Frewsburg defeated Clymer, 26-22 to advance to this week’s semifinals and surely will come in confident, having dominated Westfield in their first meeting September 12, 42-8.  Brady Collver spearheads the running game while Kole Brink, who had two interceptions last week is a big threat on defense.