Friday Night - Battle of Unbeatens and Rivalries Renewed

These are the games people are talking about going into Week 3

West Seneca West Warhawks (2-0) @ Clarence Red Devils (2-0)

Section VI - Class A1 - Divisional Game

Kick-Off 7pm

Clarence High School

9625 Main St, Clarence, NY 14031

WATCH: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ny/clarence/organization/4212/clarence-high-school/team/11266/boys-varsity-football

Game Time Temp 71 Degrees

Sunny, Wind NNE 7mph

A game within your division is always of the utmost importance, when teams come in undefeated as in the case of WSW vs Clarence you know you’re in for a good one. 

Mike Vastola’s freshman QB Mason Anderson has been the talk of the league in recent weeks and he deserves his flowers thus far, BUT he isn;t the only reason the Warhawks come into this game unbeaten. The WSW defense has played pretty well and have created turnovers.

The young Anderson has played as well as you could hope for a 9th grader playing at the varsity level, yes he has made a few mistakes but he has been able to overcome them. Which shows you age is just a number. His older brother Micah has found the endzone as well and has done a good job on the defensive side. A lot of the Warhawks success has come from that massive “O” Line they have. How will they stack up against the Red Devils on Friday night? That answer is coming in just a few hours.

Clarence was a team that was not getting enough respect out of the gate, and I’m one of those that may have overlooked the Red Devils so I’ll be sure to keep a closer eye on them going forward.

Chris Dickson/Clarence

Chris Dickson took the program over after Paul Burgio stepped down at the end of last season, but Dickson has been there for enough years to know what his team brings to the table.

The Hutch-Tech win was expected, and last week's win over Sweet Home could have been predicted as well given the amount of talent the Panthers have lost since winning a Section VI title last fall.

Still, Clarence isn’t far removed from dominating Class A themselves and there are still a number of guys that were on that ‘23 team, including senior offensive linemen Kaius Mattoon (6’2/250), Brody Kaufman (6’5/285), Ivan Pusloskie (6’2/275 and Talon Engasser (6’2/295).

A strength for Clarence is the line and Friday will be a great test for both teams. 

So far the Red Devils have done an excellent job protecting quarterback Nathan Arnold and opening up holes for their running back Ryan Premilewski, both seniors. Harper McKenzie (Jr) has hauled in a team leading three touchdowns. 

Defensively, the Red Devils are getting contributions from just about everybody. 

This will be a huge test for the Warhawks offense. Clarence has double digit sacks and five fumble recoveries. 

Wilson Lakemen (2-0) at Gowanda/Pine Valley (2-0)

Section VI - Class D - Divisional Game

Gowanda Central High School

10674 Prospect St, Gowanda, NY 14070

Kick-Off 7:00pm 

Watch: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/wny-athletics/gam8ffc4984e7

WNYAthletics Streaming (Norm Rodriguez and Carson Hayek)

Game Time Temp 65 Degrees

Sunny, Wind N 5mph

Last week the Panthers sat home and watched everybody else play due to their opponent having to forfeit. Gowanda/PV somewhat struggled to get going in their first outing against Akron and were hoping to put up a better effort against the Black Knights. Either way, they had a solid week to clean up and prepare for Wilson.

Brett Ebling/Gowanda/PV

The G/PV offense is led by Carter Capozzi who is a three year starter at QB and has a good handle of HC Brett Eblings offense. In week one Winter Mentley-Peters scored two rushing TDs and receiver Kyan Austin caught two touchdown passes. Lukas Barrett added a touchdown reception as well. Capozzi will have another weapon this week as Trelin Warrior rejoins the team after missing some time while playing for his National lacrosse team up in Calgary.  

For Wilson, they’ve had two nice back-to-back wins to open up the 2025 season, led by a stable of running backs including Michael Ruble, Brock Lepsch and Nick Lemke. Quarterback Vic Cusatis is playing a well rounded game himself. The dual threat QB has thrown a pair of TDs to standout receiver Ryan Hough.

Hough and Ruble had two interceptions in their opener against Alden, so Capozzi will have to be mindful of the Lakemen secondary. Perhaps the biggest defensive threat is Lepsch, already with 24 tackles on the season.

This could be a preview of the Class D final, although I am certain Newfane will have something to say about that as they are also undefeated.

TUNE IN TONIGHT FOR THE EMPIRE STATE END ZONE REPORT!

Clymer/Sherman/Panama Wolfpack (2-0) @ Salamanca Warriors (2-0)

Section VI - Class C North - Divisional Game

Veterans Memorial Park

526 Broad St, Salamanca, NY 14779

Kick-Off 7:00pm

WATCH:https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ny/salamanca/organization/70277/salamancaschoo-high-school/team/281160/boys-varsity-football

Game Time Temp 66 Degrees

Sunny, Wind N 5mph

Another battle of unbeatens. The Wolfpack and Warriors is a game many have circled as a game to watch when the schedules were released and for good reasons. These were two of the best teams in their respective Classes a season ago and both made it to the Dome in Syracuse. 

Payton Bradley/Salamanca

Although both programs lost there share of senior standouts, those coming back have the blueprints on how to make a return only this time, they’ll have to go through one another if either intend to make it back.

For Salamanca, it’s the steady and reassuring voice of Chad Bartoszek leading the way while CSP is adjusting to Dave Bodamers style with the off-season departure of Ty Harper.

There are new quarterbacks as well. Carson White has done a very good job spreading the ball around for the Wolfpack while Payton Bradley has been flawless for Salamanca through his first two games. 

Bradley was a key member of last year's Class C state runner up team and has been pretty consistent so far. Bradley has not turned the ball over and has four passing touchdowns, three came last week to sophomore Camron Bowser. Bradley has also shown that he can run, averaging almost 7 yards per carry, has a rushing TD and a Pick-6. At 6’5 and 210 pounds, you could say that Bradley is the Warriors version of Josh Allen.

CSP took on Falconer/CV/MG last week and closed out a hard fought game. The Wolfpack took a commanding 26-6 lead into halftime, but were outplayed in the second half. They should expect another physical brand of football tonight. They are doing a good job thus far of establishing the run game behind sophomore Sawyer Whitney who has 364 yards rushing and four touchdowns through two. Gavin Burchanowski and Kameron Einink are two of White’s top targets. The offense is still capable of stretching a field and putting up points.

CSP @ Salamanca is my game of the night.

Grand Island Vikings @ Health Sciences/BASC Charter Falcons (2-0)

Section VI - Class A2 - Divisional Game 

Buffalo State College Coyer Field

801 Grant St., Buffalo, NY 14222

Kick-Off: 730pm

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/@WNYAthletics

WNYAthletics Streaming: Stu Boyar and Paul Cutrona

Game Time Temp 64 Degrees

Clear, Wind NE 6mph

This game is going to feature size and speed. Grand Island took care of Class B Iroquois and A2’s North Tonawanda in convincing fashion. The Falcons also had good back-to-back showings against Orchard Park (AA) and Kenmore East (A2). 

Now that they have a non-leaguer and a divisional game under their belts, the programs can get down to business Friday at Coyer Field.

Amare Ridgeway/Health Sciences/BASC/Charter

Health Sciences has been playing at a high level since before Covid and have made four deep trips into the post season since Covid. Grand Island however knocked off the Falcons last season 21-12 in a hard hitting game. The Vikings defense held the dynamic rushing duo of Kaivohn Pitts and Kevin Guy to under 81 and 53 yards rushing respectively. 

Senior Dominic Nucci is leading the charge for Grand Island. Nicci is leading the team in carries, rushing yards, touchdowns and is fourth in tackles, he also has an interception. The Falcons will have to be aware of where Nucci is at all times.

Similarly, Amare Ridgeway, a sophomore, is having an impact in all three phases of the game for Health Sciences. Returning senior QB Jordan Oliver put a lot of work in during the offseason and you can see the results have been positive. Tyjian Moye, Ridgeway, Guy, Alante Green and Donte Prewitt have been terrorizing offenses. 

The Vikings defense has been playing well too and have a knack for creating turnovers. KJ Wilkes , Riley O’Brien, Jacob Brzyski and Nik Korte are guys that have been big contributors early on for the Vikings. Additionally, sophomore quarterback Anthony Mantione is getting a lot of attention recently for his play under center. He has been spreading the ball quite well, among his favorite targets are Andrew Kozlowski, Wilkes and Jon Neville.

Lancaster Legends (2-0) at Jamestown Red & Green (1-1)

Section VI - Class AA - Divisional Game

Strider Field 

195 Martin Rd, Jamestown, NY 14701

Kick-Off: 7:00pm

WATCH: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ny/jamestown/organization/20918/jamestown-high-school

Game Time Temp 66 Degrees

Sunny, Wind N 8mph

The Legends head down to Jamestown with a 2-0 record but anybody that watched Lancaster the last two weeks aren’t sure they’ve played their best game yet. Jamestown on the other hand played flawlessly against Williamsville North before taking it on the chin against Monsignor Martin power St. Joe’s last Saturday.

Both teams have very good running backs in Chase Bonta (Jamestown) a 2024 Connolly Cup finalist and Daniel Ahearn (Lancaster). 

Chase Bonta/Lancaster

Bonta was a little banged up in their last game but is locked and loaded for tonight and eager to help his team win against the team that defeated them in the Sectional championship last November. The Red & Green do have a freshman on the roster that has been making quite a name for himself in Alaric Richards. Already, he’s rushed for a score and has shown explosive speed next to senior Jericho Thaggard. Thaggard has the ability to make big plays from anywhere on the field. Jackson Grey stepped into the quarterback role and is gaining confidence every day. He hit Thaggard last weekend for an 81-yard score.

Luis Diaz and Eligh DeLeon have a knack for getting in the backfield, the Will North offensive line could not contain them. 

Lancaster quarterback Matt King is dealing. The senior has thrown 7 touchdown passes and led his team to the big comeback win in week 1. His top receiver Aiden Banks has 14 receptions and four TD’s. Five other Legends players have hauled in catches. King does lead Lancaster in rushing yards as well.

Defensively, Lancaster will have to key in on Bonta and try to shut the Jamestown run game down. Jamestown will look to keep King in the pocket and force him to beat them with his arm. 

Lancaster hasn’t lost a game to Jamestown since September 14th, 2014. The Red & Green are long overdue for a win against one of their rivals. This is the toughest stretch of the season for Jamestown as they will have OP and then Bennett after playing Joe’s and hosting Lancaster. 

Thursday Final Scores

Franklinville/Ellicottville 28, Allegany-Limestone 12

The Titans crack the win column for the first win of the season, Gators fall to 0-3.

Southwestern/Frewsburg 34, Portville 0

The Trojan Bears continue to fire on all cylinders as they improve to 3-0. Portville offense blanked in back-to-back games. Panthers head to the Orange Bowl next Friday to play Fredonia.

Barker/Roy-Hart 29, Medina 22

The Mustangs turned the ball over five times in the first half and trailed 29-8 at the half. Medina ran out of time but made it a close one. For the Raiders they go to 2-0 in C North. Joseph Reiter rushed for two touchdowns while Anthony Adinolfe had a fumble returned for a score. B/RH to host Eden/North Collins next Friday, game on WNYAthletics. Medina hosts JFK.

Cheektowaga 26, Lake Shore 14

The Eagles fall to 0-3 after falling at home to the Chargers.

NEXT WEEK WEDNESDAY ROOM 40 @ WINGNUTZ BUFFALO (AIRPORT LOCATION)

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