Hillbillies go 7-0, capture top spot in B3

Running back Colon goes over 1,000 yards rushing

Most rivalry games come down to the winner walking away with nothing more than bragging rights. On Friday the Fredonia/Brocton and Dunkirk football teams played for much more. Undefeated regular seasons and the Class B3 division title were up for grabs in the 126th meeting between the schools. Yes, this was for more than just bragging rights.

Fredonia/Brocton had just a little more juice in their veins than their crosstown rivals on this night as the Hillbillies raced out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back in their 35-6 thrashing of the Marauders in front of an estimated 2500 fans.

“We’ve been resilient all year,” Hillbillies head coach Greg Sherlock said after the win. “We came ready to play and had a good game plan. It was a big win for our program.”

With the win Fredonia/Brocton secured first place in B3 and the 2nd seed in next week’s playoffs where they will host Maryvale (lost to Cheektowaga 19-7).

Senior quarterback Trey Swartz was solid, completing 5-of-6 passes for 190 yards and three TD’s. Jake Skinner, his 6’4 junior tight end caught three of those balls for 134 yards, including a 92-yard TD pass on the Hillbillies’ second possession of the game.

Photo Credit: RonSzot

The drive started out deep in Fredonia/Brocton territory in large part due to the defense. The Marauders offense had just commanded a solid drive after recovering a Fredonia/Brocton fumble. Soon after, Dunkirk’s main weapon, running back Quantavis Kleckley, ripped off a 73-yard run that brought the Marauders inside the Hillbillies’ 10-yard line. Fredonia/Brocton pushed back on the next couple of plays forcing the Marauders into a fourth and short situation. The Hillbillies snuffed out Dunkirk’s play call and took over on downs.

Swartz and company took over at their own 8 and on the first play of the second quarter he threw a short screen pass to Skinner, who took it to the house, giving the Hillbillies the first lead of the game. “That’s one of the plays we run over and over again at practice, it’s almost second nature for us,” Skinner said.

The focal point of the Hillbillies’ offense up to this point had been Joell Colon, their senior running back. Colon entered Friday night’s game needing just eight yards to reach 1000. He finished his day with 194 total yards giving him 1186 rushing yards on the year. He had two nice touchdown runs of 42 and 60 respectively. “Coach just told us to hit the holes hard and once you’re through just run hard,” Colon said. “That’s what I’ve tried to do since day one.  This team has a lot of athletes and we are very happy to get this win.”

The Hillbillies’ offense was firing on all cylinders but it was the defense that made plays from start to finish. Sherlock said prior to the game that the key to victory was slowing down Kleckley. For the most part, Fredonia/Brocton did that. Kleckley had 20 carries for 159 yards, but only three went for more than 10 yards. The Marauders had trouble getting the passing game going as well. The Fredonia/Brocton defense was in perfect position for much of the night. Take away the Kleckley 73-yard run and his third quarter touchdown and the Hillbillies played a near perfect game.

Looking at Fredonia/Brocton and what Colon has been able to do offensively, it’s easy to overlook what they have done on the defensive side of the ball. In the last three weeks they’ve surrendered just 12 points.

The Hillbillies proved they are more than just a one dimensional team.

Fredonia/Brocton will host Maryvale next week in the first round of the playoffs. The Flyers have two of the best offensive weapons in Rashad Law and Connor Desiderio.

“It really doesn’t matter who we play,” Skinner said. “We are a focused group and not just a one man team. We are a team, we’re a team that plays four quarters.”

The Flyers offense could present a huge challenge to the Hillbillies defense. Desiderio, a left-handed quarterback and Law, an All-WNY first team running back and 2017 Connolly Cup finalist, is one of the most successful tandems in WNY. Desiderio is widely known for his strong arm while Law has raw speed and is as dangerous running the ball as any other back in Section VI. It’ll be a big test for the Hillbillies.

But like Dunkirk two seasons ago, the Hillbillies are built to go deep in the playoffs and are capable of making a deep run.

With the loss, the Marauders fall to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in B3 which pits them against third seeded Pioneer next week and the top rusher in Section VI, senior Mike Rigerman.