QUICK HITS (CLASS C FINAL): Upset City, Eagles Advance

ORCHARD PARK — On media day, both head coaches said they expected the title game to be more competitive than the teams' meeting in early October, when Southwestern/Frewsburg whitewashed Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton, 45-0, on the way to an unbeaten regular season.

But no one could have expected this. Ty Harper’s Eagles not only averaged the earlier loss, they flipped the script in a rout, shocking Southwestern, 21-0, at Highmark Stadium to capture the Section VI Class C championship and a trip to the Far West Regionals next weekend.

Harper, who won three state Class D titles at CSP before taking the Chautauqua Lake job to be closer to home, said that if his team was going to be competitive in the rematch, it would need to be physical at the point of attack.

He was prophetic. The Eagles dominated at the line of scrimmage, outgaining Southwestern by a staggering 338 yards to 58. Thandon Bensink rushed 19 times for 93 yards and a TD for the winners, who will meet the winner of the Section V final between Alexander/Pembroke and Letchworth/Perry/Warsaw for a chance to get to the state semifinals.

Southwestern, which was without leading rusher Bradyn Fuller (he tore his ACL a week ago,) came into the game averaging 44 points a game. They had failed to score at least 20 points in the first half of a game only once all season. But Harper won three state D titles at CSP for a reason. You knew he’d have his team ready.

The Eagles shut the Trojans down in the opening half, holding Southwestern to just 23 yards of offense and leading, 6-0, at the break. The defense finished the half in rousing fashion. After Trent Lewis took a punt 50 yards to the Eagles’ 16-yard line, the three plays before the half went: Run for loss of 5, bad snap for loss of 11, sack for minus-7. Three plays, negative-23 yards.

Chautauqua Lake, meanwhile, controlled the line of scrimmage for the bulk of the opening half, getting much of its 78 rushing yards on a sustained drive that ended with a 2-yard score by tailback Thandon Bensink. At that point, the Eagles were dominating in offensive yards, 115-16.

Things got no better for Southwestern in the second half. Chautauqua Lake marched 83 yards on seven plays early in the third for a TD to make it 14-0. Brayden Gibbs (12-20 passing, 147 yards) hit Devin Hawes for 29 yards to the 14. Then sophomore Tristen Gibbs raced untouched for a 14-yard score.

The Eagles put together a near-identical drive on its next possession, traveling 72 yards on seven plays for a 21-0 advantage, with Clayton Smith scoring from the 5-yard line. It was a matter of running out the clock from there.

Senior Trent Lewis was 9 of 19 passing for 51 yards and two interceptions for the losers. As a team, coach Jake Burkholder’s Trojans rushed 19 times for 18 yards. They were 0-for-10 on third downs.

Alex Kolstee/WNYAthletics