Section VI Class B Football Finals Preview

Mental toughness. It’s what any athlete, at every level, needs to achieve greatness.

The Lackawanna Steelers have that in spades. 9-1 a year ago and finishing just one win shy of reaching Highmark Stadium, lost a ton of seniors to graduation and seemingly had been left for dead by most people.

Not coach Marcus Rivers, who has taken this team into the Section VI Class B final against the odds and is grateful for the journey the Steelers have been on – even for their two losses this year.

“It's very exciting. A lot of people counted us out and felt like we had so many people who graduated and transferred that we weren't going to be the team that we are today,” Rivers said. “Our kids have had a chip on their shoulder since the beginning of the season, even in the summer, and they always talked about it. We just have that understanding about being a better team and progressing every year.

“My first few years here we were blowing teams out all the time. When it came time for the playoffs, if we got punched in the mouth, our kids didn’t know how to respond. So I feel like it's good that we’ve lost two games this year, because it shows what type of kids we have.

We fall but we get back up and we understand we had to humble ourselves, because after two years of being dominant you start to believe that you're unstoppable, and then sometimes you got to get knocked down to realize you're human.”

Images/Emily Croisdale ~ WNYAthletics

Opposing them are the West Seneca East Trojans, another group with a strong mindset that has grown in a different way – being able to handle adversity in the form of injuries and committing to a backfield-by-committee approach. Boasting six players who have rushed for over 200 yards and combined for 27 touchdowns on the ground in 2025 (Kevin Sadowski, Kyler Monterro, Josh Urban, DJ Benker, Keyjuan Williams and Eric Johnson), any of them can get the job done.

“A football season never really goes smoothly,” coach Jim Maurino said. “You head into August with plans and those plans change and you figure out what you have. You have injuries, you’ve got to plug guys in here and there and you figure out who can do what. So it's been a work in progress but it's been a lot of fun. It's been a good ride with these guys.

“You really don't see a lot of teams have success offensively like we have, and I think it's a testament to the guys too. We don't have that one guy who we'll give the ball to 30 times a game and if you stop him, then you're going to beat us. So being able to play team offense the way we do, and a lot of those guys – when they don't have the ball, their willingness to block for each other is what really makes an offense go.”

Each of these schools also have good defenses. Lackawanna comes into Friday’s contest allowing an average of just 10.9 points-per-game, and names such as Kurt Stevens Jr., Naseam Dahli and Malachi Adams have set the tone for Rivers’ squad.

“I'm proud of our defense and they’ve been a staple of our team,” Rivers said. “When we have times we struggle on offense, our defense is there to pick us up. They have a ‘don’t break’ mentality. I feel like everyone has that mentality, but our kids understand that if you keep the score within reach, we're going to win the game.”

That should come in handy against a team like West Seneca East, who have scored 30 points or more six times this season. But the Trojans are no slouches themselves on the other side of the ball, as they’ve forced 24 turnovers so far in 2025.

“The difference with this year's team compared to the last few years is we're taking the ball away –  interceptions, fumble recoveries, getting themselves off the field,” Maurino said. “Once we get the ball back our ground attack allows us to control the clock, and so their ability to take the ball away has been a huge help.

“We’re going to need it against Lackawanna. They’re a tough football team, their defense runs to the ball well and they’re physical. They’re going to be a huge challenge, and they’ll be the best defense we’ve played all year.”