Section VI Football Playoffs Continue!

Winners advance to Highmark Stadium next Thursday and Friday. McKinley (Class A) punched their ticket to the Class A finals Thursday with a 22-0 win over Grand Island.

Class AA

Lancaster Legends (7-2)  @ Bennett Tigers (7-1)

All-High Stadium

Friday 11/7/25 

Kick-Off - 7:00 PM

The Tigers had a week off to prepare for this semifinal matchup with Lancaster. It’s a rematch from week 7 where Bennett won 36-7, thanks to a 22-point outburst in the 4th quarter

Lancaster survived a hard hitting affair against Niagara Falls last week. It’s not clear how healthy they’ll be heading into tonight.

Bennett is a very tough team to move the ball on. Their defensive line has been impressive to say the least. Jimmy Valentine leads the offense with over 1200 yards rushing. Jack Eskridge IV might be the fastest player in Section VI.

The Legends are in a David vs Goliath type of fight tonight, nobody is expecting them to win. Which makes them very dangerous. Bennett fully expects to win this game. If Lancaster can’t get the running game going it’ll be a long night.

Bennett 24, Lancaster 6

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Jamestown Red & Green (6-3) @ Orchard Park Quakers (6-3)

Orchard Park High School

Saturday 11/8/25

Kick-Off - 12:00 

Livestream: NFHS Network

Battle of two great running backs tonight in OP. Chase Bonta for Jamestown and Jherek Breske of Orchard Park. 

Bonta went over 1300 yards rushing last week while Breske is looking to eclipse 1000. Each are averaging over 6 yards per carry. In their week 4 match-up, both rushers went over 150 yards and 3 scores in the game. 

We know these teams can run the ball, the question is which one will protect it better.

OP prevailed 30-19 back in week 4. The Quakers might be more balanced then Jamestown but they lack the big game experience. 

OP 31, Jamestown 28

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Class A

Williamsville East Flames (7-2) @ Health Sciences/BASC/Charter Falcons (9-0)

All-High Stadium

Saturday 11/8/25

Kick-Off - 12:00 

Livestream: NFHS Network

Met just a few weeks ago and it was the closest game the Falcons had played in all season. The Flames defense gave up over  400 yards rushing in their first meeting and still were within a TD of winning the game. 

Will East is well aware of the Falcons ground attack, and if they want to play next week at Highmark they’ll need to stop Kaviohn Pitts and Kevin Guy.

Patrick Horsman and Will Kowalski are key players for Will East that can make an impact on either side of the ball.

The Falcons defensive line is one of the best in the area, look out for youngsters Amare Ridgeway and Tyjuan Moye. 

Health 31, Will East 17

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Class B

Lackawanna Steelers (7-2) @ Williamsville South Billies (8-1)

Will South High School

Friday 11/7/25 

Kick-Off - 7:00 PM

Livestream: NFHS Network

The Steelers were one win away from reaching Highmark last year. They find themselves in the same position a year later. Defensively, Lackawanna is as tough to move the ball on as any other team the Billies have faced this year.

Malachi Adams, Naseam Dahli and Kurt Stevens Jr all have registered 5 sacks each this season for Lackawanna. They’ve also combined for 7 forced fumbles. 

Will South has a few pieces on offense that standout and will test the Steelers. 

Quarterback Phillip Gangi,, running back Amir Ceasar and receiver Evan Zankl have turned in breakout seasons. This is the best team Joe Licata has had since he started coaching high school football. The Billies believe they have what it takes to win, the Steelers had that same thought last year. 

Will South 14, Lackawanna 8

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West Seneca East Trojans (7-2) @ Iroquois Redhawks (8-1)

Iroquois High School

Friday 11/7/25 

Kick-Off - 7:00 PM

The Trojans are one of the most balanced teams out there. Their defense will be a great test for the high flying Redhawks offense.

Last week the Trojans came out of the gate as well prepared for a game as I have seen in quite sometime. I have to admit, they looked terrifying. Blocked punt, interception, fumble recovery and all in the first quarter. 

Kevin Sadowski leads the way on offense at running back while DJ Benker (QB) is having a fine season as well, and both are seniors. The juniors on this roster making huge impacts are Kyler Monterro, Josh Urban and Joey Molnar. Freshman receiver Eric Johnson has caught 4 TDs this season. 

Justus Kleitz continues to add to his legacy with each completion for Iroquois. Kleitz has thrown 35 touchdowns this year, 2nd best in the area. His top target Nick Skutnik is tied for 2nd in receiving TDs, and just shy of 1,000 yards. Richard Donohue has 10 tackles for a loss including 2 sacks while Logan Nolan has three interceptions for Iroquois.

The Redhawks will have to be a little more creative to move the chains against this stout Trojan defense. WSE has seen some above average offenses this year and will be well prepared. This should go down to the wire.

Iroquois 28, WSE 26

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Class C

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton Eagles (8-1) @ Barker/Roy-Hart Bulls (8-1)

Barker High School

Friday 11/7/25 

Kick-Off - 7:00 PM

Last week the Bulls knocked off reigning Class C champion Salamanca after a slow start. Despite winning convincingly, B/RH knows they’ll need to be ready right from the start if they want to advance to the Sectional finals next week at Highmark Stadium.

Bill Bruning (B/RH) has done an excellent job in his first season back as head coach, he’ll be looking across the field at Ty Harper, a 3-time NYSPHSAA championship head coach, now with CWB. 

The Bulls have a sound running game with Joe Reiter and Anthony Adinolfe. Both of those kids are tough to bring down and can carry a defender or two. Quarterback Tyson McCaa is elusive as well when he starts running. B/RH is a lot like West Seneca East, well balanced, well coached and looking to make a statement.

CWB has a very good offense, quarterback Brayden Gibbs has a solid group of receivers that know how to get open. Devin Hewes and Carson Fairbank are the prime options. Thandon Bensink is not receiving enough credit for the job he does running the ball. He’s an effective runner and has scored 9 touchdowns so far this year.

I really like that Bulls defense here and the ball control offense they play has been their bread and butter. But who knows what Harper and Chris Payne have up their sleeves.

B/RH 35, CWB 28

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Eden/North Collins Raiders (8-1) @ Southwestern/Frewsburg Trojan Bears (9-0)

Southwestern High School

Friday 11/7/25 

Kick-Off - 7:00 PM

Livestream: NFHS Network

The Trojan Bears have run the C South gauntlet and more this season thanks to their 1-2 punch on offense of Trent Lewis and Bradyn Fuller. The duo have combined for over 2000 yards rushing and 30 touchdowns. Sprinkle in Roger and Zach Markham and you have the nucleus for a strong contender for a Class C title. There’s a reason they’re still undefeated.

Standing in their way is Brady Waring and the Eden/North Collins Raiders. The league leader in passing is having another stellar season for the Raiders. His top targets, Selis and Isaiah Nellis have amassed over 2,000 yards receiving and 37 touchdowns. 

This could be a high scoring affair. 

S/F 38, Eden/NC 32

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Class D

Silver Creek/Forestville Black Knights (4-5) @ Newfane Panthers (9-0)

Newfane High School

Friday 11/7/25 

Kick-Off - 7:00 PM

After starting the season 0-5 the Black Knights rattled off four wins in a row and are playing with a level of confidence the program hasn’t felt in more then a decade. The last two wins have come at the expense of Class D powers Franklinville/Ellicottville and Randolph, teams that have run roughshod over SC/F for as long as I can remember.

This Black Knights team however has stood up for themselves, they found something that’s working and have become a tough team to play against. Gavin Delong, Max Tenamore and Manny Sanchez have been reliable ball carriers for the Black Knights. Lucas Nosbisch was recognized by the Trench Trophy this past week. HC Sean Helmer has done a great job of getting the most out of this team.

The task at hand is a great one, stopping Mac Capen and the Newfane Panthers, nobody has been able to do that this year. The Panthers were expected to be here, they’ve beaten everyone in their path including SC/F 33-14 last month. Newfane should prevail, but they cannot look past this game. 

Newfane 28, SC/F 8

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Gowanda/Pine Valley Panthers (7-2)  @ Wilson Lakemen (8-1)

Wilson High School

Friday 11/7/25 

Kick-Off - 7:00 PM

These teams met earlier in the season and it was all Wilson who led 42-14 at the half. The weather in Niagara County tonight is not looking great. That could play into the Lakemen’s hands. 

Carter Capozzi can sling it with the best of them, but for the Panthers to have success tonight they’ll need to establish a run game early. Winter Mentley-Peters is the guy that can do just that, and G/PV will be looking to him to do a lot of the heavy lifting on both sides of the ball.

Vic Cusatis has emerged as one of the top QB’s this season in Class D. The Panthers defense can play the run pretty well, so Cusatis will need to make some throws to move the chains. Ryan Hough is a top receiver and makes all the tough catches. 

Brock Lepsch is the guy that will settle the Lakemen down when things get tough. There’s too many weapons on this Wilson team to keep them off the scoreboard. 

Wilson 34, Gowanda/PV 20

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Don’t miss the Empire State End Zone Show beginning at 630pm tonight.

Jake Fyock and Frank Wolf will be live in-studio providing up to the minute scores and analysis of each game, including live look in’s of select games.

Available on all WNYAthletics social media platforms.