Steelers dream season ends at All-High

BUFFALO — Lackawanna silenced a lot of doubters this season. The Steelers were expected to take a step back after graduating a slew of seniors. But they played up to their own expectations and won a Section VI championship.

But there was no doubting who was the better team in Saturday’s Far West Class B regional at All-High Stadium. Monroe came in as the unbeaten No. 1 team in the state and a heavy favorite. Lackawanna gave the Red Jackets a scare, but talent prevailed as an immensely talented Monroe team won, 40-14.

Monroe was better, bigger and deeper. They took a 22-0 lead before the game was eight minutes old and seemed to lose focus for a spell. But they seized control after Lackawanna clawed to within 22-14 early in the second half and dominated the game over the final quarter and a half.

Senior Messiah Hampton showed why he’s one of the top players in New York and headed to play major college football at Oregon. Hampton had six catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns, He raced 70 yards for a TD on a fake punt midway through the fourth, giving Monroe a commanding 34-14 lead.

Monroe was sloppy and undisciplined at times. They had 143 yards in penalties, several for unsportsmanlike conduct. Their center was perhaps Lackawanna’s best weapon, guilty of about 10 bad snaps.

Still, the Red Jackets are gifted enough to withstand those shortcomings against an overmatched team like Lackawanna. They’ll need to correct some things when they play next weekend in the state ‘B’ semifinals against the winner of New Hartford (Section III) and Owego Free Academy (IV).

Michael Moore was 7 of 22 passing for Lackawanna, including touchdown passes to D’Andre Jones and Cody Maeweather. But Moore threw four interceptions and was under constant duress against a big Monroe front that limited the Steelers to just 42 yards rushing.

Lackawanna trailed 22-0, with 3:17 left in the first quarter. It appeared that Monroe, which had allowed just one touchdown all season, might blow them clear out of All-High. How high could the Red Jackets go? Sixty? Seventy?But Lackawanna was too proud to go away. After the first quarter, Rivers had his entire team doing pushups in front of their bench near midfield. Maybe some calisthenics could help lift the Steelers back into the contest.

It didn’t hurt. Lackawanna was a far more worthy opponent in the second. Early in the quarter, Moore found Maewether open down the middle for a 43-yard touchdown pass, cutting Monroe’s lead to 22-6.

Monroe had 80 yards of penalties by halftime. When they went ahead, 22-0, they had 90 offensive yards. At halftime, they still had 90 yards of offense. It didn’t help that they had a half dozen or more bad snaps from center, taking their prodigious offense out of rhythm.

A flag put the Red Jackets in second-and-32. The center snapped the ball clear over Cunningham’s head. By the time Monroe recovered at its own 2-yard line, it was third and 58. Another bad snap over the quarterback’s head gave Lackawanna a safety with 1:17 left in the half, making it 22-8.

Those eight points were the most Monroe had allowed in a full game this season. The two TDs were one more than the Red Jackets had allowed against the rest of their opponents in their first nine games.

So again, Lackawanna exceeded expectations and had a lot to be proud of Saturday. But finally, reality intervened. They finished 9-3.

Gallery Jeff Pataky/WNYAthletics