Tigers Finally Taste Victory

Both the Amherst Tigers and the Kenmore East Bulldogs were winless in 2015 and both entered the game with an 0-2 record, so it was guaranteed that one team would go home Friday night with the unfamiliar taste of victory. The Tigers ended up being that team Friday night by routing the Bulldogs in Class A North football action, 45-14.

On the opening kickoff the Tigers tried something that was somewhere between a squib and onside kick, nevertheless the Tigers recovered the ball at midfield and gained early momentum.

After trading possessions back and forth, Amherst QB Ja’kye Womack took over the game. Womack found receiver D’Shaun Barefield for a big gain followed by big run by the QB to put his offense into the red zone. On the next play, Womack took it himself once again, going in 17 yards for the score untouched. As the first quarter was coming to a close, Womack found Brandon Fowler for 32 yards to give the Tigers the 14-0 lead.

Womack ended the night with 12 carries for 111 yards on the ground and went 3 for 4 for 70 yards passing.

The sophomore was almost speechless trying to describe how he felt about the game, he just said, “I don’t know how to explain it… It feels so good right now”. Womack had big praises for the guys upfront who he believes were a big part of the Tigers’ success saying, “my line was killing it tonight”.

“Tonight he did a great job and I think he will continue to get better each week” says Amherst Head Coach Jason Beckman about his sophomore QB.

Before the first half came to a close, Kenmore East QB Kahlil O’Neil was concussed on defense when trying to take down Amherst’s Brain Fulford. O’Neil left the game and did not return. Sophomore D’Anzo Young had to step in at QB for O’Neil.

D’Anzo Young played well considering the limited the reps at QB. The Bulldogs tried to get back in the game early in the second half as the offense was able to put a drive together. The Bulldogs finally got on the board when Young ran the ball in from 3 yards out, cutting the Amherst lead to 20-6. He later found Ja’Micheal Henderson for an 80 yard touchdown.

Kenmore East Head Coach Pat Veltri was impressed with Young. He said “For not taking a lot of reps I think (Young) did a fabulous job” says Veltri.

Despite the outcome, Coach Veltri was pleased with the way his team played, he said after the game, “I think that we played a full game even though the score may not show it. We can build off of that”.

Due to standard concussion protocol, O’Neil will very likely not play next week for Kenmore East.

For Amherst, the scoring was shared tonight as five players found their way into the end zone. Brandon Fowler had 2 touchdowns; Marcel Walker and Charles Kilgo each had a score too. D’Shaun Barfield ran the ball 11 times for 146 yards to help the Tigers finish with 397 yards on the ground.

“It’s huge” said Head Coach Jason Beckman, “I’m proud of the guys that went through that season last year where we didn’t win a game”.

Next week the Tigers (1-2, 1-2) will host Lake Shore (0-3, 0-3) on Friday night at 7:30 pm for their Homecoming game. The Bulldogs (0-3, 0-3) will head to Williamsville East (0-1, 1-1) to take on the Flames at 2 pm on Saturday.