It was a wild opening weekend in local high school football with a number of individual school records being broken. Lancaster, West Seneca West, Williamsville North, Canisius and a host of other teams predicted to have great seasons, kicked off the year with big wins.
Class AA
Although the Legends defense gave up a touchdown on Lockport’s first play from scrimmage Lancaster regrouped and scored the next 54 points en route to a 54-22 win. Brandon Wingard scored three rushing TD’s for the Legends.
Tony Trulizio picked up his first win as head coach of the Hutch Tech Engineers Friday night, 34-14 over Williamsville South. Anthony Whitfield was a one-man wrecking crew and his performance landed him on the Connolly Cup “Top Performers” list.
Clarence went toe-to-toe with Kenmore West in the first quarter Saturday afternoon before pulling away for the 42-14 win. Jon Stevens rushed for three TD’s in a non-league match-up.
Williamsville North dominated the line of scrimmage Friday in their 40-0 win over crosstown-rival Williamsville East. Joe Nusall threw for over 200 yards and three touchdowns. Dylan Kelly caught two of those TD passes and recorded an interception.
Orchard Park toughed out a 42-24 win at McKinley. Tailback Louis Irizzary rushed for 149 yards and two scores while McKinley’s Taivon Martin had a 90-plus-yard pick-6 to close out the first half that sparked a bit of a comeback. Kaiyer Fields had a TD run for the Macks. Jack Sharpe was 13-19-196 and threw 2 TD’s.
Niagara Falls, Bennett and Lockport dropped their first openers.
Class A1
The Indians picked up right where they left off, hammering Sweet Home 48-0. Liam Scheuer, Johnny Speyer, Juston Johnson and Kyle Haettich all had big games for West Seneca West.
Niagara Wheatfield buried North Tonawanda 48-0 Saturday. Jordan Parks turned in an unforgettable performance for the Falcons, 261 yards rushing, two scores and threw for three TD’s.
Hamburg had an impressive 48-14 win over Alden. Nick Hafner led all rushers with 111 yards on the ground and punched in two TD’s. While his Bulldogs teammate Spencer Dix scored three TD’s.
Frontier, Kenmore West and Jamestown posted losses. Red Raiders running back Savon VanSickle left Friday night’s game in the first quarter.
Class A2
Not a great opening weekend for A2 as all six teams lost. A2 was outscored 64-248 with Williamsville East, North Tonawanda and Sweet Home all being shut out.
Class A3
West Seneca East went down to Jamestown and left with a 34-12 win over the Red Raiders. Shaun Dolac had a Connolly Cup “Top Performer” kind of a day scoring three TD’s via reception, rushing and kick return.
Aaron Chase broke a school record for passing yards in a game (419) and threw four TD’s in Starpoint’s 35-14 win at Grand Island on Friday.
South Park played Saturday up in Niagara Falls and took care of business, defeating the Wolverines 28-14. The Sparks defense recorded eight sacks and scored a touchdown. Marquan Fluett, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Mack and Dabeyon Humphrey scored TD’s for the Sparks.
Head coach Jason Beckman picked up an early season win as his Amherst Tigers defeated the Kenmore East Bulldogs 35-26 Friday night. Ja’kye Womack scored two rushing TD’s and had a pick-6 to help lead Amherst.
Williamsville South and Maritime dropped their opening weekend games.
Class B1
The Cheektowaga Warriors blanked Lake Shore 46-0 Friday night in a road win. Tamell Bass caught two TD’s from KeShone Beal.
Pioneer also had a big night, defeating East Aurora/Holland 29-0. Mike Rigerman had a good night rushing for 171 yards and a couple scores.
Iroquois had a tough time with Lew-Port but pulled out a 31-26 victory.
Rashad Law did a number on Cleve-Hill in Maryvale’s 26-6 win Friday night.
Class B2
Albion and Lackawanna scored impressive wins this weekend.
Steelers QB Jeremiah Caviness set three school records Friday night in Lackawanna’s 34-15 win over Frontier. In his first varsity start, Caviness set individual game school records for completions (21), yards (372) and touchdowns (4).
Meanwhile, the Purple Eagles lived up to their preseason hype by trouncing Olean 37-6.
Medina’s Izaiah Rhim helped lead the Mustangs to a 14-12 come from behind win over Depew.
Springville had a rough night against Maple Grove losing 51-8.
Class B3
Dunkirk’s Quantavis Kleckley rushed for 183 yards on just six carries and had three rushing TD’s to lead the Marauders over Eden/North Collins 58-14. The Marauders led 30-6 after the first quarter.
Burgard and Fredonia/Brocton also posted week one wins.
Alden and Newfane came up short.
Class C North
Gowanda/Pine Valley, Wilson and Akron are off to good starts after posting victories over the weekend.
Timothy Longwell finished with 131 all-purpose yards and scored two rushing touchdowns in Akron’s 21-14 win at JFK on Saturday. He also made 10 tackles on defense.
Cleve-Hill, Silver Creek/Forestville and Roy-Hart finished on the losing end.
Big game next Saturday is Wilson at Cleve-Hill (played at Maryvale).
Class C South
Deter Miinte scored two rushing TD’s and Nick Marsh had another in Randolph/Frewsburg’s 41-12 win over Cassadaga/Falconer. Lineman Andrew Bernard made the Trench Trophy list for week one.
Southwestern made it look easy in their 35-8 win over Franklinville/Ellicottville Friday. Senior Cole Snyder tossed five TD passes with 3 of them landing in the arms of Alex Card.
Chautauqua Lake/Westfield delivered Curt Fischer his first win as Thunderbirds head coach in an 18-7 win over Allegany-Limestone.
Portville lost on Saturday to CSP in a non-league game.
Class D
Salamanca, Clymer/Sherman/Panama and Maple Grove each won over the weekend.
Maple Grove destroyed Springville 51-8 while CSP feasted on Portville 46-6. The two teams line up next Friday night in Bemus Point.
Salamanca heads to Franklinville/Ellicottville.
Monsignor Martin Athletic Association
St. Joe’s made it look easy in a 29-14 win over Bennett. The Marauders kept the high-octane Tigers offense off the scoreboard in the first-half.
WNY had its first look at Christian Veilleux on Saturday afternoon as the Ottawa, Ontario native made his Canisius Crusaders debut against Maritime/Health Sciences. The junior QB threw three touchdowns. Joe Jamison rushed for 91 yards and caught a TD pass while Joe Nicholas added two more scores. John Washington is credited with scoring the first TD for Maritime/Health Sciences who were playing in their first game, they are coached by former Bishop-Timon standout Charlie Comerford.
St. Francis lost 58-33 to Erie, PA’s McDowell Friday night. Red raider sophomore QB Jake Ritts broke a 37-year old record for most yardage thrown in a single game with 485 yards on 31 completions, breaking George Kline’s record of 437.
Cardinal O’Hara took on School Without Walls from Rochester, NY and lost 26-12. The Hawks didn’t give up any offensive TD’s. Jermaine Haynes Jr. had two touchdown receptions in the loss.
Timon had its Saturday night game cut short by lightning. They resume play Monday afternoon against U-Prep with the Tigers trailing 14-6. When play continues Bishop-Timon has possession with just over two minutes remaining in the first half.