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Eagles hang on to edge St. Mary's, stay perfect midway through season
By Steven Dlugosz
 | | LOOKING FOR DAYLIGHT...St. Mary's of Lancaster senior Ryan Kufel looks for running room Saturday as Cleveland Hill defenders James Griffin, center, and Keith Feind converge during the fourth quarter of the Eagles' 14-12 victory. (Times photo) |
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It may not have been the prettiest of wins, but Cleveland Hill's varsity football team will certainly take Saturday's nailbiting 14-12 homecoming game victory over Monsignor Martin Association foe St. Mary's of Lancaster in a non-league showdown between a pair of 3-0 squads.
Cleve Hill senior linebacker Robert Fay made the play of the game when he batted down a two-point conversion pass by Lancers' quarterback Gary Schmelzer with just over two minutes remaining. St. Mary's, which fell to 3-1 with the loss, had drawn to within two points of the Eagles on the previous play, a 19- yard scoring pass from Schmelzer to senior receiver Mike Phelps.
The Catholic-League Lancers had one final chance to win after forcing Cleve Hill's offense to go three-andout, but Schmelzer threw four straight incompletions from midfield.
Eagles head coach Glen Graham described the game's final moments as "anxious."
 | | INCOMPLETE...Maryvale seniors Matt Mohr, left, and Joe Smith, center, break up a pass intended for an Akron receiver Friday. Mohr finished with three interceptions on defense. |
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"It always is," Graham said with a relieved smile. "With the system that (St. Mary's) runs, they can make plays in a heartbeat."
Cleve Hill had several chances to put St. Mary's away, but failed to seal the deal. Early in the fourth quarter with the Eagles leading 14-6, Cleve Hill junior Bob Giovino sacked Schmelzer and recovered the subsequent fumble at the Lancers' 40-yard line. However, Cleve Hill senior running back Marquis Dorsey, who finished with 101 yards on the ground, fumbled the ball back to St. Mary's three plays later at the 9-yard line.
With just over five minutes remaining, the Lancers forced another fumble from Dorsey on a hard hit near midfield. Seven plays later, Schmelzer hit a wide-open Phelps down the middle for a TD.
Despite the close finish, Giovino said he was confident Cleve Hill was going to hold onto its lead.
 | | GROUP DISCUSSION... Cleveland Hill assistant coach Brian Wegner, left, gives lastminute instructions to Bob Giovino, right, and Zack Eldridge, center, during Saturday's game. (Times photo) |
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"We knew we were gonna win," said Giovino, who had a terrific allaround game with two sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and five tackles. "We've got a lot of speed on defense. We're not big guys but we play with heart and passion."
Senior linebacker Scott Kunkel led Cleve Hill with 14 tackles, while junior James Griffin added nine stops.
Graham credited his young, talented defense for making crucial plays.
"We've got young guys who make young-guy mistakes but are also stepping up to make big plays for us," Graham told the Times. "It's an indication of how hard they work."
Dorsey opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 52-yard run to pay dirt, followed by a two-point conversion option pass from senior receiver Chris Costner to junior James Griffin.
St. Mary's got on the board early in the third quarter on a 20-yard fumble return by junior defensive end Bob Mohring. However, the Lancers were unable to convert on the ensuing two-point pass play.
Late in the third, Cleve Hill came up with a defensive score of its own on a 25-yard fumble return to pay dirt by junior defensive end Andreas Schneider. The ensuing two-point run was stopped short of the goal line.
Lancers' senior fullback/linebacker Brad Gibson, a resident Cheektowaga whose older brother Grant previously played for Cleve Hill, was primarily used as a blocker in the two-tight end sets in the second half. Sophomore running back Vance Thompson saw the majority of the time in the backfield and finished with 59 yards on nine carries. Schmelzer, who was the victim of several dropped passes by his wide receivers, finished 11-of-30 for 131 yards.
St. Mary's head coach Kraig Kurzanski said Cleve Hill's defense, combined with windy conditions, thwarted the Lancers' offense.
"We didn't execute our passing game and didn't get our running game going as much as we wanted to," Kurzanski said. "We were as physical with Cleve Hill as they were with us, but we need to establish our running game earlier...Every loss hurts the same."
The two teams also squared off last season, with the Eagles pounding out a 36-14 win over the Lancers.
Cleve Hill, which is 2-0 in the Class C North, faces non-division opponent Falconer on the road tomorrow, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Graham said his team was understandably happy about its perfect record so far this fall.
"Four-and-0 feels good," the coach said. "We're excited about it. It's always nice to win homecoming, especially in such a hard-fought game."
The Lancers face league foe Niagara Catholic Saturday at home, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
Warriors edge Pioneer,
hang tough in Class A
Despite being plagued by inconsistencies on both offense and defense, Cheektowaga Central's varsity football team finds itself in a pretty favorable spot heading into tomorrow night's Class A showdown against unbeaten Iroquois- tied for second place in the division with a 2-1 record.
The Warriors, 2-2 overall, hung on to beat league foe Pioneer Saturday, 20-19, as the Panthers missed a potential game-tying extra point with 1:39 remaining.
Central senior running back Mike Koonce played a big role in the locals' victory, scoring two touchdowns, one on a two-yard run in the second quarter and another on a 92- yard punt return in the third. Senior quarterback Raphael Butler hit Koonce on a two-point conversion pass after Koonce's second TD, giving the Warriors a 14-7 lead.
Pioneer got to within 14-13 on a short touchdown later in the third, but Central stuffed the ensuing twopoint run attempt. Butler then found senior wideout Jimmy Hawkins on a 45-yard scoring strike to give the home team a 20-13 lead, as Central missed the extra point.
Saturday's game marked the second consecutive week that Butler and Hawkins hooked up on a long TD pass.
However, the Panthers again got to within one point of Central with less than two minutes left in the fourth on a 35-yard scoring pass.
Three Central turnovers helped Pioneer stay in the game. Warriors' head coach Scott Zipp said his team has to take better care of the ball to be successful.
"In our loss to Amherst and nearloss to Pioneer, we had three turnovers in each game," Zipp stated. "You can not put the ball on the ground and expect to win...Offensively, we have to have a couple of time-consuming drives that result in scores. (We need) no turnovers, solid tackling and chewing the clock."
The Warriors have a tough test tomorrow against the Chiefs, who come into the game 4-0 overall, 3-0 in league play following a 28-13 home win over West Seneca East. Zipp said his team is confident that the win last Saturday can give his team confidence to play well at Iroquois, providing it remains focused.
"It was a great feeling to bounce back," Zipp said. "Any time we win a division game it is very important, but also very important that we play as a team and it lets the kids know that they can win in the 'A' division." JFK blasts Wilson, 41-0;
Duquette sets TD record
John F. Kennedy senior running back Joe Duquette knows that he is one of the main catalysts of his team's offense. Last Saturday, the star rusher took on his usual role and more, scoring a school-record five touchdowns in the Bears' 41-0 rout of Class C North Division opponent Wilson.
Duquette rushed for 151 yards on 21 carries, scoring on runs of 48, 39, four, three and two yards, helping the locals build a 28-0 halftime lead. Junior running back Mike Bartoszek added Kennedy's other score on a 45-yard run to pay dirt in the third quarter.
Duquette broke Cody Elliott's JFK record of four scores in a single game, a feat Elliott accomplished last year.
That the win came in JFK's league opener made it even sweeter for Bears' head coach Mark Ostempowski, who described Duquette's and his offensive line's performances as "great."
"Joe had a terrific game and he's a hard runner who's tough to tackle," said Ostempowski. "The offensive line was opening some big holes for him. Joe gave a lot of credit to the guys up front."
The Bears' defense was equally impressive Saturday, allowing the Lakemen only a handful of first downs. Senior linebacker Corey Knox led Kennedy with 10 tackles, while junior safety Mike Bartoszek and senior linebacker Bryan Michalski each contributed interceptions. In addition to his offensive heroics, Duquette added two sacks.
Offensively, senior quarterback Jerome Okonzak was quietly efficient, completing two of three passes in the first quarter for 60 yards.
JFK travels to Salamanca tomorrow night to take on the non-division Warriors at 7:30 p.m. Last season, the Bears defeated the Warriors in their regular season finale, a victory which secured JFK's first playoff appearance in 19 years.
Redskins, Trojans lose;
both fall to 2-2 overall
The Lancaster and West Seneca East varsity football teams come into transitional contests this week, as both squads suffered their second straight loss this past weekend.
The Redskins (2-2 overall, 0-2 in Class AA South) fell to league foe West Seneca West, 25-6, Friday night. Lancaster's only score came on a 20-yard pass in the fourth quarter from senior quarterback Ken Murphy to senior slot back Mark Pantling. Facing the prospect of falling three games out of first place, Lancaster is very much in need of a win tomorrow on the road against league opponent Frontier (3-1, 0-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Redskins head coach Len Jankiewicz said his team needs to eliminate turnovers and run the ball more to be successful.
"We've given up big plays in the last few games," Jankiewicz told the Times. "We played pretty good offensively and defensively in three of our four games this season, but it's the in-between things that have been hurting us, especially turnovers.
"On any level- pro, college or high school- you have to be able to run the ball consistently to win," Jankiewicz added. "Our ultimate goal is get to the playoffs, but by not playing well in all phases, we won't get there. Orchard Park and West Seneca West had good game plans against us. I keep telling the kids, it's not always the best team that wins, it's the team that plays the best on that day."
The Trojans (2-2 overall, 2-1 in Class A North) lost to first-place Iroquois Friday, 28-13. Junior running back Travis Foster performed well in the loss, scoring twice, including a 90-yard kickoff return to pay dirt and a 20-yard pass from senior quarterback and Cheektowaga resident Rob Panek.
However, West Seneca East found itself trailing, 28-7, at halftime and were unable to make much of a dent into the Chiefs' lead in the second half.
The Trojans return to action tomorrow at home against league foe Hamburg (1-3, 1-2), with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
"We're a quality team and we'll be able to bounce back," East head coach Jim Maurino stated.
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