Week 6 Standout Players from Western New York

We are in Mid-Season form and things are heating up. I was only able to make it to two games this week. They were, however, the JV/Varsity pair up of one of the most intense rivalries in WNY.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">St. Francis @ St. Joe's (JV)</h2>   Regardless of sport or level, St. Francis/St. Joe's is a big clash among schools. This JV game was a nail-bitter as St. Francis jumped to a quick 14-0 lead. Joe's would come back with 1:16 left and make it 15-14. But an outstanding drive by the Red Raiders offense would give St. Francis the 20-15 victory   Player of the Game    Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1701908' first='Nathaniel' last='Lindstrom'] showed how to lead an offense in this thriller. Even after St. Joe's came back and took a 1 point lead, it was Lindstrom that led the Red Raiders offense down the field 65 yards in less than a minute for the game winning TD. Nathaniel ended the game going 13/21 for 251 yards and 3 TDs - to 3 different receivers.    Top Target    St. Francis spread the ball around so much, it was difficult to say who had the biggest numbers. But there was no doubt that Cole Rodo was the most impactful. He is a big, physical receiver that was difficult to cover as displayed by his 46-yard 2nd quarter TD. Rodo and Lindstrom may be the QB-WR tandem that the Monsignor Martin League will be talking about in 2025.    Defensive Player of the Game    Jacob Moser left all he had on the line in this game. Although the Marauders lost, Moser played exceptionally well as the team's starting Center and Nose Tackle. He displayed a quick get off with superior technique. Jacob ended the game with 5 tackles (3 for loss) 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">St. Joe's @ St. Francis (Varsity)</h2>   Just like the JV game, St. Francis jumped to a 14-0 lead and the Marauders attempted a comeback with an ensuing TD but that is all they would get as the Red Raiders would finish the sweep with a 28-7 varsity win.   Player of the Game    [player_tooltip player_id='747249' first='Landon' last='Welka'] entered Week 6 with two Player of the Week nominations from the Connolly Cup. While his numbers did not match his performance from weeks 1 & 4, he played nearly flawless football. Welka completed 15 of his 26 passes for 141 yards and 2 TDs while rushing for 120 yards and another score.    Breakout Performance    Heading into 2024, it was unclear who St. Francis starting RB would be with their 2023 leading rusher graduating and his two backups transferring. And in the first 4 games, Welka was the leading rusher in terms of yards. But in this game against Joe's, the Red Raiders may have found an RB for the next two seasons in junior, [player_tooltip player_id='1624583' first='Larry' last='Hardy III']. Hardy got the scoring off with a 7 yard run in the first quarter on the way to a 110 yard performance on just 14 carries.    Diamond in the Rough    St. Joe's lone bright spot came in the form of [player_tooltip player_id='707562' first='Domonic' last='Cook Jr.'] Down 14-0, Cook put the Marauders on the board with shifty 31-yard score in the third quarter. Dom averaged 8.2 yards per carry in this game on just 10 attempts. He also added 30 yards from kick/punt returns.

We are in Mid-Season form and things are heating up. I was only able to make it to two games this week. They were, however, the JV/Varsity pair up of one of the most intense rivalries in WNY.