Sectionals Recap 11/07

<p>A jam-packed Friday night, as there was a lot going on in Section V football. There were finals games held at SUNY Brockport and a close semifinals matchup at Rush-Henrietta.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class A1 Champions: Brighton High School</h2>   <p>The Brighton Bruins take down the Webster Schroeder Warriors with the final score of 30 to 20 in a highly anticipated finals matchup. Henceforth, Brighton set the tone with an impressive opening drive led by QB Ethan Bialaszewski. That said, Bialaszewski hit WR [player_tooltip player_id='1624577' first='Clarence' last='Bell'] on a beautiful corner route to get into the red zone. Further capped by a Zack Rossignol jet sweep, handoff for six. The Warriors could not get anything going on the second drive, and even a bad snap on a punt led to a safety for the Bruins. </p>   <p>At a 9-0 score, [player_tooltip player_id='1624577' first='Clarence' last='Bell'] struck again on a kickoff return for a touchdown to make the score 16-0. Webster Schroeder knew they had to respond, which they did with QB [player_tooltip player_id='1742342' first='Daniel' last='Hilfiker'] connecting with WR Anthony Amico over the middle for a 44-yard score. Secondly, Hilfiker then hit a second TD pass to make the game much closer. Brighton pulled away due to a 9-yard receiving TD by WR/DB Leo Hopkins. In contrast, Hopkins then made a huge, backbreaking INT. Star senior LB Matthew Heigninger ended with 9 tackles and the game-sealing TD run on the final drive, securing Brighton's championship win.</p>     <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class A2 Champions: East High School</h2>   <p>East High/World of Inquiry had a demanding 34 to 7 win over Brockport High School to win their 6th sectional title. The Eagles set the tone early with a 79-yard drive that took the game by the edge, which was capped off by a 5-yard TD run from Legacy Taylor. Conversely, Taylor could not be stopped all game as he scored on a 39-yard TD that bounced off his teammate's hands! By all means, it was a big performance by QB Taye Brown, who had 5-yard and 2-yard TD runs. The game was finally put away in the third quarter with Brown's third TD to make the score 34-0. </p>   <p>It was a tough night for Brockport, as they did not get a score until late in the 4th quarter. The East High/World of Inquiry has now won a championship for the second time in the last three seasons. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Penfield's Bone-Chilling Upset vs. Rush-Henrietta, 22-13</h2>   <p>The upset that certainly caught a lot of people by surprise was where sixth-ranked Penfield upset the number one ranked Rush-Henrietta. The game began as a defensive slugfest, with both offenses struggling to find rhythm. Penfield could not get the ball moving, and DL Brennen Spencer was living in the backfield, making TFLs. Straightaway, momentum shifted with a run from RB [player_tooltip player_id='1563822' first='Imani' last='Wagstaff'] Jr. at the start of the second quarter for a 64-yard TD run. Wagstaff Jr. was not done there. Following a forced turnover on downs by the Royal Comets defense, Wagstaff had a 90-yard TD run. </p>   <p>At the same time, the Patriots had a powerful runner in [player_tooltip player_id='1539041' first='Zane' last='Kropman'], who had large gains as the game went on. The Patriots continued to pound the ball behind Kropman, whose physical running wore down the Rush-Henrietta defense. As a result, Kropman scored with 55 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Altogether, this gave Penfield a lot of momentum, especially when they recovered a fumble on the kickoff. The first play following the fumble recovery, QB/S [player_tooltip player_id='1363999' first='Brendan' last='Mangone'] made an incredible INT off a tipped pass. </p>   <p>Even so, the Penfield defense was able to keep the Rush-Henrietta offensive at bay. QB Dominic Giunta had an incredible clutch 3rd & 5 run to get into field goal position late in the fourth quarter. Even more, WR/CB Brodie Joyce had a game-sealing INT that helped set up the final score to win the game. A complete team win by Penfield, who advances to SUNY Brockport next Friday.</p>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Penfield Patriots vs. Rush-Henrietta Royal Comets 11/07: Class AA Semifinals! See more photos @ przdidomenico <a href="https://t.co/47bNN3lyPQ">pic.twitter.com/47bNN3lyPQ</a></p>— Matt Di Domenico (@didomenicomatt5) <a href="https://twitter.com/didomenicomatt5/status/1987606951933485402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2025</a></blockquote>

A jam-packed Friday night, as there was a lot going on in Section V football. There were finals games held at SUNY Brockport and a close semifinals matchup at Rush-Henrietta.