Section V 2026 Week One: Who Stood Out?

The 2026 season has kicked off with a bang! There were players all around the field wanting to make a statement about their play. Take a look at the players who stood out and the teams that opened the season with a win.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">09/03 Teddi Bowl: Penfield Patriots vs. Victor Blue Devils</h2>   The 2026 Teddi Bowl benefited Camp Good Days, which improves lives for children and families affected by cancer. In the game, the Victor Blue Devils took control of the majority of the ball game as they won 25-13. The Penfield Patriots played a much better second half, but key players stood out from the game.    [player_tooltip player_id='2374598' first='Benjamin' last='Guiffre'] was an WR and LB that was forced to play for the Blue Devils. By all means, at the WR position, he was able to pick up hard-earned yardage through the trenches. Catching critical passes in key plays to move the chains was a point of emphasis. Guiffre was able to extend Victor's led to 15-0 with a TD catch at the 3:15 mark in the second quarter. Furthermore, at the LB position he was operating with little fear as he read and attacked with speed.     [player_tooltip player_id='1248844' first='Eli' last='Ricci'] certainly put on a show in the home opener for Victor. He was reading his keys and getting the football into the right target's hands. Even more, he was able to operate the plays with good patience and pose. The ability to run, play action, and read options near the read zone was quick. Ricci not only threw two TDs, but before halftime he also ran in a score to extend the Blue Devils lead to 22-0.    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Ricci takes the bootleg and finds paydirt with seven seconds as Victor caps the first half with a touchdown. Blue Devils lead 22-0 entering the break. <a href="https://t.co/DYbmiSwmg5">pic.twitter.com/DYbmiSwmg5</a>— Tyler Hathaway (@tj_hathaway) <a href="https://x.com/tj_hathaway/status/2095664737555992747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2026</a></blockquote>    [player_tooltip player_id='1685742' first='Gage' last='Ramos'] was a player in the trenches that needed to be highlighted in this game. The ability to not only move bodies off the LOS on the offensive line but also be a force on the defensive side was present. Penfield's run game was nonexistent in the entire first half. Ramos was a large portion of why the Patriots were not able to run the football, as he clogged up run lanes. Nonetheless, his ability to shed off his blocks and make tackles at or behind the line was there.    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Teddi Bowl 2026: 09/03 Penfield Patriots vs. Victor Blue Devils. Check out more photos on insta @ PRZDIDOMENICO <a href="https://t.co/8ktCpirOqQ">pic.twitter.com/8ktCpirOqQ</a>— Matt Di Domenico (@didomenicomatt5) <a href="https://x.com/didomenicomatt5/status/2096282255085711487?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">09/04 Churchville-Chili vs Greece Athena</h2>    [player_tooltip player_id='2375091' first='Jayden' last='Jager'] put on a show in this game. He started off fast with two big runs in the first quarter of the game. One of the runs on that drive ended in the first points of the game for Churchville-Chili, as we saw Jager's ability to use his speed to gain the edge to the outside. Later in the game, Jager used his instinct to make a huge play out of nothing for a big-time TD when it could have turned into a negative loss. Even more, he can be a weapon in the passing game for outlet passes and make defenders miss to pick up YAC.     [player_tooltip player_id='2375095' first='Owen' last='Figler'] was a QB in this game who made some big-time throws for Greece Athena that should not go unrecognized. This is a young QB that looked very sharp for his age and is on the rise. Impressive ability to make deep on-target throws, including one to Colten Waterman in the first half. Figler did make an off-balance throw on the run for a TD that impressed the crowd. In any event, the timing throws on out patterns would flash and will continue to show in his mechanics as his playing time increases.     [player_tooltip player_id='2375107' first='Ocean' last='Minor'] is the other RB for Churchville-Chili that got going quickly on the ground game. The first TD for Minor was a pitch to the outside, where he found the running lane and broke two tackles on his way. Overall, his ball carrier vision was electric as he saw holes to explode all across the line. Minor was able to score on a second TD run from 20 yards out in the first half. Minor converted on a late score from 3 yards out as he broke a tackle and dragged two defenders into the endzone to score the game-winning TD.

The 2026 season has kicked off with a bang! There were players all around the field wanting to make a statement about their play. Take a look at the players who stood out and the teams that opened the season with a win.