Week 5 Standouts

Each week, I will attend a few games over the weekend, from both varsity and JV. Here I will give a game summary and player breakdowns from the Week 5 matchups I saw.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Amherst @ Lake Shore</h2>   This was essentially a game for pride. Both the Tigers and Eagles were winless in a very competitive B1 division with both teams entered week 5 with a 0-4 record. The first half of this game seemed to be evenly matched. After Lake Shore got on the board first with TD runs by <a href="https://highschoolsports.org/new-york/nysphsaa/section-6/football/2026-27/athlete/lake-shore/tyler-kwilos">Tyler Kwilos</a> and [player_tooltip player_id='1417832' first='Bryson' last='Reid'], Amherst would get a little momentum heading into halftime. The Eagles' second extra point attempt was blocked by Tigers OL/DL Jahaad Richardson and just as the half expired, senior QB Noah Groff (making his varsity debut) hit WR Camden Brown in the back of the endzone on a 33 yard TD. The two point conversion by RB Jayson Leeper would cut the Eagles lead to 13-8 at the halfway point. But the second half was all Lake Shore as they scored 28 unanswered points with 3 more TD runs, including Kwilos' second of the day and a 60-yard pick 6 by [player_tooltip player_id='2201342' first='Samuel' last='Smaldino']. Lake Shore QB [player_tooltip player_id='1417832' first='Bryson' last='Reid'] would also run in two 2-point conversions in the 4th quarter.   Player of the Game    The Eagles have a solid group at the skill position and Smaldino has the best compliment of size and speed on the team. The game was mostly dominated by the Eagles rushing attack with Samuel coming up with some key blocks and made a few receptions along the way, But his 60 yard INT for a TD in the third quarter clearly took the air out of Amherst sails and clinched Lake Shore's first win of the season.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">St. Francis @ Canisius</h2>   There isn't a bigger game in Western New York than Frannies and Canisius. You're looking at a game with several D1 prospects and 3 or 4 potential Connolly Cup finalists, not to mention the Trench Trophy hopefuls. With all the star studded athletes on the field, it is no surprise this game saw 5 lead changes in the second half alone. Although the first quarter would be dominated by Canisius RB [player_tooltip player_id='778700' first='Elijah' last='Kimble'] who ran for 129 yards and a pair of scores in the first 12 minutes. After each of Kimbles' TDs, Red Raiders QB [player_tooltip player_id='501394' first='Trent' last='Buttles'] responded with TD throws to RB [player_tooltip player_id='1202404' first='Tyrone' last='Clark Jr'] and sophomore WR [player_tooltip player_id='1952677' first='Ben' last='Rogers']. The latter of which ended in a two-point conversion by Landon Govan giving St. Francis a 15-14 lead. Despite a big defensive 1st half from Canisius DL [player_tooltip player_id='2149717' first='Owen' last='Scott'] and LB Lucas Schmitz-Matos (1 sack and an INT), the Crusaders offense was stagnant in the second quarter. Tyrone Clark started the second half off with a 49 yard TD run for St. Francis and a [player_tooltip player_id='1814247' first='Jacob' last='Janis'] Xpt made it 22-14. But on the following drive Kimble would get his third TD of the game, which was also his 88th career TD - ranking him 3rd all time in WNY history. After a key Crusaders defensive stand and a QB sack by [player_tooltip player_id='2199642' first='Quentin' last='Littleton'], Canisius regained the lead with a 27 yard field goal by Levi Sisto. St. Francis answered back with a field goal of their own by [player_tooltip player_id='1814247' first='Jacob' last='Janis'] making the score 25-23 Red Raiders. [player_tooltip player_id='778700' first='Elijah' last='Kimble'] then showed why he is the best RB in NYS and he took off 52 yards for his 4th TD of the game but the 2-pt conversion was no good making it 29-25 Crusaders. But [player_tooltip player_id='1202404' first='Tyrone' last='Clark Jr'] had something to say responding with a 50 yard TD of his own. The Janis Xpt made it 32-29 St. Francis. Canisius got the ball back with just over two minutes and they lived and died on the legs of Kimble as they ran him non-stop on the final drive with 6 carries for over 50 yards but with 13 seconds to go and no timeouts, Canisius ran the field goal unit out but it was tipped at the line and the Red Raiders took the win. This was a game for the ages; both Kimble and Clark combined for 479 yards from scrimmage and 7 TDs. Kimble also throw a halfback pass for 33 yards to Jack Cullinan in the 3rd quarter.   Player of the Game    The MVP of this game was going to be whichever RB was on the winning side and Clark did everything in this game to show he belongs in the same conversation as Kimble. Tyrone averaged 10 yards per carry going for 197 on 19 totes and ran in a pair of scores while catching a couple of passes and another TD.

Each week, I will attend a few games over the weekend, from both varsity and JV. Here I will give a game summary and player breakdowns from the Week 5 matchups I saw.