Week 3 Standouts

<p>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 3 matchups I saw.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Maryvale @ Amherst</strong></h2>   <p>Amherst played their best football of the season against division rival Maryvale. The Flyers got the scoring off with a 12 yard TD pass from [player_tooltip player_id='1667258' first='Connor' last='Finnegan'] to [player_tooltip player_id='1864310' first='Cordero' last='Staley']. The ensuing extra point was blocked by Amherst LB Jayson Leeper. Finnegan would then run in Maryvale's second TD with Staley following up with the 2-point conversion. A safety late in the game would make Maryvale up 16-0. Amherst QB Michael Hamister ran for over 100 yards in this game including a 48 yard scramble on their final drive that would set up a 5-yard TD run by RB/LB Jayson Leeper. After the failed 2-point conversion Maryvale went on to win 16-6 and go 2-1 on the season while the Tigers are still looking for their first victory.</p>   <p><strong>Player of the Game</strong></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">This is not a performance you will find on the stat sheet but it was clear that Amherst's goal was to stop Daly on offense which opened the doors for players like Finnegan and Staley. And on defense, Dom put on a performance and was seemingly unblockable as Maryvale's blitzing OLB.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Randolph @ St. Mary's</strong></h2>   <p>This may have been the game of the week across WNY. 2-0 Class D leaders Randolph went into Lancaster to take on 2-0 and resurging St. Mary's. Both teams were undefeated but they couldn't have been any different. Randolph played a hard nose style with RB Alex Garland leading the ground game with his tough in between the tackle style of play while St. Mary's was flying through the air. Although Garland was the workhorse, Randolph QB Davion Johnson was the one scoring all the points as he had a rushing TD and threw 2 passing scores to WR [player_tooltip player_id='2103173' first='Syrai' last='Johnson']. Davion also completed a two-point conversion to big body TE Carter Conley. But all that was not enough against the Lancers, whose passing game was on fire. It was one big play after another for St. Mary's as WRs TJ Cephus and [player_tooltip player_id='2139429' first='Zion' last='Knight'] each registered a TD early in the game. But no play was bigger than the final play. With 1 second left on the clock, the game was tied at 20 and St. Mary's had the ball at their own 11 yard line when QB [player_tooltip player_id='1639406' first='Vincenzo' last='Mullett'] threw a laser over the middle to RB [player_tooltip player_id='2105617' first='Julian' last='Jackson-Rodriguez'] . Rodriguez, as he did all game, made a spectacular one-handed grab at about their own 30 and raced 70 yards to the house as the final whistle blew. St. Mary's won 26-20.</p>   <p><strong>Player of the Game</strong></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">St. Mary's isn't 3-0 without the playmaking abilities of Mullett and his versatility. Vincenzo played an extraordinary game passing for nearly 300 yards and throwing 4 TDs; to three different receivers. Even when a body was needed on their punt team, he went out there and played gunner. This was a gutsy performance to say the least.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/vm_2029/status/2101681556259582148 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Clarence @ West Seneca West</strong></h2>   <p>A clash of Class A1 division rivals saw two stud QBs and previous Connolly Cup Players of the Week battle it out between West Seneca West's [player_tooltip player_id='1514651' first='Mason' last='Anderson'] and Clarence's [player_tooltip player_id='1733893' first='Jackson' last='Turski']. But it was the defense that stole the show; on both sides. For West Seneca West, it was led by their LB corps of [player_tooltip player_id='1513378' first='Micah' last='Anderson'], who was flying all over the field at MLB and OLBs [player_tooltip player_id='2392195' first='Nate' last='Thompson'] and Owen Koziol. The three LBs combined for 5 sacks on the night. But the play that may have been the game changer was an acrobatic INT by CB [player_tooltip player_id='2103989' first='Bobby' last='Simmons'] in the 2nd Quarter. That INT would lead to a TD pass from [player_tooltip player_id='1514651' first='Mason' last='Anderson'] to [player_tooltip player_id='2103985' first='Dominic' last='Ceccarelli']. It would be the only TD scored on the night for either team as the Warhawks beat the Red Devils 12-0. On the Clarence side, it is noteworthy of the performance of Turski, while facing pressure all night still was able to stay poised and keep the Red Devils in the game. He and WR [player_tooltip player_id='1707540' first='Harper' last='McKenzie'] connected on several key plays, while RB/LBs [player_tooltip player_id='1811635' first='Jake' last='Overholt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1717813' first='Trevor' last='Mueller'] had solid games making several stops on defense and moving the ball with tough runs.</p>   <p><strong>Player of the Game</strong></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Koziol is listed as a DB but on this night, he played the game in the box and was seemingly un-blockable blitzing off the edge. Owen was in on 3 of West Seneca West's many sacks of the night and was that X-Factor on the defensive side of the ball.</p>

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 3 matchups I saw.