A wrap up for this past weekend’s high school football openers:
Upset Of The Year (Already): North Tonawanda went undefeated and won their first-ever NYS championship last year in Class-AA. The road to a repeat, at least another undefeated one, has been put to rest on the opening night of the season. Kenmore West traveled into Lumberjacks Stadium and dealt N.T. a shocking 30-22 defeat on the hands of three huge plays by running back Martin Bailey. He scored on runs of 46 and 53 yards and also caught a 53-yard touchdown pass.
City Schools Debut In Section VI: Nine Buffalo public schools got their first taste of Section VI football action this weekend, going 3-6 in those games. Bennett, Burgard and Grover Cleveland all picked up wins in their first try. Two-time defending Harvard Cup champion Riverside played excellent defense Friday night against Niagara Falls, but failed to generate any offense in a 9-2 loss.
State Champ Sweet Home Off To Good Start: 2009 Class A New York State champion Sweet Home had an excellent start to their season, limiting Kenmore East to under 100 yards of total offense in a 34-7 rout. Ralph Neasman led the way for the Panthers with 88 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns.
Chad Kelly Takes The Reigns at St. Joes: The nephew of Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Jim Kelly started his first game under center for St. Joes. Unfortunately it was a losing effort as the Mauraders were easily handled by Section V power Aquinas, 48-21. Kelly finished the game 13-of-23 for 165 yards and a touchdown, but also threw three interceptions.
Licata Back In Action: Williamsville South star quarterback Joe Licata had a solid start to his 2010 season, throwing for 269 yards and five touchdowns as the Billies pounded Lake Shore, 50-14.
Impressive On The Ground: Lackawanna went on the road to East Aurora in Class-B action and literally ran the opposition off the field. The Steelers ran for over 400 yards on the ground in a 44-20 victory.
BSD Player of the Week: Silver Creek senior running back rushed 28 times for 237 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead his team to a convincing 33-7 win over Maple Grove.
Team Performance of the Week: Orchard Park football is back on the map. Facing Section VI Class-AA finalist Lancaster in their season opener, the Quakers played dominating defense en route to a 27-10 victory.
This Weekend’s Scores (Some scores courtesy of the Buffalo News. Visit Keith McShea and his excellent high school coverage in his Prep Talk blog by clicking here)
Ken. West 30, North Tonawanda 22
Niagara Falls 9, Riverside 2
Frontier 13, Jamestown 0
Orchard Park 27, Lancaster 10
Amherst 25, West Seneca East 6
Hamburg 24, Lafayette 16
Wmsv. South 50, Lake Shore 14
Alden 41, Tonawanda 0
Burgard 36, Akron 0
Cheektowaga 36, South Park 8
Depew 25, East 6
Lackawanna 44, East Aurora 20
Pioneer 35, Springville 0
Gowanda 35, Roy-Hart 12
Grover Cleveland 40, Wilson 18
Southwestern 41, Falconer 13
Catt./Little Valley 48, Forestville 8
Frewsburg 52, Ellicottville 6
Portville 41, Franklinville 8
Randolph 42, Pine Valley 14
Chautauqua Lake 57, Brocton 0
Silver Creek 33, Maple Grove 7
Westfield 13, Panama 12
V-Aquinas 48, St. Joe’s 21
Bradford (Pa.) 47, Olean 0
Central Cath. (Ohio) 56, Timon-St. Jude 6
Clarence 37, Iroquois 12
Cleveland Hill 42, Maryvale 12
Williamsville North 34, Hutch-Tech 16
Bennett 14, West Seneca West 7
Grand Island 31, Niagara-Wheatfield 0
Sweet Home 34, Kenmore East 7
Williamsville East 20, McKinley 16
Albion 29, Newfane 0
Medina 22, Lew-Port 12
Eden 28, Dunkirk 6
All.-Lime. 30, Cassadaga Valley 26
Fredonia 33, Salamanca 0
Sherman 26, Clymer 20 (3OT)
Canisius 40, Cardinal O’Hara 7
Lockport 33, Starpoint 20
Nichols 8, JFK 7
IV-Union-Endicott 23, St. Francis 17
