Football: Victor, Canandaigua, Red Jacket roll into semifinals
We’re down to the final four in each of the Section V football brackets and locally, there are three teams in play for a berth in championship games.
In Class AA, Victor is riding an eight-game win streak, Canandaigua is seeking a fourth straight title in Class A2 and Red Jacket has a bit of momentum in pursuing its third straight 8-man title.
All three of these teams play semifinal games Friday night, so here’s a closer look at what’s in store.
Class AA
No. 2 Victor (8-1) vs. No. 3 McQuaid (7-2)
When: Friday at Victor, 7 p.m.
Victor beat McQuaid 21-7 just two weeks ago and is on a roll of eight straight wins. A big part of that is the ability to stay healthy, which McQuaid can’t claim. The Knights are down two starters on the line but still have sophomore QB Will DiMarco to run the show.
How DiMarco and the offense fares against a Victor defense remains to be seen. McQuaid scored just one TD against the Blue Devils in that Oct. 21 game but the Knights are familiar now with what Victor brings defensively.
As stout as the Victor defense is, the offense is quite a headache for opponents. With QB Brady Robinson and receiver Adam Ruffalo, Victor is averaging 166 passing yards per game and RBs Sam Gotham and CJ Palmiere are helping Victor average 158 rushing yards per game.
Other semifinal: No. 1 UPrep (9-0) vs. No. 4 Pittsford (4-5) on Friday
Class A2
No. 2 Canandaigua (7-2) vs. No. 6 Eastridge (4-5)
When: Friday at Canandaigua, 7 p.m.
The Braves handled Eastridge with relative ease on Oct. 7, 39-19. But it’s clear that the Lancers have potential for danger if they can become and stay organized, something they did enough of in last week’s surprising win over Greece Athena.
Sherman Carson and Loyall Mouzon are the playmakers that can be the challenging assignments for the Braves as they helped the Lancers rush for 179 yards in that Week 6 game, the second-highest rushing total vs. CA this season.
Still, the biggest threat for CA might be complacency in facing an opponent they beat by 20 points, although the coaching staff surely is aware of this and it’s been addressed. QB Drew Williamee has passed for 1,421 yards and 15 TDs this season and three of the interceptions he’s thrown came in the Week 8 finale against Hilton.
Sophomore Tre’mell Coleman is averaging 5.2 yards a rush as CA’s top running threat and has 10 TDs while senior Tysheed Crockton is an elite threat with 40 catches for 693 yards and eight TDs.
Other semifinal: No. 1 East/WOIS (9-0) vs. No. 5 Brockport (5-4) on Friday
8-man
No. 4 Red Jacket (6-3) vs. No. 1 Canisteo-Greenwood (9-0)
When: Friday at Canisteo-Greenwood, 7 p.m.
Red Jacket is 5-0 since a 1-4 start, including a 50-16 loss to Canisteo-Greenwood on Sept. 17, so the question is if RJ can turn this momentum into an upset of the state’s top-ranked 8-man team.
C-G looks a lot like Red Jacket did in its first two undefeated seasons of 8-man, riding the speed and explosiveness of RB Keegan Foote along with a defense that has shut out four opponents and allowed just 20 points in its last six games.
Red Jacket did avenge an earlier loss against Bolivar-Richburg, so it’s clear that the team is doing what it’s supposed to do in terms of progressing and learning from past miscues. QB Micah Harshfield is a dual threat running and passing to James Sibeto and Matt Allen is another strong option for the ground game. But more than anything, RJ will needs its defense to be on point to keep Foote from finding space because once he turns the corner, he’s tough to catch.
Other semifinal: No. 2 Pembroke (8-1) vs. No. 3 Bolivar-Richburg (6-3) on Friday
This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Football: Victor, Canandaigua, Red Jacket roll into semifinals
