Class AA Quarterfinals
(1) McQuaid 48, (8) Rush-Henrietta 14
The Knights began their quest for a fifth consecutive sectional title in dominant fashion Friday night.
In the first quarter, Brenton Paladino returned a punt 45 yards to the house to give McQuaid the early 7-0 lead. Later in the frame, Bryson Paladino hit his brother, Brenton on a 48-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 14 and the Knights never looked back. McQuaid got the victory despite playing without Will DiMarco, their starting quarterback.
Top-seeded McQuaid (9-0) will take on rival Aquinas in the Class AA semifinals. The two teams met in the regular season finale when the Knights came out on top in a 14-13 thriller.
Rush-Henrietta’s season ends with a 1-8 record.
(4) Aquinas 24, (5) Pittsford 10
Playing with heavy hearts, the Li’l Irish took ran past the Panthers to move on to the semifinals.
Aquinas Junior running back Derrion Battle had 32 carries for 262 yards and a touchdown in the win.
Luke Conners got the game’s first touchdown, scoring on a 45-yard run to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The Li’l Irish answered with a Trent Buttles passing touchdown to Alexis Rosado to tie the game up at 7 at the half.
Philip Noyes kicked a 32-yard field goal to start the second half and put the Panthers back in the lead.
The Li’l Irish answered on the next drive with a two-yard rushing touchdown from Tano Aurisuo. The score was set up by a 50-yard reception by freshman wide receiver Thomas Levans III.
After Josh Campbell made a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give Aquinas a 17-10 lead, Battle added a final insurance touchdown for the Li’l Irish.
The win was an emotional game for the Li’l Irish. Jasmine Adams, the Levans’ mother, died on Tuesday in a suspected murder-suicide. Levans posted on X after the game “Tonight my brothers helped me get the win for my mother.” The team wore heart stickers with JA on their helmets while the coaching staff wore shirts that said “Love for Thomas” with his number 11.
Aquinas (6-3) will take on rival McQuaid for the right to play in the Class AA championship game. The two teams met in Week 8, with McQuaid winning 14-13 after stopping the Li’l Irish’s two-point conversion with no time remaining.
Pittsford’s season ends with a 4-5 record.
(2) UPrep 33, (7) Penfield 14
After UPrep suffered their only loss of the regular season to Hilton in the regular season finale, UPrep got back in the win column with a 33-7 win Friday night.
Penfield led 7-6 at halftime after an Adam Schembri QB sneak late in the second quarter gave the Patriots the lead. However, the second half was all UPrep. The Griffins scored 27 unanswered to put the game on ice.
UPrep star running back CJ Robinson had 306 rushing yards on just 14 carries with three touchdowns. Tavion Byrd pitched in 44 yards on the ground on eight carries.
Landon Nesmith led the UPrep defense with ten tackles while Taivon Wilson had 8.5 stops. Jayvion Sampson also recorded an interception.
UPrep (8-1) will face Hilton in Class AA semifinals in a Week 8 rematch. The Cadets won the matchup 24-7.
Penfield had their season come to an end with a 2-7 record.
(3) Hilton 31, (6) Fairport 14
Despite suffering a key injury in the first quarter, the Cadets persevered to advance to the Class AA semifinals.
Fairport scored first, as quarterback Jackson Rucker ran in a five-yard touchdown to put the Red Raiders up 7-0 on the first drive of the game.
On the ensuing drive, Hilton senior running back Robert Lowry suffered an apparent shoulder injury. Lowry, one of the top running backs and all-around players in Section V, did not return to the game.
However, the Cadets did not panic. Hilton turned to bruising junior running back John DiBattisto who led his team to victory. DiBattisto had four rushing touchdowns, including a 68-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. DiBattisto had two rushing touchdowns in each half. Tyler Reger added a 23-yard field goal to make it 17-7 at the half.
DiBattisto scored each of his touchdowns before Fairport found the end zone again, which gave Hilton a 31-7 lead before a late Red Raider touchdown.
Hilton (7-2) will take on UPrep in the Class AA semifinals. The Cadets handed the Griffins their only loss of the season, as Hilton won 24-7.
Class A Quarterfinals
(4) Brighton 15, (5) Irondequoit 13
Bruin backup kicker Grady Hopkin nailed a 43-yard field goal with 3:15 to play to secure the playoff win for Brighton.
Brighton’s Tyler Martinovich completed seven passes for 115 yards and a score. Wes Sturrup caught two passes for 41 yards while also getting a rushing touchdown.
Kaleb Matthews led the Bruins defense with 12 tackles while Matthew Heininger had seven tackles.
Jordan Nolan scored a fourth-quarter touchdown for Irondequoit.
Brighton (6-3) will take on top-seeded Victor in the Class A semifinals. The Blue Devils won the matchup back in September 21-14.
Irondequoit ended their season with a 6-3 record.
(1) Victor 28, (8) Churchville-Chili 14
The Blue Devils stepped on the gas in the second half to keep their unbeaten record unblemished.
These two teams met in Week 5 when Victor came from behind to win 20-19 on the Saints home field.
Ricardo Lagares scored a long touchdown in the first quarter to give Churchville-Chili an early 7-0 lead. The score remained that way until the second quarter when Jacob Loughlin hit Adam Ruffalo in the flat for a Victor touchdown. The Blue Devils pulled away from there.
(1)Victor will take on (4) Brighton in the Class A semifinals. The Blue Devils defeated Brighton 21-14 in Week 4.
Churchville-Chili ended the year with a 5-4 record.
(2) East/World of Inquiry 28, (7) Schroeder 14
The Eagles pulled away in the second half to keep their undefeated season alive.
East quarterback Zymier Jackson led the way with 235 total yards and three touchdowns while Army commit Anthony Diaz had 122 yards from scrimmage and two scores.
Ervin Wiggins finished with five catches for 46 yards while also recording 13 tackles on defense. Perrion Williams led the Eagles defense with 16 tackles.
Deandre Leonard also had two catches for 37 yards and 13 tackles. Anthony Hampton had 11 tackles.
East (9-0)will face Canandaigua in the Class A semifinal next weekend. It will be a rematch of last year’s Class A2 championship game where Canandaigua rolled to a 28-6 win. The two teams also met in the regular season this year, with East storming back in the final minute to win 31-27.
Schroeder ended their season with a 4-5 record.
(3) Canandaigua 54, (6) Arcadia 28
Canandiagua powered past the Titans thanks to a dangerous ground attack to continue their quest for a fifth straight sectional title.
Trey Comella had 20 carries for 177 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Caiden Gullace added 532 yards on eight carries and a touchdown. Kayden Craft chipped in with a touchdown on three carries, finishing with 38 yards.
Canandaigua led 28-12 at halftime before scoring three straight touchdowns to pull away.
Drew Williamee had a quiet but efficient day passing the ball, completing seven of ten attempts for 94 yards and a touchdown, which was caught by Jack Tanoory. Canandaigua also scored on a 66-yard punt return by Dominic Gullace.
Canandaigua (7-2) will take on East in the semifinals. The Eagles handed Canandaigua one of their two losses on the season, scoring a last-minute touchdown to win 31-27. The two teams also met in the Class A2 championship game last year, with Canandaigua winning that game 28-6.
Arcadia’s season ends with a 5-4 record.
Class C Quarterfinals
(4) East Rochester/Gananda 56, (5) Lyons/Sodus 35
Ben Newman led the Bombers with five touchdowns as ER/G took down Lyons/Sodus in a high-scoring affair.
The junior quarterback completed 12 passes for 176 yards. Noah Mather had five catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns while Miles Caviness hauled in five catches for 37 yards and two scores.
Cadearrell Sneed led the Bombers ground attack with 17 carries for 167 yards. Ray Allen pitched 80 rushing yards including a 23-yard touchdown. Bradyden Dohse also had two rushing touchdowns.
East Rochester/Gananda (7-1)will face top-seeded Le Roy in the Class C semifinals. The two teams met in Week 4 where Le Roy came away with a 50-34 win.
