Leading off today: Jayce Johnson rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another as
Canisius defeated host Pittsford 42-27 in a big intersectional season-opener in Friday football action.
Johnson ran 11 times for 146 yards and completed 14 of 21 passes for 164 yards and another touchdown. His first carry was 58 yards on the game's first snap, and his first rushing TD was a 1-yard carry on the opening drive after Paul Woods' 89-yard kickoff return for a score was called back on a penalty.
Pittsford junior QB Matt LaRocca, an honorable mention all-state selection at Bishop Kearney last season, made his Pittsford debut with seven carries for 66 yards.
Canisius' Week 2 game is at Pennsylvania power Bishop McDevitt, the alma mater of Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy.
Victor rallies late: Mike Novitsky's 18-yard TD catch with 2:10 to go proved to be the difference in Victor's 28-24 win at Aquinas. The Little Irish had recovered from a 14-0 deficit to take a 24-21 lead with a field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
Emotional night in Section 4: Waverly, playing its first game since three-sport athlete Paul Girolamo died in an automobile accident Aug. 19, made a late goal-line stand to defeat Windsor 14-7.
The Wolverines stopped Windsor seven times from inside the 10-yard-line in the closing minute, including one from inside the 1. Trailing by a TD, Windsor took over at Waverly's 40 with 2:35 to play.
"I just think there's a little bit of luck today," Waverly coach Jason Miller told The Press & Sun-Bulletin.
Defending champs all win: The five NYSPHSAA champions from the 2016 season all opened with victories, though it was a close call for one of them.
Patrick Stewart scored his second TD of the night on a 2-yard run on fourth down with :21 to go as Class C champ Newark Valley squeaked past Tioga 22-19.
• Class AA Troy rolled up all of its points in a first-half shutout and defeated Columbia 55-14. The Flying Horses racked up 235 yards in nine plays in the first quarter en route to a 41-0 lead.
Joe Ward (16 carries, 134 yards) took a pitch 74 yards on the game's first snap for a touchdown. The next time Troy had the ball, Dev Holmes took a sweep left 76 yards to the end zone. A Joe Casale return of a fumble on Columbia's ensuing possession made it 21-0.
Casale was 4-for-4 at quarterback for 152 yards and a TD.
• In Class A, Somers rolled past Poughkeepsie 48-12 as Ryan Elliott had three interceptions and returned two of them for touchdowns.
• In Class B, Joe Girard rushed for two scores and threw for another as Glens Falls blanked Hudson 34-0. Aaron Sampson added 98 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
• In Class D, Cambridge defeated Rensselaer 57-0 as Jacob Butz ran for three TDs and returned an interception 50 yards for another score. Tommy English also registered a pick-six in the win.
Helen Mooney extended her state record for career points by a female player by kicking five extra points.
Big numbers in Section 3: Joe Benedict, who set the state record for rushing yards in a game last season, started 2017
