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Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017: Canisius, Victor open with impressive wins

   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.

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    • 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

  
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strong with 325 yards and three TDs on 21 carries to power Sandy Creek to 35-22 victory over Cato-Meridian.

   Benedict, who made 14 tackles on defense, finished his scoring with a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

    • Senior Jamie Battaglia carried Central Square to a 32-12 win over Rome Free Academy with 331 rushing yards and five touchdowns. His scores came from 33, 61, 53, 58, and 5 yards out.

    • Thousand Islands' Connor Spies piled up 327 yards and scored four TDs to help beat Waterville 42-19. His 89-yard sprint in the third quarter closed out Thousand Islands' scoring.

   Rivalry renewed: Eight players scored for Newburgh Free Academy in a 59-13 win over Kingston that extended the Goldbacks' lead in the 103-year series to 55-52-5.

   Uh'Charion Hanson started the game with an 85-yard kickoff return and Steven Rivera ran back a blocked punt for a 14-0 lead.

   New addresses: St. Francis transfer Dylan McDuffie scored six touchdowns as Sweet Home outlasted North Tonawanda 53-37 in Rich Lowe's debut as the Panthers' coach. Five of McDuffie's scores came on the ground, including runs of 50 and 73 yards. He also caught a 43-yard TD pass from Marcus Robertson, who threw for three scores.

    • Bishop Timon-St. Jude transfer Matt Myers threw for three touchdowns and ran for two in the first half of West Seneca West's 54-6 triumph against Amherst.

   WSW rolled up 355 yards on the ground, with John Speyer accounting for 143 on 14 carries.

   Also noteworthy: Warwick snapped a 29-game losing streak to Monroe-Woodbury with a 14-13 win on the back of Connor Perez, who had nine catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns.

   Warwick had last defeated the Crusaders in 1979. Monroe-Woodbury played without six starters, including quarterback Steven Campione, due to disciplinary reasons.

    • Dhyquem Lewinson rushed for 213 yards and five touchdowns as Spackenkill defeated Rondout Valley 42-21. ... Brett Makar returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a TD, ran 15 times for 149 yards and a score and caught two passes for 48 yards at Yorktown rolled past Lakeland 42-6.

    Brock Blecha returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown and all four of his pass completions went for touchdowns as Franklinville/Ellicottville defeated Randolph/Frewsburg 47-15. ... East Rochester/Gananda running back Jayden Castrechini (15 carries, 211 yards) scored five first-half TDs in a 47-7 win against Newark. ... Robert Avery (17 carries, 244 yards) scored five touchdowns and picked off a pass as Canisteo-Greenwood shut out Batavia Notre Dame 45-0.

   Scoreboard: Here are the results thus far from Week 1.


  
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