Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017: West Seneca West, Yorktown win 'A' semifinals

   Leading off today: Juston Johnson's 67-yard punt return touchdown highlighted a 28-point second quarter that enabled unbeaten West Seneca West seize control and earn a 42-6 win over Whitesboro in the NYSPHSAA Class A football semifinals Friday.

   Johnson also caught three passes for 67 yards. Quarterback Matt Myers went 12-for-23 for 172 yards and two TDs, and he also rushed seven times for 86 yards and a score. John Speyer rushed for two touchdowns in the win.

   Nick Knowles recovered a Warriors fumble at their 34 late in the first quarter and Myers scored on a 17-yard run five plays later to start the second quarter. The WSW defense forced a punt on Whitesboro's next series, and Johnson brought it all the way back to extend the lead.

   West Seneca West's opponent in the final at the Carrier Dome will be Yorktown, a 34-19 winner over Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. Brandon Meyreles celebrated his 17th birthday by scoring a pair of touchdowns, and Brett Makar rushed 23 times for 182 yards and a touchdown.

   The Huskers will be playing for their first championship since winning back-to-back championships in 1993 and '94.

   "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling the pressure to get this done," Yorktown coach Mike Rescigno said. "I wanted this badly to give back to the community that has given me so much support."

   Leading 20-13, the Yorktown offense engineered a 15-play, 90-yard scoring drive to begin the second half. After a long kickoff return by Burnt Hills, Meyreles recovered a fumble and raced 71 yards for a 34-13 lead.

   Class D semifinals: Nick Fabrizio's third touchdown of the game with 3:09 left put Maple Grove ahead for good, and Carson Crist's fumble recovery 21 seconds later ended Tioga's last bid for a comeback as the Red Dragons triumphed 32-27.

   Fabrizio rushed 24 times for 116 yards. His 29-yard TD run in the fourth quarter concluded the scoring.

   Tioga took a 27-26 lead in the fourth quarter as Nick Klossner (nine catches, 164 yards, three touchdowns) caught a pair of both long TDs. The first was a 58-yarder from Connor Hutchinson 23 seconds after a Maple Grove score. The second was a 53-yarder with 7:55 left.

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   Fabrizio answered four plays later/>[?    Maple Grove's opponent in the final will be Cambridge, which routed Millbrook 56-8. Cambridge defeated Maple Grove in double OT in the 2016 final.

   Cambridge needed just 26 offensive plays to score its eight touchdowns, all before halftime. Tommy English and Colton Dean each scored twice. Defensively, the Indians

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collected five turnovers, turning four into scores, and held Millbrook to 46 total yards in the first half.

   Long Island action: Garden City junior halfback Trevor Yeboah-Kodie rushed for 203 yards and completed a pair passes, one for 14 yards and a first down and another for 31 yards and a touchdown, in a 33-0 win over Mepham in the Nassau II championship game at Hofstra.

   Yeboah-Kodie rushed for TDs of 30, 37 and 91 yards.

   "When I get into the open field, I just run for my life," Yeboah-Kodie said. "I want to get into the end zone as quickly as I can."

   The Trojans, who have won 23 straight games, will face North Babylon for the Long Island Class II championship on Friday.

   North Babylon rolled past West Islip 30-6 as David Estrella rushed for 204 yards of the Bulldogs' 363 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries.

   The Bulldogs opened a 13-0 lead when Estrella scored on a 64-yard run up the middle and added a 2-yard TD run with :12 left in the first quarter.

   Extra points: Rush-Henrietta sprinter/jumper Lanae-Tava Thomas signed a letter on intent this week to continues her track and field career at Southern Cal, picking the Trojans over Miami. Thomas holds a national age-group record in the long jump and claimed six NYSPHSAA or Federation titles at the state outdoor meet last June. She owns or shares six Section 5 outdoor and seven indoor records.

   Mike Johnston is the new girls basketball coach at Corning. He was the boys coach at Corning West from 1998-2013 and at Odessa-Montour last season.

   Moore Catholic boys basketball coach Artie Conroy said his upcoming fifth season with the team will be his last. Conroy has coached hoops for 31 years, including 26 on the high school level, primarily at the freshman and JV levels.