Leading off today: Orchard Park forced four second-half turnovers while overcoming a two-touchdown deficit and edged Lancaster 21-20 in Class AA football action Friday.
Orchard Park entered the contest ranked 12th in the state and Lancaster 24th in Class AA.
Lancaster had not lost at home since Oct. 9, 2015, and owned a four-game winning streak vs. the Quakers.
Senior defensive end Tyler Pirritano picked off a deflected pass and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown that got the Quakers back in the game. After a Lancaster three-and-out, QB Jake Sharp led the Quakers down the field for a drive seemingly thwarted by an Anthony Santos-Larosa interception. But the defender was stripped of the ball by OP's Tristan Lancaster and Sharp went on to score on a short run later in the drive. Tom Hollander made the decisive extra point to complete the scoring.
Lancaster drove deep into Quakers territory, but Ayden Haley forced a fumble that teammate Chad Gloss recovered at the 5.
"It's tough to beat anybody when you turn the ball over four times, let alone a top team in Orchard Park," Lancaster coach Eric Rupp said.
More Class AA drama: Bolstered by a 56-yard TD pass on the last play of the first half, No. 9 Newburgh Free Academy rallied to a 45-35 win over Pine Bush.
Pine Valley held a 28-14 lead in the first half before Newburgh fought back. The lead was 35-28 with 8:43 to go when a snap sailed over the Pine Bush punter's head and through the end zone. Just over a minute later, Nick Patterson rushed for the go-ahead TD and Amarri Tice connected with Joseph Russell for the 2-point conversion.
• Thirteenth-ranked Aquinas broke to a two-TD lead but was never able to shake Hilton before heading home with a 42-33 victory.
Junior Ulysees "Manny" Russell caught three scoring passes from Tyler Szalkowski (14 of 20, 242 yards, 4 TDs), including the clinching 37-yard catch-and-run late in the fourth quarter. Russell finished with eight receptions for 174 yards.
Little Irish sophomore Will Benjamin ran 11 times for 114 yards and scored twice. Sean Meyers of Hilton ran 30 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
Skaneateles outgunned: Eli Rawleigh ran for 194 yards and two TDs and threw for another score as General Brown edged Class C No. 13 Skaneateles 56-49.
Cory Smith rushed for a trio of touchdowns, and De'Shaun Thorigal-Brown finished with 126 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
More Class C: Sixth-ranked LeRoy surrendered the first score but came back to edge No. 15 Letchworth/Warsaw 7-6.
Backup QB Kyler LaCarte (113 passing yards, 70 on the ground) hit Cody Lytle in the back corner of the end zone for a second-quarter TD followed by kicker Nate Andrews's successful point-after, which held up after a scoreless second half.
"It was a battle," said Knights lineman Zach Vanderhoof. "We knew we had to fight until the end, and that's what we did."
• No. 17 Attica gave up a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter and retook the lead for good on the ensuing kickoff as Tyler Meyer went the distance in a 32-22 triumph over Avon.
Zach Strzelec ran 18 times for 155 yards and two TDs. Jacob Gross added 121 yards on 17 carries and had a touchdown.
