Commandos win slugfest over Renegades

The first weekend of autumn ushered in an old-fashioned slugfest on the football field as the Williamsville Commandos visited the Tonawanda Renegades for a rematch of their season opener.

The Renegades came prepared to play as they looked to avenge the loss to the Commandos a few short weeks ago.

On the opening drive of the game, the Commandos' defense made an early stand as they forced the Renegades offense to turn the ball over on downs.

The Commandos' offense took the field, led by quarterback Brendan Wynia. The running backs were able to safely receive every handoff due to exemplary blocking by the offensive line. Linemen Kyle Dunn, Brian Fulford, Braedan Gillman, Max Schectman, George Bauman, Michael Woods, and Jordan Buell expertly opened holes for the Commandos' backfield consisting of tailback Ben Noel, fullback Ryan Konotopskyj, and wingback

Collin Hunt. Noel followed his blockers into the end zone for the initial score, and the extra point was obtained on a short run by Wynia.

The Commandos held onto the seven-point lead until late in the second quarter when the Renegades running back broke a long run for their first score. The extra point attempt failed and the score at halftime was 7-6 in favor of the Commandos.

Williamsville received the ball to start the second half. However, the Renegade defense really tightened up and the Commandos were unable to capitalize. After a long, fruitless drive, the Renegade offense took over on downs.

The defense for both teams dominated the third quarter as the offenses were unable to find the end zone. The Commandos defense was bolstered by contributions by Terrance Thornton, Max Ralbovsky, Jamie Camarre, Ryan Duran, Adam Mills and Mariano Baldon as they hunkered down and refused to break while the offense regrouped.

Late in the second half, the offense finally got back on track as Noel scampered 35 yards into the end zone. Wynia capped off the drive with the extra point run.

The Renegade offense answered the bell and drove down the field for a late touchdown. The game clocked reached zero after the run. With the score at 14-12, the Renegades were forced to attempt a two-point conversion in order to try and tie the game. Intense pressure on their quarterback, led by the Commandos' Gillman, forced an errant pass that fell harmlessly to the turf in the end zone.

Commandos 41, Newfane 13

The skies cleared on this late summer day as the Williamsville Commandos defeated the Newfane Thunder, 41-13 in their home opener on Sept. 16.

The Commandos took control early in the game and never looked back. Quarterback Brendan

Wynia led the Commandos on their first score as he handed the ball to fullback Ryan Konotopskyj, who ran around the left end. The Commandos were able to punch in the extra point with an old-fashioned quarterback sneak up the middle.

After a fumble by the Thunder, the Commandos began their search for the end zone again. Their journey was made complete when tailback Ben Noel bumped it outside and ran to pay dirt along the right sideline. Wingback Collin Hunt ran the ball in for the extra point conversion.

Late in the second quarter, after a 30-yard run by Wynia, Hunt finished the drive by running the ball in for the score. Unfortunately, the Commandos were unable to convert the extra point attempt.

The second half began with a nice run by the Thunder for a long run to the end zone. The Commandos were determined to get the touchdown back. Tight end Mariano Baldon kept the quest alive as he recovered a fumble by his own offense and ran the ball for a 24-yard gain. This play helped energize the offense and Noel found the end zone for the second time.

After a great defensive stand comprised of Commandos' defenders Andrew Butler, Tyler Buell, Arjun Chima, and Max Ralbovsky, the offense was able to take to the field again. Fullback Konotopskyj scrambled around the corner for a 17-yard touchdown run. The scoring drive was capped off by a beautiful pass from Wynia over the middle to tight end Jordan Buell that resulted in a two-point conversion. Buell, who was banged up on the play, made a great effort and held onto the ball.

Newfane refused to go down easy as they broke another long run. They successfully completed the extra point attempt and raised their score to 13. The able-bodied Commandos' gold offense took to the field led by center Eric Seaner. He was joined on the campaign by Terrance Thornton, Massimo Zimmerman, Will Sanderson, Ryan Duran and Justin James. The offense worked their way down the field with runs by Duran and Justin James. Konotopskyj caught a pass from Wynia to keep the drive alive as they got closer to the Newfane end zone. Hunt added to the score with a nice run to the corner of the end zone, after which, Wynia ran it in for the final point of the game.

The Commandos hit the road again next week for a game at 11 a.m. Sunday against the Lew-Port Rams. Williamsville tries to improve to 4-0.