Game on for Sweet Home football

by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

     Sweet Home, 4-1 in Class A North and 5-1 overall,  ended  speculation as to whether or not it will play varsity football this week by announcing on Thursday afternoon  they will play its Week Eight game with Starpoint at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 22 at UB Stadium. Admission is free.
The game was originally supposed to be played at 2 p.m. Saturday but has been in doubt the entire week thanks  to a 2-foot snow storm across  Northern Erie County and Southern Niagara County on Oct. 12-13 which   downed power lines and left residents and school districts without electricity for  days. 
     The freak storm  forced the Sweet Home,  Amherst and Williamsville school districts to close  the entire week, which under normal circumstances would cancel all sporting events. Faller said Sweet Home Superintendent Geoff Hicks is allowing the football team   to practice on Friday,  because of a  scheduled staff development day, and Saturday, at UB.  Sweet Home's home field is unplayable.
     "Starpoint has agreed to play," said Faller. "It's a must win. If we lose, we could be out of the playoffs."
     As of this writing, Sweet Home is the only school district in the town who will play football this week.  All other Week Eight games - Pioneer at Amherst and Williamsville South at Lewiston-Porter tonight and Niagara-Wheatfield at Williamsville North and Williamsville East at Grand Island on Saturday have been cancelled and will not be made up as of this writing. 
      Section VI Football President Chuck Funke said in an e-mail earlier in the week that the Football Committee decided that Week Seven games which had a direct impact on  playoff scenarios would be made up this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, although it will not happen in the town because the earliest that Williamsville and Amherst teams could practice is when school opens  Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Sweet Home will reopen on Monday, Oct. 23.
     The only Section VI games which have been rescheduled for early next week are Depew at Lancaster at 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 23, Lackawanna at East Aurora at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 24, and  John F. Kennedy at Cleveland Hill at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25.
     Other Week Eight football games from The Bee coverage area which will take place this weekend are Iroquois  at Lake Shore at 7 p.m. tonight and  Clarence at Lockport   at 2 p.m. tomorrow at  Medina. 
     If Iroquois wins, they are the Class A South champions and West Seneca East becomes the second seed. The winner of the JFK-Cleveland Hill game will become the second seed in the Class C North division.
    Section VI Federation semifinal games are slated for Oct. 27-28.
     Don Feldmann, Sweet Home's  Coordinator of Public and Community Relations, said if Sweet Home lost on Sunday, their homecoming game against Lew-Port would be played at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 26. If Sweet Home wins, the Lew-Port game is in doubt. The homecoming dance has been rescheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28.
In the Monsignor Martin Association tonight, St. Joe's will play at 7:30 p.m.  at Niagara Falls while St. Mary's of Lancaster travels to Tifft Farms in Buffalo at 7 p.m. to play Timon-St. Jude.  Cardinal O'Hara hosts Niagara Catholic at 2 p.m. Saturday.