Off to The Ralph
Panthers shut out Lake Shore, will face Iroquois on Friday for Class A title
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sweet Home's Ian Goree cuts back to avoid a tackle as the Panthers shut out Lake Shore, 30-0, on Sunday at Amherst High School in the Section VI Class A semifinals. Photo by Patrick McPartland

Sweet Home coach John Faller has said his football team is getting better as the season goes on. If Sunday's 30-0 win over Lake Shore is any indication, Iroquois, the Panthers' next playoff opponent, better watch out.

Sweet Home used a potent offense (459 total yards) and a stingy defense (held Lake Shore to 94 yards) in a rout held at Amherst High School.

"The kids executed well," said Sweet Home coach John Faller. "We made mistakes but we would have had to play perfect to play much better than we did."

Ian Goree completed 11-of-16 passes for 185 yards and two second quarter touchdowns, a 13-yard TD to Nate McConnell (five receptions, 72 yards) with 4:18 left and a 5-yard hookup with Allen Douglas with 30.8 seconds remaining. Goree also threw an interception.

"That's the old Sweet Home," said Faller of the late first half score. "Give me a couple of minutes and we have a chance to score with this group. We could

have taken a knee but we said let's go."

Douglas, bothered all season with a nagging high right ankle

sprain, was the work horse on the ground for Sweet Home, carrying 30 times for 181 yards and a 4-yard run. Sophomore JV callup Will Reese scored from 13 yards to close out the scoring.

Eric Lawrence caught two passes for 65 yards.

It was the Panthers' second straight shutout. They blanked Starpoint, 17-0, at UB Stadium on Oct. 22. Faller said Augie Merlino, Kyle Balcerak, Paul Tagliarino, Joel Tilman and Marcus Johnson led the way versus Lake Shore.

"We're not doing anything different," said Faller. "We're just playing our defense. (Defensive lineman) Nick Christman was not in there so some other kids had to step up on defense and offense. We didn't have our starting center, Ryan Wilson, so Andrew Hopkins filled in and stepped up."

Sweet Home (7-1) will play Iroquois (8-0) at 9:30 p.m. Friday at Ralph Wilson Stadium for the Class A title.

It is the first time the teams have met this deep in the postseason. Sweet Home beat Iroquois, 28-19, in last year's Class A semifinals. In 2004, Iroquois knocked off the Panthers, 28-6, also in the Class A semifinals.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com