East suffers similar fate against Starpoint
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

If the Williamsville East football players were not believers in déjà vu, they should be after losing another close game to Starpoint.

With East up 17-9 in the fourth quarter, Starpoint's Brandon Bratek had touchdown runs of 70 and 18 yards, his second coming with less than two minutes remaining, to lift the Spartans to a 22-17 home victory on Saturday. In Week Six last year, Bratek scored with 1:05 left in the game to give Starpoint a 26-21 come-from-behind victory at East.

"It's extremely disappointing because we had victory in our grasp and it was pulled away," said East coach Henry Fumerelle. "It's very similar to last year."

It's Starpoint's fifth straight win over East. The last time East defeated Starpoint was 10-0 in Week Seven of the 2004 season.

East trailed 9-0 at halftime thanks to Bratek. The junior had a 15-yard TD in the first quarter and sacked East quarterback Zach Stubbendeck in the end zone for a safety in the second quarter.

But the Flames didn't quit, scoring 17 points in the third quarter. Running back Mike Silvestri had touchdowns of seven and three yards. His first touchdown was set up by a 30-yard pass from Stubbendeck to Dan Rizzo. The second TD came after JL Ivey forced Bratek to fumble and Phil Massena recovered. Silvestri finished with 23 carries for 100 yards.

Kicker Joe O'Gorman, who booted a 43-yard field goal against Albion, connected on a 35-yard attempt versus Starpoint. Linebacker Max Cohen recovered a fumble to set up O'Gorman's kick.

"Down 9-0, the guys could have folded it up," said Fumerelle. "It was the fiftieth anniversary of Starpoint football and a lot of ex-players were there so their kids were fired up. But we stopped their onslaught."

Starpoint got the ball at their own 25 with 4:30 remaining in the fourth. That's when Bratek broke loose for his 75-yard TD to cut the deficit to 17-15.

East took over but eventually had to punt. Fumerelle said Starpoint took over at its own 20 and converted on a long pass on a third-and-10 to the East 18. After an East timeout, Bratek scored his third TD of the day. Bratek finished with 200 yards rushing.

"He had some early yardage and we made some adjustments but his 75-yard run killed us," said Fumerelle.

East got the ball back late and threw two incomplete passes before an interception.

Fumerelle said the two best players on the field the entire game were Bratek and O'Gorman.

"Every time he kicked off, it was in the end zone," said Fumerelle of O'Gorman. "He also kicked a 35-yard field goal. His punting was exceptional. He had a 71 yard punt in the second half."

Sophomore middle linebacker Will Kelly led the Flames' defense with 15 tackles. Cohen added 13 tackles and a fumble recovery. Brad Teal had 11 tackles.

East was playing without its best player, Mike Langfelder, who suffered a sprained left knee against Albion in Week One. Fumerelle said he might play this week against Williamsville South, if not, definitely in Week Four against Amherst. Langfelder returns punts and kickoffs and starts at running back and strong safety.

Kickoff for the East-South game is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday at East.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com