Panthers pounce on Warriors, earn 'A' title
by JASON NADOLINSKI Reporter

Sweet Home celebrates after its 31-6 victory over Cheektowaga in the Section VI Class A final last Thursday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Panthers (9-0) will face Section V's Aquinas in the Far West Regional at 8 p.m. on Friday at Paetec Field in Rochester. Photo by John Normile Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

Sweet Home will get a chance to avenge its 2002 loss to Section V's Aquinas at 8 p.m. Friday thanks to the Panthers' 31-6 victory over Cheektowaga in last Thursday's Section VI Class A championship game at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The Panthers, whose only other win in now nine trips to the stadium was their victory over Grand Island in 2002, scored in every quarter and shut down the Warriors' potent offense to win the battle of the unbeaten squads.

"This is my third time coming here, and the first two weren't very pleasant to come home from, so this is a great night," Sweet Home senior lineman Andrew Hopkins said. "Our team played awesome."

"This was a good Cheektowaga team, so for us to shut them down to six points was a big deal," Sweet Home coach John Faller said. "I was expecting them to go out and put up 20 points or so, but I guess our defense was a little better tonight."

Sweet Home's William Reese breaks a tackle during the Panthers' 31-6 victory over Cheektowaga last Thursday at Ralph Wilson Stadium to win the Section VI Class A title. It's the team's second section title in school histo r y. Photo by John Normile Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

The Panthers' defense was up to the challenge, picking off a pass and sacking Cheektowaga quarterback Adam Piscitello three times - including one that resulted in a fumble that Sweet Home recovered and turned into a touchdown two plays later. Sweet Home also forced Cheektowaga to four three-and-out series over the course of the game and limited the Warriors to just 107 yards of total offense.

"Sweet Home is a gritty, tough team," Cheektowaga coach Scott Zipp said Sunday. "They were big up front and I think that ultimately was the reason they beat us. On defense, their line was their strength, but their middle linebackers can definitely play football too. They were flying to the ball, but they were also controlling the line of scrimmage. They were the better team that day."

After trading possessions that both resulted in blocked punts - Cheektowaga senior Eric Tomczak's coming first, followed by Sweet Home senior Josh Blango's block - Sweet Home finally got on the board with 2:06 to play in the first quarter when junior William Reese capped a three-play drive with his 7-yard touchdown. Sweet Home, which started on the 10-yard line after Blango's punt block, tacked on the extra-point kick to take the 7-0 lead.

"We knew for us to win the game, we had to make big plays," Reese said. "The linemen just blocked for me and I punched it in."

Sweet Home got the ball back just 10 seconds into the second quarter and proceeded to construct a 10-play, 28-yard drive that sophomore DeShanaro Morris capped with his 1-yard touchdown run out of a double-wing formation with 6:31 to play in the first half. The Panthers wasted little time getting the ball back when junior Hanif Russell picked off a Piscitello pass just over a minute after the Panthers' second score, and Sweet Home made the most of it by driving down the field to set up a 27-yard field goal by junior kicker Michael Lawandus.

Lawandus's kick, with 15 seconds to play, pushed the Panthers' lead to 17-0 going into halftime and gave Sweet Home an additional boost of momentum.

"When we came out of the huddle, I saw the receiver grabbing his gloves like he was going to get the ball," Russell said. "So, I played back, read the quarterback's eyes and he threw the ball up in the air. I knew I had to make a play and I did."

"They were playing us tough and we were having trouble punching it in, so that field goal was big," Faller said. "We needed that. It gave us some momentum going into the second half."

The momentum started to turn in Cheektowaga's favor in the second half as the Warriors finally got on the board with 8:17 to play in the third quarter when senior Dante Parker brought down a tipped pass with one hand and rumbled 27 yards for the score. The Warriors' extra-point kick attempt bounced off the left goal post, however, leaving the score at 17-6 in Sweet Home's favor.

Parker then came back the very next series and snared a pass from Sweet Home's back-up quarterback, junior Michael Wolcott, to quickly get the ball back for the Warriors. Cheektowaga came up short on offense, however, when Sweet Home freshman Mikal Coleman broke through the Warriors' line and hit Piscitello with a football-jarring sack that was recovered by Hopkins.

Wolcott then found senior running back Marcus Johnson two plays later on an 18-yard touchdown strike that pushed the Panthers' lead to 24-6.

"We played up a lot to stop the run, so Sweet Home, having the good coaching staff they have, said 'if they're giving us the pass, let's take it,'" Zipp said. "When they scored, they didn't have to go very far. They didn't have to go out of their way and try anything fancy."

"I don't know of any 17-year old kick who could step in, in a semifinal game, like Michael did last week, in the rain and weather, and then start here at Ralph Wilson Stadium the next week and do the job he did," Faller said. "I don't know of many kids who could've done it. The big thing was, the team stood behind him and gave him the confidence he needed."

Sweet Home got one final touchdown with 4:14 to play when Johnson scored on a 1-yard run to cap the Panthers' victory.

"All our praise tonight goes to the defense," Faller said. "It was a total team win, but our defense … anytime you hold a team to six points, I don't care who it is, you did a great job."

Sweet Home was led by Johnson's 92 yards on 26 carries, while Reese finished with 20 yards on five carries. Wolcott completed 8-of-14 passes for 87 yards, with Reese catching three passes for 56 yards. Defensively, the Panthers were paced by Coleman and senior Nicholas Christman's four tackles each.

Cheektowaga was led by Piscitello, who complete 5-of-18 passes for 72 yards and also ran the ball 15 times for 17 yards. Junior Pat Eck chipped in with 15 yards on six carries, while junior Jaleel Harris caught two passes for 28 yards. Defensively, junior Mike Kiripolski led the Warriors with 10 tackles, while senior Andrew Charvat had nine tackles.

The Warriors finished their record-setting season 8-1 overall and while their final game didn't end the way they were hoping it would, the Warriors have nothing to hang their heads about in the grand scheme of things.

"Once the kids were on the bus and we went home, they had a minute to look at it and realize that they had a great season," Zipp said. "I couldn't be happier with this group of kids. These kids got to experience the school's first-ever trip to the stadium, and that's something that not a lot of kids get to enjoy. We had 26 kids who took advantage of the life lessons that the coaching staff gave them and they had a great year. If they take what they learned and apply it to life, they'll be successful in whatever they do in the future."

Sweet Home (9-0 overall) will now travel to Rochester's Paetec Park to take on Aquinas, which defeated the Panthers, 56-27, in 2002's Far West Regional. Faller is expecting an equally tough challenge this time around, but he doesn't have any doubt that his players will be ready to answer that challenge.

"We'll just be getting a little rest this week," Faller said. "Aquinas is unbeaten and the top-ranked team in the state, and they beat us up pretty good in 2002. I'm expecting a very good team and a very good game this Friday."

e-mail: jnadolinski@beenews.com