Kyle Meier shines again, but Whitesboro season ends in heartbreaking loss to West Genesee
Whitesboro’s star quarterback had another shining performance, but the Warriors fell to West Genesee 35-28 in the Section III Class A semifinals.
Written by Noah Ram, Observer-Dispatch sports reporter, Utica News Guild member
Kyle Meier came up one yard short.
The Whitesboro junior carried the Warriors on his back all season and received the rock on a 4th and 3 with under four minutes left in the Class A semifinal vs. West Genesee.
But the Wildcats pounced on the quarterback as they had done most of the second half.
Meier fell to the ground at the West Genny two-yard line, writhing in pain with an apparent upper body injury.
WG took over and controlled the ball the rest of the game, defeating Whitesboro 35-28 to advance to the Section III Class A final vs. Fayetteville-Manlius next Friday night at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse.
“We lost to a good team with a bunch of good players,” Whitesboro coach Curtis Schmidt said. “It was an emotional game, but our guys played their hearts out.”
“We lost to a good team with a bunch of good player. It was an emotional game, but our guys played their hearts out.”
Whitesboro defeated West Genesee 27-26 in week zero, but that felt like a lifetime ago given how much each team changed throughout the season.
The rapid emergence of Meier was one of those changes, and the junior exploded out of the gate with a 52-yard TD run down the left sideline on the sixth play from scrimmage.
The first quarter and a half favored Whitesboro. The Warriors led 21-6 after a Meier TD to Tony Dorozynski, his ninth receiving of the year.
Meier displayed his dominance on the ground in the team’s first meeting and that held up again in the first half. He had 166 rushing and 40 passing yards at the intermission.
The Warriors drove down the field again just before halftime and faced a fourth down at the WG 19. Schmidt chose to send out Simon Kichuk, who was called up from JV during the week, for the field goal.
The freshman had the leg, but barely missed the kick. Whitesboro took a 21-13 lead into the break.
Schmidt said he doesn’t regret the decision since the team planned for a field goal situation at practice this week.
“He’s got a bright future, and it was well within his range,” Schmidt said. “That would have been a huge momentum change, but we were still up at halftime, and it’s our job to finish games.”
The Wildcats began the latter half with a 40 yard TD from RB Francisco Cross less than two minutes into the third.
After a critical first down penalty pushed Whitesboro behind after it got the ball back, F-M claimed its first lead after a 34 yard dash from QB Vincent Firenze.
The Wildcats appeared to generate a new defensive scheme in the second half, which made yards much harder to come by for Meier. He ran for 115 yards, but only completed one pass for 10 yards.
In general, the game slowed down in the later half. Whitesboro manufactured just three drives and West Genesee four.
Whitesboro, through Meier, eventually scratched and clawed his way to the lead. He ran the ball every play of the drive, capped off by a 43-yard TD to put WB ahead 28-27.
With the crowd reenergized and WG facing a 3rd and 26, the Warriors seemed right back in the thick of it.
Cross had other thoughts.
The senior took a screen pass 86 yards to the house. A two-point conversion later, and the ‘Cats led by seven, their largest lead of the night.
Schmidt said big plays characterized the game, and West Genny earned one more than Whitesboro did.
“Kyle had some big runs, but we knew their defense was going to be an issue,” he said. “Offensively we moved the ball well, but it came down to needing one more stop, and they got it, and we didn’t.”
The largest stop occurred on the fourth down near the goal line, the culmination of a 16-play drive. Meier ran or threw the ball on all but one the first play.
Schmidt noted he yearned to get others involved, but Meier’s pure talent stopped him.
“Having your QB run gives you a numbers advantage all the time,” he said. “When you got a horse, you ride him, and he built his body to be ready for this, and we’re going to ride him until he’s gone.”
West Genny took over after the turnover on downs and gashed a devastated Whitesboro defense, especially after Meier’s injury. A 44-yard run from Cross with less than two minutes left put the game on ice.
Cross finished with three TDs and 123 rushing and 86 receiving yards. Firenze meanwhile landed at 133 rushing and 199 passing yards with two rushing and one passing TD of his own.
With the return of Meier, Dorozynski and other key pieces, Schmidt sees a bright future for the Warriors, which he added the seniors helped instill.
“I feel for the seniors, and they may not know it now, but they set the tone for years to come. They’ve allowed us to make certain changes that are going to stick with the program for years.””
“I feel for the seniors, and they may not know it now, but they set the tone for years to come,” Schmidt said. “They’ve allowed us to make certain changes that are going to stick with the program for years.”
Schmidt concluded with a bold declaration.
“We are going to go on a run,” he said. “I’ll guarantee that.”
About Noah Ram
Noah Ram (left) is a unit member at the Utica News Guild. While normally the sports reporter for the Utica Observer-Dispatch, he is joining News Guild members across the country in a one-day walkout on Nov. 4. Follow him on Twitter at @Noah_ram1
Dolgeville headed to Section 3 football finals after trouncing Mount Markham
By H. Rose Schneider, Observer-Dispatch public safety reporter, Utica News Guild chair
Dolgeville will head to The Dome next weekend for Class D Section III football finals after defeating Mount Markham 28-8 Friday night at Central Valley Academy in Ilion.
While the game began with a touchdown and successful two-point conversion by Mount Markham, Dolgeville quickly caught up. Senior running back Jared Bilinski scored three touchdowns, running the last 36 yards to score the final one of the night before the Blue Devils held off the Mustangs for the last 11 minutes of the game.
Dolgeville Coach Daniel Zilkowski credited their win to the offense’s finishing drives, but also especially the defense’s response.
“Dolgeville is predicated on defense,” he said. “Defense wins championships.”
Mount Markham Coach Loren Winegard said the Mustangs played hard even through adversity, including some injuries during the game.
“We’re really proud of our seniors and how they led our team to the end,” he said, adding of the team, “They played hard to the end.”
The two teams last faced each other Oct. 15. Dolgeville, the top seed for Class D, defeated Mount Markham 6-0. Next Friday, they’ll go on to face Beaver River in Section III finals 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse.
“We will go home and start breaking down the film strips and start getting ready for next week’s opponent,” Zilkowski said, but added, “Tomorrow morning. Tonight, I’m going to enjoy this.”
H. Rose Schneider
H. Rose Schneider is the unit chair at the Utica News Guild. While normally the public safety and breaking news reporter for the Utica Observer-Dispatch, they are joining News Guild members across the country in a one-day walkout on Nov. 4. Follow her on Twitter at @OD_Schneider.
Section 3 football round-up: Fayetteville-Manlius, Christian Brothers Academy advance to finals
No. 1 Fayetteville-Manlius 40, No. 4 New Hartford 21
New Hartford’s first foray back into Class A ended Friday night with a 40-21 loss to top-seeded Fayetteville-Manlius on the road. The Hornets will play third-seeded West Genesee next Friday night in the Class A final from the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse.
This was the first meeting between the two squads this season, and Spartan coach Jim Kramer said the Hornets play as good as advertised.
“We gave ourselves opportunities throughout the game to take the lead, and I’m just proud of how we competed,” Kramer said.
F-M led wire to wire and controlled the game, but NH kept fighting back. It was 20-14 and halftime and 34-21 in the fourth quarter.
Hornets RB TJ Conley entered the week leading Section III in rush yards, and he excelled once again with five TDs, including one from 90 yards out.
Kramer said New Hartford shut him down better than other squads this season.
“He still figured out how to make some momentum changing plays,” he said. “He’s a heck of a football player.”
On the other side, Alex Collver ran for a long TD in the final high school game for the all-state RB. He also threw a touchdown pass to junior Cole Raux.
The Spartans continued their recent trend of throwing more, and Kramer was impressed by what he witnessed from Dominic Ambrose.
“He took what the defense gave us, and that allowed us to keep some of the attention off our run game, which is our focal point,” he said. “We improved that part of our game as the year went on.”
In the final game for Collver, Ambrose and other seniors, Kramer credited them for restoring NH’s winning tradition.
“They won 19 games in three seasons, and one of those was shorten because of COVID,” he said. “So, they’ve played pivotal roles and helped lay the groundwork for younger players in our program.”
No. 1 Christian Brothers Academy 42, No. 4 Proctor 8
Proctor’s season ended one game further than 2021 as the Raiders fell 42-8 to CBA Friday night on the road. The Brothers advanced to the Class AA Section III final next Sunday night vs defending AA section champion C-NS.
Sickness plagued the Raiders during the week, and coach Steve Strife said even though much of the team suited up, the issue hung over the team.
“We had 12-15 kids who didn’t feel well,” Strife said. “We didn’t practice like we normally would. It would have been a tall task beating CBA, and it was even tougher when we had a bunch of guys who didn’t feel well.”
Strife added that the team was forced to call up some players from JV and assemble a special teams unit Friday night.
Due to these factors, the score appears like the two team’s first meeting on Sept. 9, a 44-6 Brothers win, but Strife knows his group played better this time around.
“We cut the score to 21-8, and we got the ball back, and we just couldn’t punch it in,” he said. “The next play, they scored a 62-yard touchdown and knocked the wind out of our sails.”
QB Todd Abraham threw for 96 yards and rushed for another 30, a massive improvement from his first game vs CBA.
Senior Domonte Cook shined on offense. The RB took the primary role from Magic Johnson due to Johnson’s illness and ran for 107 yards.
Strife noted Cook’s always maintained this ability.
“Other than Todd, he’s probably been our best player on offense,” he said. “We could have played him all year long, and he’d probably be the best running back in the area, but we used him on defense, sweeping the ball, catching the ball.”
The Brothers were dealt a massive blow in the second quarter when star QB Jordan Rae, who was 6/9 for 166 yards and three TDs, left the game with a broken collarbone.
Rae, who threw for 2,362 yards this season, is done for the year.
Overall, Proctor won a playoff game for the first time in three seasons, and Strife attributed that to the seniors on the team, such as Abraham, Cook and Johnson.
“They do whatever is asked for this team, they are great kids who play hard,” he said. “Every year, there’s seniors and then the juniors become seniors, so moving forward, it’s about how hard you work in the offseason.”
Other Friday night Section III football scores
Class B
No. 1 Indian River 22, No. 4 Central Valley Academy 6
No. 2 Homer 64, No. 3 Camden 40
Class D
No. 2 Beaver River 29, No. 3 Little Falls 6
8-Man
No. 1 Morrisville-Eaton 20, No. 4 West Canada Valley 14
No. 2 Frankfort-Schuyler 52, No. 3 Bishop Grimes 14
