![]() |
Cal-Mum Football 2010 |
|
We're Back! Raiders 54 Avon 14 It has been seven long years since the Cal-Mum Red Raiders have hoisted a Section V Championship trophy. For a Cal-Mum football program that is steeped in tradition, seven years is an eternity. The championship was especially gratifying being that the victim was the Raiders’ rival to the east, the Avon Braves. The past two years the Braves have ended the Raiders’ season, but this year, this game, and that trophy belong to Cal-Mum. The Championship is the 14th Sectional Title for Cal-Mum and it moves them into a tie with LeRoy for the most sectional titles in Section V history. The 1st half performance by the Raiders could be described as almost perfect. The Raiders” offense scored on six of their first seven possessions. Meanwhile the Raiders’ defense was ferocious as the Braves were unable to even record a 1st down until after the Raiders had already put three touchdowns up on the scoreboard. The Braves who were playing without their leading rusher Rich Welch were also victimized by their mistakes. A 2nd quarter fumble recovery by Chris Riggi was turned into Raider points and a great interception by Jon Cappotelli, who stepped in front of an Avon receiver and returned it 46-yards, to the Avon 2-yard line. Trevor Haut went the final 2-yards, as he would bull his way into the end zone for a Raider score. Dan Whiteside also stripped an Avon ball carrier and the fumble recovery by Kyle Sickles would pretty much cap off the 1st half carnage as Braves exited the field looking up at a 41 to 0 score. The Braves received the opening kickoff and were immediately pressured by the Raider defense. The Braves ended the series with -5-yards of offense. A Braves’ punt would give Cal-Mum a drive start at the CM 44-yard line. Tyler Lauffer immediately ripped off a 14-yard run and on the next play. Lauffer blew through the Braves defense on his way to a 42-yard touchdown run. Jon Cappotelli ran the 2-point conversion in and with 9:26 left in the 1st quarter Cal-Mum was quickly on top 8 to 0. The Raider defense again stuffed Avon’s second offensive series, forcing the punt. Tyler Lauffer again came up big as he returned the Braves’ punt 30-yards to the Avon 20-yard line. The Raiders quickly struck again as Jon Cappotelli took the first play hand-off for an 8-yard gain before breaking into the end zone on the next play, a 12-yard TD run. The 2-point conversion was no good and the score stood at 14 to 0 with 7:24 remaining in the 1st quarter. The Raider defense kept up the pressure forcing the Braves once again into a 3 and out series. Starting at the CM 33-yard line, the Raiders began pounding the ball at the Avon defensive front. Cappotelli, Haut, and Lauffer all took turns carrying the ball during the Raiders’ 3rd offensive series. Picking up yardage in 6 and 7-yard chunks, the Raiders ate up the yardage and burned the clock. Trevor Haut would cash in the 10-play drive on a 1-yard plunge, giving the Raiders a 20 to 0 lead. Avon’s offense would finally start getting some
forward progress as the 1st quarter came to a close. A nice 10-yard pass from Braves’
quarterback James Stanton to Brandon Fuentes opened the 2nd quarter and moved the ball
into Raider territory at the CM 44-yard line. A big sack by Jon Kemnitz would derail
the promising Braves drive, forcing Avon to punt.
Brandon Fuentes’ excellent 51-yard punt gave the
Raiders poor field position at the CM 2-yard line. Cal-Mum’s Coach Mike Monacelli had
the Raiders’ offense run hard right at the Braves defensive front, moving the ball out
from the shadow of the Cal-Mum goal posts. Avon would eventually stop the drive at the
CM 27-yard line, forcing the Raider s to punt. The Raider punt team was on the spot when
the Avon punt returner bobbled the ball and Chris Riggi came up with the fumble at the
Avon 49-yard line. The Raiders went to the “Wildcat” offense and
started running the ball as Madison Suhr manned the wildcat position. Once again the
Raiders were picking up good yardage every play as they moved the ball down the field.
Trevor Haut would take the ball the final yard for the Raider touchdown. Jon Cappotelli’s
12-yard run for the 2-point conversion bumped the score up to 28 to 0. It was not looking good for Avon and it was about
to get even worse. Staring at a 28 to 0 disadvantage and with just 3:39 left in the half,
Avon would have to rely on the pass to get back into the game. Jon Cappotelli jumped the
first pass on the next Avon series, and took the interception down the Avon sideline to the
Avon 2-yard line. Trevor Haut would carry the ball for the last 2-yards and give Cal-Mum a
34 to 0 advantage. The Red Raider Express was not yet finished as the
Cal-Mum defense shut down Avon’s offense forcing a punt. With 0:49 left in the 1st half,
the Raiders stuck the dagger into the Braves with a 40-yard pass play from Matt Hartford
to Madison Suhr, down to the Avon 2-yard line. Cody Preston tacked on the 41st Raider
point. The Raiders closed out the 1st half with Dan
Whiteside stripping the ball carrier and Kyle Sickles recovering the fumble. The
Raiders ended the most dominating 1st half in recent memory by taking a knee, which
gave the Raiders a 41 to 0 halftime score. The Raiders opened the 2nd half with the starters
playing the 1st offensive series. Again playing “smash mouth” football the Raiders were
content to just run the ball at the Braves front. Trevor Haut would record his 4th TD of
the game on a 7-yard run. Cody Preston added the extra-point for a 48 to o bulge. The Raider 2nd team players entered the contest after
the first offensive series of the 2nd half and got some good playoff experience. The
Raiders were moving the ball when Avon’s Brandon Fuentes would steal the ball from a
Raider ball carrier, which set-up the Braves offense up with good field position at
the CM 25-yard line. James Avon would break the scoreless drought when James Stanton
would connect with Fuentes on the next play for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The same two
players would again connect on the 2-point conversion and the Braves were on the board,
48 to 8. The Raider reserves were making good progress
moving the ball and running down the clock on a 13-play drive. Relying mainly on the
running of Solomon Gominiak and Jon Voos, the Raiders had moved into scoring position.
The drive appeared to be stalled at the Avon 16-yard line. Facing a 4th down and 11, the
Raiders had Christian Hallett execute a quarterback naked rollout and the shifty Hallett
would out run the Avon secondary into the Braves’ end zone. The extra-point attempt was
blocked as the score stood at Cal-Mum 54, Avon 8. To the Braves’ credit, they would continue to
play hard. Entering the 4th quarter, Avon quickly moved the ball into scoring position
as James Stanton hit first Brandon Fuentes with a 49-yard pass and then Miles McGowan
with a 12-yard pass completion. The Braves’ drive unfortunately ended with no score
when Steve Gaffney was able to latch onto a deflected pass in the end zone for a
Raider interception. The Raider reserves were on the move again in the
4th quarter when a fumble stopped a promising drive at the Avon 12-yard line. James
Stanton was again throwing the ball all over the field. A 37-yard completion to Zach
Pumputis was followed by a 20-yard completion to Brandon Fuentes. James Stanton found
Brandon Fuentes in the end zone for a 16-yard TD reception to close out the scoring
for the night. With 0:42 showing on the clock, the Raiders began celebrating a 54 to
14 victory over the Avon Braves. Jon Cappotelli and Tyler Lauffer led the Raiders
offensively with 123 and 113 rushing yards of the Raiders’ 465-yards of rushing offense.
Trevor Haut led the Raiders in scoring with four touchdowns. Adam Baldeck had a strong
defensive effort with 10 tackles, followed by Dan Whiteside and Jon Kemnitz with 8
tackles each. For Avon, offensively, James Stanton accounted
for 176-yards of passing offense. Brandon Fuentes had a nice game with 5 catches, good
for 107 yards receiving. On the defensive side of the ball for Avon, Dan Welch had a
monster game with 17 tackles while Brandon Fuentes chip in with 11 tackles. The Raiders return to Marina Auto Stadium this
coming Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. to take on the Class D Champion Dundee Scotsmen.
The winner of this contest will represent Section V in the NYS Class D High School
Championships, which start the following weekend. From this point forward it is simple,
win or go home! The Raider Nation has been down this road before. There was a good
crowd for the Sectional Championship and we again need to have a strong showing at
Marina Auto Stadium this coming Friday night. It’s “Raider Time”….be there!
Scoring Summary
|