“I haven’t had a season like this,” admitted Langworthy, now in his 15th year at the helm. “This was (at the beginning), ‘Let’s see where we’re at. I think we can be pretty good, but we’re not good yet.'”

Eleven weeks later his opinion has changed a bit.

“We’re pretty good now.”

It’s hard to argue that point.

P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Winners of nine straight games and ranked sixth in the latest New York State Sportswriters Association Class A poll, Jamestown (9-2) hits the road today for a 6 p.m. Far West Regional showdown at No. 9 Hilton (10-1). The winner advances to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday at Section IV Union-Endicott, which advanced to the semis by virtue of 42-7 victory over Section III West Genesee last Friday.

“Sometimes as a coach you want to be good in August, you want to be good in July and especially the first week in September,” Langworthy said. “But sometimes you just have to focus on growth and trying to get to the next step.

“Anyone who has followed our team can see we’ve made a lot of growth and that’s because we have great kids who buy into what we’re doing, and we have coaches who are working really hard, putting in the time looking at what we do well, what we don’t do and what we have to tweak. There’s always an evaluative process.”

By any measure, the 2022 Red Raiders enter tonight’s contest playing their best football of the season.

You can look it up.

Jamestown running back Carsen Bane (20) finds clear sailing into the end zone during the Section VI Class A championship game against Williamsville North at Highmark Stadium. P-J photo by Tim Frank

Since nonleague losses at Class AA Lancaster (16-9) and at Class AA Orchard Park (47-35), Jamestown has been on a roll, outscoring their opponents 426-131, including playoff victories over West Seneca West (33-15), Kenmore West (55-8) and Williamsville North (34-0). The latter win was for the Section VI championship, which was the Red Raiders’ 14th in school history and Langworthy’s fourth.

To get to tonight’s Far West Regional — the originally scheduled game last Saturday was postponed because of weather — it’s been truly a team effort.

Offensively, senior quarterback Trey Drake has been spectacular, completing 60% of his passes (159 of 266) for 2,315 yards and 27 touchdowns. He has thrown just one interception. Junior running back Carsen Bane leads the ground attack with 1,058 yards and 13 touchdowns and is complemented by senior Radon Wright (87-625-4). Drake’s favorite targets are senior Darius Freeney, who has 43 receptions for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns; sophomore Carson Panebianco (40-670); senior Colin Melendez (38-440-6); and senior Sean O’Brien (32-424-1). Helping the skill-position players make their impact is a line that includes senior Aric Bloomquist, junior Aiden Deveraux, junior Cole Joly, senior Brandon Lobb and sophomore Aziyon Wilson-Earll (see related story on Page B1).

Defensively, O’Brien has had one of the finest seasons in school history, amassing a school-record 191 tackles, including 36 for loss, and five sacks from his linebacker spot. Senior Mason McVinney (111 tackles) and Bane (101 tackles) have also been stout defenders.

On special teams, junior Ella Propheter has converted 57 point-after kicks, while Melendez is averaging 36 yards per punt.

Ella Propheter, out of the hold of Trey Drake, boots an extra point. P-J file photo by Tim Frank

“So much of this is mindset now,” Langworthy said. ” … We need to seize the moment, take advantage of it.”

To do so, they’ll have to find a way to knock off Hilton, which claimed its third Section V title in school history and its first in 28 years by routing Webster Schroeder 40-7.

Playing in torrential rain, the Cadets’ Jeff Broadnax and Robert Lowry combined for 356 rushing yards and four touchdowns against the Warriors (10-1), who had beaten Hilton 21-14 in Week 1 of the regular season. In its 11 games, Hilton has outscored its opponents 461-163.

“Hilton was much more physical in a game where that was necessary because of the weather,” Langworthy said. “Hilton is very good, they’re very tough, they don’t make a lot of mistakes and they force you to tackle them, which is a big piece of the game. … They have all the elements necessary to be a champion, so it’s a big challenge for us.”

And one that Langworthy, who turned 42 last Monday, certainly welcomes.

“It’s the fourth time in my life that I’ve practiced football on my birthday as a coach,” he said. “I told the kids, ‘Don’t buy me anything. I’m preparing for a game.’ This is pretty special.”

NOTES: Jamestown won the Class A Far West Regional game last season, downing Canandaigua 35-14 at Strider Field. The Red Raiders lost in the state semifinal to Christian Brothers Academy 20-18 at Cicero-North Syracuse. … The Red Raiders have won state championships in 1994, 1995, 2000 and 2014. The first three titles were under former head coach Wally Huckno. The last one was under Langworthy.