FREDONIA — Backup quarterback Mikaela Sciarrino threw for 86 yards and four touchdowns as Fredonia tuned up for the Section VI Class C playoffs with a 40-12 nonleague victory over the Buffalo Public Schools on Thursday at the Orange Bowl.

The Hillbillies already earned the No. 2 seed for the upcoming postseason and will host the winner of No. 10 Holland and No. 7 Health Sciences in the quarterfinals Monday at 7 p.m.

Sciarrino completed 7 of 9 passes with five of them going to Madelyn Polhamus for 70 yards and three touchdowns.

Natalia DiPalma ran 14 times for 66 yards to go over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.

“That’s a testament, not only to her, but her teammates for setting up blocks and carrying out the fakes,” Fredonia co-head coach Nick Bertrando said. “It’s the second straight season we’ve had a 1,000-yard rusher after Francesca Pucci did it in the final game of the regular season last year against Hamburg.”

DiPalma caught three passes for 26 yards and a touchdown Thursday.

Fredonia, which finished the regular season 11-1 overall, led 33-0 at halftime.

Elizabeth Morris had three tackles for a loss, two passes defended and a sack for Fredonia.

“Elizabeth finished first in sacks in all of Western New York,” Bertrando said. “Across all classifications, it’s nice to see the fruits of her labor paying off.”

Gracia Domenico had six flag pulls, one tackle for a loss, and a sack; Polhamus had five flag pulls; and Bryleigh Wicks had two sacks.

“We had a lot of girls get a lot of quality reps tonight,” Bertrando said. “BPS was physical and had some speed. It was a nice way to wrap things up and hopefully prepare us for a playoff push.”

Southwestern finished as the No. 13 seed and will travel to No. 4 Iroquois for a prequarterfinal Saturday. No. 12 Dunkirk will take on No. 5 Buffalo Academy of Science at Nardin Academy. No. 8 Silver Creek/Forestville will host No. 9 Lackawanna.

BLACK KNIGHTS PREVAIL

SILVER CREEK — In a hard-fought nonleague matchup, Silver Creek/Forestville emerged with a 14-0 victory over Dunkirk in a game defined by strong defensive play on both sides.

The scoreboard stayed silent for nearly the entire first half, as each team’s defense held firm. It wasn’t until the final minute of the first half that the Black Knights broke through, finding the end zone just before halftime. A missed extra point left the score at 6-0 heading into the break.

The second half mirrored the first, with both defenses continuing to dominate. But late in the half, Silver Creek extended its lead with a well-placed pass to the back corner of the end zone, followed by a successful 2-point conversion to make it 14-0.

Both teams had their moments on defense, with key takeaways and stops that kept the game close for most of the night. Despite the loss, Dunkirk’s defense showed grit and resilience in a physical contest.

“A lot of the younger girls really stepped up today. We were missing three starters, but the girls weren’t afraid to fill in and rise to the challenge,” Dunkirk head coach Edwin Gomez said. “The sport continues to grow, and it’s great to see the underclassmen stepping up.”