Breaking News
Local Sports

Not dead yet

SC/F in Class D race after knocking off Wilson Friday

By MATT SPIELMAN 5 min read

SILVER CREEK -- A week after Randolph put up over 300 yards rushing in a 42-0 shutout of Silver Creek/Forestville, Wilson -- the New York State Sportswriters Association's second-ranked Class D team -- visited Silver Creek on Friday.

But it was the Black Knights' homecoming.

It was Senior Night.

They'd be up for the game, right?

Well, when the Lakemen's Mason Coulter ran for a 68-yard touchdown on the first play after the opening kickoff, it certainly didn't look like it.

"It's awful. It's absolutely the worst-case scenario," Silver Creek/Forestville head coach Sean Helmer said looking back on the start to the Black Knights' 45-21 victory Monday evening. "Coming off of a pretty tough loss, that puts a lot of doubt in everybody's minds."

It didn't get much better for the Black Knights the remainder of the first half. Wilson quarterback Nick Lemke had a 37-yard touchdown run and Coulter later added a 4-yard score as the Lakemen took a 21-8 lead into halftime.

"We were able to do the things we wanted to do. We had a couple of penalties that hurt us and some mistakes," Helmer said. "They played well. I have to give them credit as well. I thought their running back was a really good player.

"The kids rallied. We had a score called back, we fizzled one time inside the 15. We were right there. It probably should've been tied at halftime," Helmer added. "We were doing some good things, we were just shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit."

Silver Creek/Forestville did a lot more good things in the second half.

After converting a fourth-and-3 at their own 40-yard line on the first drive of the second half, the Black Knights made it a 21-16 game on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Will Duliba to Dom Anders.

"We were trying to create some of our own momentum," Helmer said of the fourth-down chance. "It was a pretty long, sustained drive."

Silver Creek/Forestville never looked back from there as Sanchez added touchdown runs of 8, 2 and 18 yards before Andrew Arnold capped the 37-0 second half with a 22-yard scoring scamper of his own.

"It's high school football and momentum plays a big part. When we scored on that first drive, the kids got excited," Helmer said. "We had a good defensive series on their first drive and from there we really moved the ball well."

The Black Knights finished with over 450 yards of offense. Sanchez ran 30 times for 192 yards and four touchdowns. Duliba completed 23 of 37 passes for 214 yards with Jake Anders making 12 catches for 123 yards.

"To not be one dimensional is huge. Will and our receivers did a really great job. That helped keep the defense off balance and that obviously helps Manny as well," Helmer said. "Our guys blocked well. I hate to say it's that simple, but that's a lot of it."

Maybe even more impressive than Silver Creek/Forestville's offense was its defense, which posted a second-half shutout. Alex Januchowski had nine tackles and Dom Anders had eight while Collin Morabito had two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Jake Anders also intercepted a pass.

"We tackled better, plain and simple. We were able to limit them from throwing the ball at all. They became kind of one dimensional,” Helmer said. "We had some poor tackling in the first half, but the kid was a tough back. In the second half we really rallied to the football to put them in some downs and distances that weren't favorable to them."

The Black Knights entered the season with high hopes for an experienced group of skilled position players. A 2-3 start that included a 1-2 record in Class D play may have dampened those expectations. Now, after knocking off the No. 2 team in the state, Silver Creek/Forestville has a nonleague contest against St. Mary's on Saturday before closing its regular season with Franklinville/Ellicottville on Friday, Oct. 23. That game will likely decide a home field for a quarterfinal playoff game.

"The kids are definitely in a better place. It was Senior Night, it was homecoming," Helmer said. "I'm really happy for the guys to bounce back. When we are right, I think we are as good as anybody. When we're not right, in D I think anybody can beat you.

"Our message to them now is: How do you earn a home game?"

Wilson 7 14 0 0 -- 21

Silver Creek/Forestville 0 8 16 21 -- 45

Wil--Coulter 68 run (Woodward kick)

Wil--Lemke 37 run (Woodward kick)

SC/F--Sanchez 6 run (Duliba run)

Wil--Coulter 4 run (Woodward kick)

SC/F--DAnders 9 pass from Duliba (Morabito pass from Duliba)

SC/F--Sanchez 8 run (DAnders pass from Duliba)

SC/F--Sanchez 2 run (conversion failed)

SC/F--Sanchez 18 run (Sanchez run)

SC/F--Arnold 22 run (Skinner kick)

Starting at /week.