The East Aurora girls and Grover Cleveland boys soccer teams won Section VI Class B sectional titles Friday night at Amherst's Dimp Wagner Field, but the similarities end there.

For the Blue Devils (16-2-2 overall), who downed Depew, 2-0, it was their third sectional

title in a row, and fourth in the past five years. For the Presidents, who defeated City

Honors, 3-1, in a historic meeting of two Buffalo public schools in a sectional final, it was

their first-ever sectional crown.

"To these kids, this is totally the World Cup," Grover Cleveland coach Telly Forcucci said.

"Not just for these kids, but for the entire city of Buffalo, this is pretty special."

The Presidents (15-1) got a pair of goals from junior Yakub Mohamed just over a minute apart

to open a 3-0 lead in the first half. Mohamed's first goal came after a scramble in front of

the net following a corner kick and seemed to deflate the Centaurs (12-8-1).

"It was just huge for them and hurt our attitude for a few minutes," said first-year City

Honors coach Kurt Holme.

Grover also got a goal from its leading scorer, senior Adan Mukumbira, on a short breakaway

in the first half. Mukumbira, who has 14 goals on the season, later set up Mohamed's second

goal of the game with a long lead pass. Mohamed's 12th of the season made it 3-0 with 8:57 to

play in the first half.

"It was very important to get up," Forcucci said. "We always play with the motto of the

second half is 0-0, and it's a good thing we did."

That's because City Honors controlled play for large stretches in the final 40 minutes, but

could only find the back of the net once against Grover keeper Alexander Toe, when junior Nick

Albarran scored to make it 3-1 with 24:07 left.

"We actually weathered their storm," Forcucci said.

East Aurora continued its winning tradition thanks to a stifling defensive effort —

and the continued big shots of senior midfielder Erin Holbrook. A game after scoring the only

goal in a 1-0 sectional semifinal win over Akron, Holbrook again got the game-winner.

Her perfectly placed free kick from 40 yards out with 12:05 to play in the first half gave

East Aurora a 1-0 lead. Holbrook now has a goal in each postseason game this season for the

fourth-seeded Blue Devils (16-2-2).

"Our team is working together well, and when I've had a chance to put it in the net I've

been able to," Holbrook said.

The Blue Devils picked up a huge insurance goal just 32 seconds into the second half when

sophomore Emma Bracken scored. That allowed East Aurora to play its trademark defensive game,

according to coach Tom Cashmore.

"We were up, 2-0, so even if we made an error that allowed a goal, we have that one-goal

cushion," he said.

East Aurora, which hasn't allowed a goal in the postseason, effectively shadowed Depew senior

Rachael Banasik, who finishes her career as the Wildcats' single-season (37) and career (116)

goal leader.

"They always had help behind. Even if she [Banasik] beat one girl, there was always somebody

else coming. They had girls flying to the ball all night," said Depew coach Larry Jones.

East Aurora next plays at 5 p.m. Friday against the Section V champion, at Dimp Wagner

Field. Grover travels to Section V for the Far West Regionals next weekend at a site to be

determined.