Southwestern overcomes Eden's strong effort
Trojans' win streak reaches 26 games
Conventional wisdom suggested Southwestern would end the worst-to-first season of Eden in swift, humiliating fashion Saturday afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
The Trojans did in fact end Eden's championship dreams but the Section VI Class C final played before an estimated 1,000 was anything but a quick decision.
It was a battle to the end, and the defending state champions indeed know they were in a football game. But whatever pain the Trojans may be currently experiencing would have felt worse had the Raiders ended their championship reign.
Senior quarterback Zack Sopak accounted for 308 yards and two touchdown runs, while junior running back John Mistretta rushed for 114 yards and a score as Southwestern defeated Eden, 21-8, to win its second straight sectional championship.
Sopak, the MVP of last year's state final, made plays with his arm and legs in helping the Trojans extend the state's longest active winning streak to 26 games. Sopak rushed for a game-high 124 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and completed 9-of-18 passes for 184.
Sopak's 25-yard TD run with 6:22 left in the third quarter gave Southwestern the lead for good but it took a huge goal-line stand after that to wrap up a spot in next Saturday's Far West Regional at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester against Section V champion Letchworth (10-0).
"That was really a true battle," Trojans senior lineman Jasen Carlson said. "Just being able to come out on top really means a lot. It feels great [to win, again], back-to-back baby."
"That was a great team we just played," Sopak added.
Eden coach Chuck Tilley said prior to the final his team would make sure the state's top-ranked Class C team knew it was in a game. The Raiders served notice they weren't going away when Alex Shea (14 carries, 114 yards) scored on a 21-yard run with 2:07 left in the second quarter. Kyle Zittel's conversion pass to Evan Zittel tied the game at 8.
While the Raiders came in having allowed the fewest points (18) in the section, Southwestern's defense made the play of the game with 9:45 left. A host of defenders, led by Pat Langworthy and Ryan Buzzetto (seven tackles) swarmed Brett Ebling on a fourth-and-goal run from the 1 for no gain to thwart a 19-play, 64-yard drive that ate up 8:28.
"That was a big turn in the game," Shea said. "If we would've put it in there, it would've been a toe-to-toe game right at the end."
"It was just an outstanding effort all around," winning coach Jay Sirianni said. "We moved [2008 state Player of the Year] Jasen [Carlson] over to that side and they happened to run to that side. We got a nice push and didn't give up because that kid was fighting with everything he had."
Eden's defense could only bend so often against a team that came in averaging 37.3 points per game. Southwestern, which churned out 240 of its 437 yards of offense in the opening 24 minutes, found the end zone on two of its three second-half possessions (the last drive was a kneeldown with 30 seconds left).
The Trojans took the opening kickoff 80 yards on 11 plays in 5:38. Sopak was at his play-making best on this drive, completing a huge 11-yard pass to Nick Austin on third-and-9 from his own 21. He also hooked up with Levi Bursch on a 13-yard completion on second-and-14 later in the drive.
Southwestern held the ball for nearly 15 minutes in the second half, leading in time of possession overall by 28:45 to 19:15.
"I know we gave it our all. In the end we just couldn't stop their offense," Shea said. "It's a long way from 2-6 last year to making it to the stadium this year. ... It kind of stinks that we lost but we gave it our all."
Mistretta's 24-yard TD run with 1:24 left sealed things, giving Southwestern's fans a chance to pack for the first of what they hope will be three long road trips.
"This is a nice win," Sirianni said. "Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win a sectional championship. We never said anything about a state championship ... because you cannot come into a season with a goal to win a state championship because you will fail 99 percent of the time. Once you get past your section, now you can focus [on states]. ... We'll see what we can do."
"It feels great. We just have to keep up the good work," Mistretta said.
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