SECTION VI CLASS C CHAMPIONSHIP
Southwestern pitches a shutout
Many contribute to Trojans’ win
Southwestern quarterback Zack Sopak and his double-barreled shotgun offense rolled over Silver Creek, 21-0, to easily take the Section VI Class C championship at Ralph Wilson Stadium Saturday.
The unbeaten Trojans (10-0) out-rushed the Black Knights, 184 yards to 93, and outpassed them, 70-13, in a dominating performance. Southwestern controlled the ball for 28 minutes and 39 seconds of the 40-minute game.
“We spread it around. We’re a really balanced offense and it’s tough to defend us,” said Sopak, who completed three of six passes for 70 yards and gained 50 yards on 15 carries.
Sopak said his confidence grew “after our first touchdown on the toss to Levi [Bursch]” who scored on a 15- yard run late in the first quarter. “Once he got in I knew we had the momentum to take the win,” he said.
Working mostly from a shotgun formation with a running back at his side, Sopak handed off frequently to workhorses Bursch (11 carries, game-high 69 yards) and John Mistretta (10 carries, 36 yards).
“Our line does different things on different plays and they do a great job up front and it just opens holes for our backs,” said Sopak. “This was an amazing feeling; 2004 was our last win here and we brought it back.”
“It was phenomenal just being in here,” Bursch said. “The atmosphere is great and we make big plays when there is such an atmosphere.
“We played them earlier in the season [winning 33-13 on Sept. 12] and we have a lot of respect for them,” Bursch said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game and we had to come out and play. . . . Going into halftime [with a 14-0 lead] we knew if we kept executing we would come out with a win.”
Southwestern coach Jay Sirianni had special praise for his defense.
“Our kids really dug down deep and I thought our kids, especially defensively, played outstanding. Defense was the name of the game,” Sirianni said. “Our front seven did a great job containing [Silver Creek’s] Pat Fuller, one of the better running backs around.”
Fuller led Silver Creek (8-2) with 31 yards on 13 carries.
Sirianni praised Sopak as “a quarterback who can run the ball and throw the ball” and said “we’ve got receivers who can catch the ball and a nice line that is really quick.”
He added, “It’s nice to have that balance [with running backs Bursch and Mistretta] where we can go to a couple different guys. We don’t have a kid with 1,000 yards, but we have three kids that are over 600 yards. We’re hard to defend because we’re so balanced.”
Southwestern scored on its first possession when Bursch took a pitch and ran 15 yards for a touchdown with 5:51 left in the first quarter. His run completed a seven-play, 50-yard drive that was marred only by three low long snaps from center Jeff DeVlieger. Sopak managed to keep the handle on each one and little damage was done.
“It takes him a little bit to get in the groove, but once he gets that groove down, he’s fine,” Sopak said of his center.
The big plays of the drive were a 21-yard pass on third-and-7 from Sopak to Andy Lata and a pass interference penalty that gave Southwestern a first down on Silver Creek’s 14-yard line.
Southwestern went up, 14-0, with 2:23 left in the first half when Sopak scored on a 5-yard run. The TD finished a 12-play, 80-yard drive that featured a 27-yard run by Sopak, a 21- yard pass from Sopak to Lata, and runs of 15 and 13 yards by Bursch.
The Trojans’ final touchdown, with 30 seconds left in the third quarter, came on a 10-yard run by Mistretta. Southwestern’s five-play, 40-yard drive started with Dan Imfeld’s interception of Silver Creek quarterback Cody Hehir’s second-and-9 pass.
The big gain on the drive was a 28- yard pass play from Zopak to Tanner Delahoy to the Silver Creek 15.
Southwestern will play Section V’s LeRoy (10-0) in the Far Western Regionals next Saturday at 10 a. m. at UB Stadium.
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