Aquinas wins in final seconds, Irondequoit clinches playoffs: Section V's top games Friday

With hopes of clinching a playoff berth, Irondequoit forced a pair of turnovers to take a 20-point lead nine minutes into Week 7's Section V Class A bout at Webster Schroeder.

While the Warriors stormed back to close within one, big plays by Cameron Freeman in the fourth ended any comeback attempt as Irondequoit held on for a 36-27 win Friday night to secure a postseason slot.

Freeman scored two touchdowns and picked off two passes on defense. His fourth quarter touchdown extended the Eagles' (6-1) lead to nine, and his interception on the ensuing defensive possession stopped a Schroeder comeback attempt.

Isaiah Ballard, who typically plays tight end, starred as the Eagles' wildcat quarterback. He registered three total touchdowns, throwing two to Steven Clinkscales, who made his debut start at quarterback.

"I tell everybody we've got great kids," Irondequoit coach Dan Fichter said. "We have fantastic human beings that just so happens to be pretty good football players."

Webster Schroeder coach Mike Stumpf's Warriors fell to 3-4. A section finalist in 2022, the Warriors will enter Week 8 in an extremely tight playoff race and may need some help. Quarterback Drew Hilfiker threw for four touchdowns on 43 pass attempts. He connected with Gavin Horton on two touchdowns, Aydin Stephens on another, and Anthony DeRosa on his fourth score, which helped Schroeder only trail Irondequoit 28-27 after falling behind 20-0. Tyler Washington had over 100 yards receiving and helped move the chains against zone coverage.

Aquinas 17, Hilton 10

A 44-yard touchdown pass thrown by Trent Buttles to Alexis Rosado with 38 seconds remaining extended the winning streak for Aquinas to four games.

"I can’t be more happy and prouder," first year Aquinas coach Maurice Jackson said. "We're doing this with a freshman quarterback. We're doing this sophomore and junior receivers and a junior running back.

"It’s a lot of fun to see the smiles on their faces when they are leaving games. We didn’t have those smiles last year. I was on the staff. They are learning some good football on both sides of the ball."

Aquinas (5-2) was at the Hilton 34-yard line after a nine-yard scramble by Buttles for a first down, but was pushed back the next play by a holding penalty.

Buttles lined up in a shotgun formation with running back Derrion Battle on his left, caught the snap from center and dropped back into the Aquinas side of the field.

There was a pass rush by the Hilton Cadets, but Buttles ran forward and then to his right through an opening before he threw the ball. Rosado waved his hands after he stopped behind the Hilton defense and then waited for the ball, that was out of the reach of a defender.

Hilton (5-2) has lost two games in a row after falling last week to Section V Class AA champion McQuaid, winner of the last four titles in this classification. The Cadets were state semifinalists in Class A last season.

Aquinas took the first lead in this matchup on the team's homefield, after Joshua Campbell kicked a 35-yard field goal with 3:15 remaining in the opening quarter. Hilton evened the score early in the second, when freshman Tyler Reger made a 25-yard field goal.

Aquinas retook the lead with 2:55 remaining in the second. Buttles let a throw go to freshman Noah Collins-Howard, who caught the pass for a 32-yard touchdown as he ran along the team's sideline. Aquinas led 10-3 at halftime.

Hilton senior running back Robert Lowry has had a knack for reaching the end zone this season. He helped the Cadets get there in this game with his arm, as he completed a pass to Luke Lockhart for a 22-yard touchdown with 8:35 remaining in the third quarter.

The Aquinas and Hilton defenses turned back fourth down conversion attempts during the game. Aquinas made it to the Hilton 1-yard line before the Cadets stopped the threat to score with 2:54 remaining in the third.

Aquinas freshman defensive back Thomas Levans III intercepted a Hilton pass attempt on third down, at the Aquinas 17, the start point of the game-winning drive.

Churchville-Chili 21, Webster Thomas 14

The Saints finished a drive to five wins after they scored two touchdowns in the third quarter of this game in Section V Class A.

Churchville-Chili (5-2) took a 14-7 lead in the third quarter after Jacob Szczepanski scored on an eight-yard run. A second touchdown run in the game by Ricardo Lagares, this one from six yards out, launched the Saints to a 21-7 lead.

Newark/Marion 41, Midlakes 7

Kellen Foster, a senior at Newark, scored five touchdowns, four 50 yards or more, to give independent Newark/Marion a fifth win in six games.

Foster opened the scoring against Midlakes (1-5) with a 50-yard touchdown run with 7:58 remaining in the first quarter. The next quarter, Foster was in the end zone again for Newark/Marion (5-1) after a six-yard run and connected with quarterback Alex Bernardi for a 54-yard touchdown reception.

Midlakes kicked off the second half, and Foster returned the ball 75 yards for his touchdown. His 42-yard touchdown run a short time later in the third helped make the score 34-0.

LeRoy 42, Livonia 21

LeRoy began to put up big numbers in the first quarter, and never really stopped during this game between teams in Class C.

The Oatkan Knights scored the first five times their offense had the ball. A run game is what the Oatkan Knights are known for, but quarterback Tommy Condidorio threw a six-yard pass and another to Cal Koukides for a 60-yard pass play for touchdowns.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V football: Top games from Friday Oct. 13 2023