Big 3rd quarter lifts Bombers in opener: Section V's top games from Saturday

Sure, East Rochester/Gananda may have scored 50 points in Saturday's season opener.

But the Bombers, who are on a quest for a third straight finals appearance, only led Lyons/Sodus by three at halftime. That's when coach Tim Rose and his coaching staff gave East Rochester/Gananda some motivation and adjustments, which led to three straight third quarter touchdowns, and a 50-35 Section V Class C win Saturday night at Don Quinn Field.

Cadearell Sneed Jr. scored two of his four total touchdowns in the third. His 37-yard run gave the Bombers (1-0) a 44-19 lead. Ben Newman, the Aquinas transfer who threw for four touchdowns, found Monroe transfer Noah Mather for two second half touchdowns. Sneed and Miles Caviness caught the other two. Caviness, a holdover from the 2021 championship team, caught his 26-yard touchdown despite being heavily defended up the sideline.

Lyons/Sodus coach Brad Steve has a talented team and a huge line, but the Lions have limited reserves and appeared fatigued late. Junior Stefonn Pinkston was just one their studs. He had three touchdown carries and the kick he returned inside the red zone set up Devyn Williams' score.

"Lyons has pretty good athletes," Rose said. "Our message at halftime was to be aggressive, go get it, and do our job. We missed a lot of assignments early on, lining up incorrectly. We had to fix those things, and said, 'If you play within the system we'll be all right.'"

Batavia 46, Norwich 30

Two-time defending Section V Class B champion Blue Devils trailed 20-7 in the first quarter.

Batavia's deficit was 20-19 at halftime, and the Blue Devils went ahead to stay on the team's first possession of the second half. Bronx Buchholz, a quarterback in his junior year season at Batavia, connected with younger brother Maggie Buchholz for a 58-yard touchdown.

"They totally stacked the box (put a lot of defensive players near the line of scrimmage) to stop the running game," first-year Batavia coach Alex Veltz said. "They forced us to pivot. That wasn't the game plan, to throw for 364 yards (with four touchdowns).

"A lot of big plays. They basically dared us to throw. We answered. We still had 200 yards on the ground."

A turnover on downs near midfield was how Norwich's opening second half drive began. The Batavia Blue Devils then began expanding their lead. Batavia senior Mekhi Fortes sprung free for a 66-yard touchdown run in the second half.

"Pretty ecstatic to get that done," Veltz said. "We had to claw ourselves out of a hole.

"The kids never quit. That was huge."

Waverly 41, Honeoye Falls-Lima 19

The Wolverines from Section IV or Binghamton/Elmira region, led by senior quarterback Joey Tomasso, turned back the visiting Honeoye Falls-Lima Cougars.

"He's really good," HF-L coach John Russ said. "We played with them, we moved the ball.

"We turned the ball over."

HF-L had at least one promising scoring drive end with a fumble inside the Waverly 15-yard line. The Cougars also fumbled away a kickoff return inside the HF-L 20 during the non-league game. The Wolverines returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

"We moved the ball offensively just fine. It was difficult running the ball, but (quarterback Matt Meacham) was carving them up pretty good."

Meacham had 300 yards passing while completing 26 of 34 attempts. He threw a touchdown pass to Landon Hammond and another to Conor Finn, both in the second half.

Waverly led 28-6 at halftime.

Oakfield-Alabama/Elba 55, Geneseo 14

The two-time defending Section V Class D champions scored seven of their touchdowns during a 55-14 win at Geneseo High with their running game.

No surprise that 2022 Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Small Schools Team quarterback Bodie Hyde carried the ball across the goal line four times.

Ronald Szpylman, Austin Pangrazio and Gavin Armbrewster also had rushing touchdowns for the Aggies, who led Geneseo/Mount Morris 42-0 at halftime.

Roundup of champions

All seven of last season's Section V football champions were runaway winners during the season-opening games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

McQuaid in Class AA, 2022 Class A1 champion Hilton, 2022 Class A2 winner Canandaigua, two-time defending Class B champion Batavia, Attica/Alexander in Class C and Pembroke in 8-man action won their first games of the season by two or more touchdowns.

Check back here for more updates and game roundups from Saturday's top actions as scores roll in.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V football: Top games from Saturday, Week 1