B-R answers State-ranked challenge from O-A/E, but Aggies survive dramatic Class D showdown with 14-point 4th quarter comeback to remain unbeaten

Written By Chris Brooks

BOLIVAR — All season long, the Oakfield-Alabama/Elba Aggies have been putting together piece by piece, a season in the making. For the past six weeks, they have answered the call each time, garnering massive double digit victories in all of them, including last week’s 24-7 rolling over of the defending Class D champions — the Avon Braves.

There was also another team that was looking to answer the call themselves from within Class D’s phone booth — the 5-1 Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines, who as of late, have begun to turn the switch to a new level by having won five in a row since their season opening 7-0 loss to the hands of Alexander.

Entering Saturday afternoon’s Week 7 colossal meeting of the Class D giants, the Aggies were looking to exact some revenge after last year’s meeting went in favor of the Wolverines, while on the other side, Bolivar-Richburg looked to make a statement on Senior Day in front of their home crowd at Dunsmore-Latimer Field against a top five State-ranked team.

Something had to give, right?

It wasn’t the ideal day for football. It was your typical on-and-off cold rain shower and blustery wind kind of game that saw both teams sit adjacent from one another at the metaphorical chess table, with both teams being fueled by their run games and their strengths on the defensive side of the spectrum.

In a game such as this, it would come down to the very end. The Wolverines were pushed to their limits by the Aggies defense after falling behind, but they did not fall, as they stood up and delivered a big punch with under a minute left in regulation to come back to within a single point’s reach of Oakfield-Alabama/Elba.

Then, after a brief discussion, a chance to go for the win.

Reminiscent of their play five years ago when they rallied from behind to defeat Cuba-Rushford in the famed 2016 Hyphen Bowl on Homecoming night, the Wolverines went back to that same playbook to try and stifle the Aggies — by using the cherry-picker.

The Wolverines lined up for the potential go-ahead conversion, and then the direct snap to Landon Danaher. From there, an opening was created back on the other side of the line for him to sneak in. But as he was attempting to work his way back across, the Aggies defense called for checkmate, making a massive stop back at the line of scrimmage to keep Danaher pinned in the backfield and out of the end zone to remain ahead.

With no timeouts on the board to spare, the game was essentially put on ice by Oakfield-Alabama/Elba, as they ended the game on their terms after the ensuing kickoff to remain undefeated on the season by surviving one of the more dramatic endings this season, edging past Bolivar-Richburg by a 14-13 count.

Wolverines head coach Steve Smith said after the game that despite the sting that it will leave behind, it was a game against the Aggies that he hopes to have again when Sectionals arrives.

“I hope we see them again,” he said. “It’s disappointing and I know the kids are disappointed that we couldn’t hang onto this game. I told them to let this one hurt a little bit, and then come back and be ready to play. This season isn’t over, and when the regular season ends, this is the kind of team that we may see again in Sectionals. If we expect to do anything there, this was the game that with this showing, if we didn’t put anyone on notice before, 14-13 here in Bolivar, this should open some eyes.”

Before the game was lost in the waning seconds of the afternoon, it was one that saw Bolivar-Richburg (5-2) get off to as ideal of a start you could imagine. In a drive that used up nearly 10 minutes of the opening quarter, the Wolverines struck first after a tipped pass play from Brayden Ellis intended for Landon Danaher was caught by Kadin Tompkins, set up a series of run plays that ultimately ended with Danaher finding the end zone from three yards out to take command.

In response to Oakfield-Alabama/Elba’s first drive of the game, the Wolverines defense held their ground by delivering a drive of their own that saw the Aggies force the ball back over, led by a massive stop by Lloyd Kinnicutt in the backfield on third down.

Smith said the first quarter, despite the weather conditions, was one that was executed very well.

“Weather had a little bit of a factor today,” the seventh-year Wolverines coach said. “No one was going to throw the ball too much, and even trying to control the football itself with exchanges is already a challenge. We have a great defense, they have a great defense. I liked the way our offense moved the ball, and even with the conditions, it was nice to be able to run the football and control the clock at times, especially in the first quarter, that helped. I look at what they score a game, what they give up, and after today, it’s pretty impressive what we were able to do.”

What the Wolverines did was pitch a shutout in the first three quarters of the game while holding onto a very slim 7-0 lead the entire way. In the second quarter, the hosts in black and red would come close with making it a two-score lead after a nine-yard sack from Trent Sibble, and fumble recovery off a botched snap by Kinnicutt led to Bolivar-Richburg taking over at the 27-yard line of the Aggies.

They would use their run game to their advantage once more until they found themselves four yards away from the end zone. What momentum was built, became lost, after Oakfield-Alabama/Elba recovered a fumble lost by Kinnicutt on his carry toward the end zone, resulting in the Aggies offense taking over deep in their defensive zone.

But, the Wolverines defense would not allow the fumble to be cashed in, as they forced one of many 3-and-outs against the Aggies offense throughout the course of the afternoon. One more 3-and-out was forced after another fumble recovery by the Aggies turned into perhaps their most promising drive to try and tie the game at the half.

Oakfield-Alabama would get as far as Bolivar-Richburg’s 35-yard line, but once more, the Wolverines defense kept the Aggies off the board one last time behind a big stop by Danaher in the backfield to force another turnover on downs, essentially ending the first 24 with the seven-point lead.

In the third quarter, more of the same, as both teams exchanged 3-and-outs on their first possessions of the second half. Later on, the Aggies would apply some more pressure with their run game continuing to make their way deep into Bolivar-Richburg territory, threatening to score each time. Every time since the start of the game, the Wolverines responded with a big stop from Rudy Polk getting into the backfield on third down, forcing a fourth down play through the air that fell short of completion.

Right before the third quarter came to an end, the Aggies would pick up possession to carry into the fourth quarter beginning at their own 34-yard line after a Danaher rush on fourth down fell a yard shy from a new set of downs deep into their defensive zone. On the very first play of the quarter, Oakfield-Alabama/Elba was finally able to find the opening they were looking for — a 66-yard touchdown run from Gaige Armbrewster down the far sidelines to ultimately tie the game at seven, after the team’s PAT.

With newly garnered momentum now in their wheelhouse, the Aggies forced the Wolverines to go nowhere on the ground, sending the ball back in their direction to set up another drive. In hopes of building off their last score from Armbrewster, the visitors in white and maroon went back to the ground to pick up a couple of additional runs in length to make their way to as close as the Wolverines 5-yard line — a spot where Bodie Hyde finished off the drive to give the Aggies their first lead of the game with 5:30 left in the game.

Bolivar-Richburg would now hold possession of the last five minutes of the game with their final drive to try and provide a comeback of their own now after falling behind. After Ellis provisioned a 19-yard pass up the middle to Tompkins, the run game began to take effect once more, as Polk and Danaher led the charge from the backfield to get all the way down the Oakfield-Alabama/Elba 11-yard line with under a minute left.

Then, a passing play. It was perhaps the biggest throw of the year by Ellis, as he delivered a clutch 11-yard strike to a wide open Phillip MacDonell in the flat to the end zone with 46 seconds left to cut Bolivar-Richburg’s deficit to a single point. As they lined up for potentially a game-tying extra point, a timeout was called to discuss their next plan.

Instead of the PAT, the Wolverines decided to go for it all on a two-point conversion. Lined up at the 3-yard line, Bolivar-Richburg went back to the play that benefitted from short distance numerous times, as Danaher gained possession of the cherry-picker, making a move to the outside next to the near sidelines. But, a gigantic heads up play by the Aggies defense stopped Danaher in his tracks right back at the line of scrimmage to stop the chance before it had a chance to develop, keeping themselves out in front of the Wolverines.

The timeout before the two-point try was Bolivar-Richburg’s last of the game, as Oakfield-Alabama/Elba saw the ensuing kickoff exit play for them to set up victory formation at the 40-yard line, sealing the dramatic finish with two kneeldowns to officially complete their fourth quarter comeback to remain undefeated on the season at 7-0.

Even though the result was one that the Wolverines wanted, Smith says his call to go for the win was one his team deserved to have.

“We kept our heads up and we played some great football. We did make a few mistakes, but I like the way our kids rolled with it. We felt as a staff that we had worked pretty hard to get to that point in the game, so we can give ourselves that chance to win the game. They made a great play, and that’s football sometimes. We came up a bit short, but we feel really good about our effort we put in. We know how good they are, and I think we’re a pretty good team too.”

The Wolverines provided 221 total yards of offense against Class D’s No. 4 ranked team in New York State, 165 of that coming on the ground with Danaher leading the way behind 21 carries for 88 yards and his first quarter score. Ellis would finish with 56 yards passing, including his 11-yard strike to MacDonell at the end of the game.

Before the kickoff, Bolivar-Richburg honored all 12 of their Seniors in their annual Senior Day celebration with families and friends of the student-athletes in attendance. Smith says his Seniors have been tantamount to the success that they have strived for in recent seasons, including yet another successful season in 2021.

“These guys are giving us everything they have game in, and game out, and they have been a big reason of why this program has started to become successful,” he said. “It’s been a great group to coach, and in the past couple of years, we were able to get some great Senior leadership from them for our younger group of kids. They’re a big part of our success, and I hope there is more to come for them.”

The Wolverines will look to end the regular season strong before entering the Sectional playing field, as they get set to visit Avon on Friday in a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Oakfield-Alabama/Elba 0 0 0 14 – 14

Bolivar-Richburg 7 0 0 6 – 13

Scoring Summary

1st

B-R – Landon Danaher 3-yard run, PAT good (7-0 B-R).

2nd

None

3rd

None

4th

O-A/E – Gaige Armbrewster 66-yard run, PAT good (7-7)

O-A/E – Bodie Hyde 6-yard run, PAT good (14-7 O-A/E)

B-R – Phillip MacDonell 10-yard pass from Brayden Ellis, 2-pts failed (14-13 O-A/E)

Total Yards: O-A/E 195, B-R 221.

Passing: O-A/E 5, B-R 56.
Rushing: O-A/E 190, B-R 165.
First Downs: O-A/E 10, B-R 15.
Turnovers: O-A/E 1, B-R 2.
Penalties: O-A/E 3-36, B-R 4-47.

Punts: O-A/E 2-30, B-R 2-31.
T.O.P: O-A/E 27:33, B-R 22:04.

Chris Brooks
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