Led by overpowering ground game by Totten, defending 8-Man State Champion Pembroke goes back-to-back in Section V, use 27-point 2nd quarter to jet fuel 70-30 Finals win over No. 2 B-R

[ALL PHOTOS BY CHAR STONE/WELLSVILLE SUN]

PITTSFORD — Tyson Totten has become one of the premier players to watch on the gridiron every Friday night. For the defending 8-Man State Champion Pembroke Dragons, the senior can do it all in every way possible.

Like he has all season long, he showcased his true power once again in the 8-Man Finals on Friday at Pittsford-Sutherland.

Pinned against No. 2 Bolivar-Richburg, Totten was unstoppable from the word go, as he rushed for over 400 yards and scored eight times — one of them including a long 93-yard touchdown that took a 16-14 Wolverines lead in the second quarter and flipped it upside down from within their 27-point frame before the half to take back full command of the gridiron from that point forward to officially go back-to-back in Section V with a 70-30 victory.

Before Pembroke’s second quarter eruption came to ultimate fruition, Bolivar-Richburg (6-3) was able to use a strong finish to the first quarter to their utmost advantage. Trailing by seven after Totten’s first score, Tavyn MacDonell followed suit with a pair of his own to close out the frame, capitalizing on runs of 12 and 21 yards on back-to-back drives following an onside kick sandwiched in between to claim a 16-7 lead on the Dragons.

But the momentum the Wolverines had built was quickly erased by Pembroke in the second quarter, as Totten and the offense took a hold of the reins with a 27-point blitz. One of those scores included a long 93-yard scamper by the Dragons senior back that turned the tide in their favor for the remainder of the ballgame, claiming a 20-16 lead over the No. 2 seeds at that point before adding two more unanswered scores to close out the half.

The Wolverines would manage to get back to within 10 points of the Dragons to open the second half behind MacDonell’s third touchdown of the contest, as he cashed in off a big Pembroke fumble from short yardage to make it a 34-24 game. But the early turnover was left in the rearview mirror quickly by the top seeds in green, as the Dragons went forth and delivered 23 unanswered points to further cushion their advantage over the Wolverines, led by an 80-yard kickoff return on the ensuing drive by Caleb Felski, and then two more scores from Totten to close out the stanza.

Bolivar-Richburg would grab one final score in the fourth quarter through the air on short yardage in the red zone, as Caden Allen delivered a 17-yard strike into the end zone for Kingston Loucks. When it was all said and done, the Wolverines conducted 251 total yards on offense, with MacDonell’s 105 yards and three scores pacing the backfield. Allen followed with a run game of his own, rushing 18 times for 88 yards. Trey Buchholz had 10 carries of his own, totaling 41 yards.

On defense, Zach Mitchell paved the way with 7.5 tackles to go with his fumble recovery. Loucks followed with 6.5 tackles, while Buchholz added in six tackles of his own. Connor Garrison recorded the team’s second fumble recovery to help round off the Bolivar-Richburg defense.

A fine season of Wolverines football is officially history, as the team wraps up their 2023 campaign with a record of 6-3 overall. The team will say goodbye to 10 total seniors when Graduation comes later this school year in Allen, Buchholz, Mitchell, Garrison, Trevor Pforter, Roman Johnston, Brian Learn, Levi Williams, Anthony Donoghue Jr. and Aiden Smith.

Bolivar-Richburg 16 0 8 6 – 30

Pembroke 7 27 23 13 – 70

Scoring Summary

1st

PEM – Tyson Totten 23-yard run, PAT good (7-0 PEM)

B-R – Tavyn MacDonell 12-yard run, 2-pts good (8-7 B-R)

B-R – Tavyn MacDonell 21-yard run, 2-pts good (16-7 B-R)

2nd

PEM – Tyson Totten 5-yard run, PAT good (16-14 B-R)

PEM – Tyson Totten 93-yard run, 2-pts failed (20-16 PEM)

PEM – Tyson Totten 5-yard run, PAT good (27-16 PEM)

PEM – Caleb Felski 11-yard run, PAT good (34-16 PEM)

3rd

B-R – Tavyn MacDonell 6-yard run, 2-pts good (34-24 PEM)

PEM – Caleb Felski 80-yard kickoff return, 2-pts good (42-24 PEM)

PEM – Tyson Totten 4-yard run, 2-pts good (50-24 PEM)

PEM – Tyson Totten 31-yard run, PAT good (57-24 PEM)

4th

B-R – Kingston Loucks 17-yard pass from Caden Allen, 2-pts failed (57-30 PEM)

PEM – Tyson Totten 1-yard run, PAT good (64-30 PEM)

PEM – Tyson Totten 85-yard run, 2-pts failed (70-30 PEM)