Tuesday Roundup: Wolverines blow past visiting Irish behind strong season-ending balance in 40-0 shutout; Lions drop home finale to Hornell despite 2nd half comeback

Bolivar-Richburg running back Hudson Evingham (10) puts the stiff-arm on the Notre Dame-Batavia defender, on his way toward a big gain during Tuesday night’s season finale at Dunsmore-Latimer Field in Bolivar. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Bolivar-Richburg defenders Brayden Day (36) and Camdyn MacDonell (78) wrap up the Notre Dame-Batavia running back for a loss during Tuesday night’s season finale at Dunsmore-Latimer Field in Bolivar. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Bolivar-Richburg quarterback Brayden Ellis (12) scrambles for a gain under pressure from the Notre Dame-Batavia defense during Tuesday night’s season finale at Dunsmore-Latimer Field in Bolivar. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

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BOLIVAR — For just this season, the top four teams in each class will make the cut for this year’s Sectional tournament, which begins next week. On the last day of the regular season, the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines were on the outside looking in, as they looked to make one last attempt at propelling into Sectionals with last season’s class of Class D in town on Senior Night — Notre Dame-Batavia.

For the Wolverines, it gave them a chance to finish their season on the most solid of notes. Right from the get go, they did just that and a lot more.

Bolivar-Richburg executed perfection across all three phases of the game, gathering another massive day on the ground on offense to go with four turnovers on defense, and a blocked punt on special teams, as they rolled toward a regular season-ending rolling of the Irish by a 40-0 count at Dunsmore-Latimer Field.

“We are playing as great of football as anyone, and we might be on the outside looking in when it’s all said and done. It’s nice to play all three phases of the game really well,” said Wolverines coach Steve Smith. “Special teams came up with a blocked punt, we had four turnovers on defense and the offense ran really well on the ground. We moved the ball great, put the points we needed on the board, and we gave up under a yard a carry on the other side. You know you’re doing great things when you put all of that together in a game.”

The Wolverines (3-2) started the game strong in the opening 12 minute quarter, with Hudson Evingham propelling the ground game to high success, coming up with big runs to set up both scoring plays, with Landon Danaher kicking it off with a 12-yard touchdown and then on the next drive, a 1-yard score from the goal-line after a 30-yard pass play from Brayden Ellis to Danaher put them in the red zone.

With a 13-0 lead in hand entering the second, the lead grew to 20 with another score from Evingham after a blocked punt by the Bolivar-Richburg special teams corps set up the score deep inside Notre Dame-Batavia territory. Evingham would go on to become a two-sided force for the Wolverines, garnering 14 rushes for 90 yards and three total touchdowns to go with his interception early on in the first half.

In the second half, Bolivar-Richburg went on to put 20 more points on the board on the ground from short distance, adding a 1-yard run from Brayden Day and 2-yard run from Logan Bess to extend their lead to 33. The scoring was capped off in the final 12 minutes of the regular season, with Evingham pounding the ball into the end zone from two yards out.

The Wolverines finished with 286 total yards of offense, 216 of those yards coming on the ground. Day finished with nine rushes for 70 yards and his touchdown, while Danaher concluded with five carries for 55 yards and a score. On defense, Bolivar-Richburg held Notre Dame-Batavia to just 56 total yards on offense, while causing four turnovers (three interceptions, fumble recovery) in the process. Leading the defense was Trent Sibble, who recorded a pair of sacks off the edge.

Along with Evingham, Danaher and Ellis both came away with an interception, while Kadin Tompkins was responsible for providing the blocked punt that set up Evingham’s second score in the first quarter.

Smith says that with a bunch of key pieces returning for the fall next season, his team has been putting together one of the more stronger showings in Class D as of late.

“When we started this season after the first game, I said that we would get better every week. We played better every week after the Canisteo game. From that point, who's played better football than us in Class D? They responded to that, and they worked hard,” he said. “If we could change anything, it would be that the season would be longer. We talked about even having this season because of the circumstances. When you hit the new year not knowing you were going to play, and if more teams were going to be effected by this, it's tough. Getting a shorter season in, let alone a season, it's great. We see a lot of bright spots coming back, that's for sure.”

Now, they await their fate on if they make the Sectional Tournament cut, or if their shortened 2021 Spring season will come to its conclusion, as the Wolverines finish with a record of 3-2. Currently, they hold the No. 5 spot in the Class D standings.

Prior to the game, the team honored all eight of their seniors — Evingham, Bess, Day, Dom Baldwin, Garrett Shields, Zach Dunn, Dominic Dowd and Seth Yates.

Smith said that his expectation is that their success from this season, carries into next season with the majority of his young core coming back for another go-around in the Fall.

“A lot of those seniors came up as freshmen for us, and I'd like to think that they had a great four year run,” the sixth-year coach said. “We talked at midfield after the game, and I thanked those seniors as a staff. They showed tremendous effort and leadership all season. The expectation is that stuff rubs off on the younger kids. To be a good team, you have to put the work in. For them to play this Spring, and to finish at home on Senior Night with a win, it's a great win for them. We're hoping for more, but they left it all on the field for us. That's all we can ask for.”

Notre Dame-Batavia 0 0 0 0 – 0

Bolivar-Richburg 13 7 13 7 – 40

Scoring Summary

1st

B-R – Landon Danaher 12-yard run, PAT good (7-0 B-R)

B-R – Hudson Evingham 1-yard run, PAT blocked (13-0 B-R)

2nd

B-R – Hudson Evingham 7-yard run, PAT good (20-0 B-R)

3rd

B-R – Brayden Day 1-yard run, PAT good (27-0 B-R)

B-R – Logan Bess 2-yard run, PAT failed (33-0 B-R)

4th

B-R – Hudson Evingham 2-yard run, PAT good (40-0 B-R)

Total Yards: ND-B 56, B-R 286.

Passing: ND-B 6-32, B-R 4-70.
Rushing: ND-B 28-24, B-R 38-216.

First Downs: ND-B 4, B-R 18.

Turnovers: ND-B 4, B-R 1.
Penalties: ND-B 4-25, B-R 10-100.
Punts: ND-B 2-42, B-R 2-23.
T.O.P: ND-B 25:00, B-R 23:00.

Hornell 48, Wellsville 27

WELLSVILLE — The Red Raiders of Hornell were able to get the start they wanted to get off to in the first half of play, as they scored the first 21 points to set the tone almost immediately.

After a third quarter comeback by the Lions, the Red Raiders would never lose their halftime lead that they built, as they scored the last 21 points in an unanswered fashion to wrap up their 48-27 victory over Wellsville in the Lion’s Den, Monday night.

Nearing the end of the first quarter, the Lions (0-6) found the end zone with 6:49 left, as Liam McKinley provided a big pass while taking a big Hornell hit inside the pocket, connecting with Aidan Riley on a 39-yard strike to cut the deficit to 15.

With 30 seconds left in the first half, the Lions would then cut the Hornell lead down to 21-12 on a pass play that saw McKinley record his second touchdown through the air, hooking up a 28-yard strike to Tyler Sands.

After the Lions cut the lead down even further to 27-19, the game would find its way toward a 27-all tie behind the efforts of John Layfield and his touchdown carry from the goal line, leading to a successful 2-point conversion finished on a pitch to the left side and score by Blake Beckwith.

But that would be all for the scoring on the host side, as Hornell wrapped up shop by staving off the late comeback by the Lions with the final 21 points to pull away for good.

In-depth statistics were not made available upon publication.

The Lions wrap up the regular season with a record of 0-6.

Hornell 6 21 7 14 — 48

Wellsville 0 12 15 0 — 27

Alexander 30, Cuba-Rushford 0

ATTICA — The Alexander Trojans ended their regular season strong on Tuesday, as they rolled their way toward victory over visiting Cuba-Rushford in Attica with a 30-0 shutout of the Rebels.

In-depth statistics and a complete box score were not made available upon publication.

The Rebels regular season has come to its conclusion, as they finished with a record of 0-6.

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Wellsville junior Brooklyn Stisser (2) sends the ball back over to the awaiting Lady Knights of Addison on the other side during action over the road in Addison, earlier this season. The Lady Lions managed to escape Campbell-Savona with a five-set victory on Tuesday to remain undefeated on the season, moving to 10-0 overall. [PHOTO BY JOHN ANDERSON]

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Wellsville 3, Campbell-Savona 2

CAMPBELL — It was perhaps their toughest test of the season, Tuesday night. The Lady Lions needed one more victory to eclipse double digits on the season. But to do so, they had to travel over the road to take on, and get past Campbell-Savona.

Both teams went back and forth all throughout the night in Campbell, but in the end, the Lady Lions stood tall.

After falling behind 2-1 after three sets to the host Lady Panthers, Wellsville rebounded and got over the hump to force a decisive fifth set where they were able to take advantage of what they were given to take the game, remaining undefeated on the season as a result in their 25-14, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17 victory to eclipse double digit triumphs.

“It was Campbell-Savona’s Senior Night, and they came ready to play,” Lady Lions coach Shannon Steiner said. “We came in strong, and then we lost our momentum in the next two matches. Once we were able to play through the frustration, the girls were able to get their energy back up again and they picked up playing their game where they left off. All I can say is that I’m beyond proud and lucky to be coaching this group of girls, they are an amazing group. Even the girls on the bench worked so hard to get the energy back up.”

Brooklyn Stisser led the offense to big things for the Lady Lions (10-0), scoring a team-high 11 kills to go with her three aces from the service line. Kaylee Coleman pitched (eight digs, four aces) pitched in with six more kills. On defense, it was Marley Adams furiously keeping the ball alive with her team-high 15 digs, pairing them with her three kills, three aces and three assists. Emma Dunaway added in nine more digs to go with three aces of her own, and one kill.

Helping further the cause for Wellsville was Jaelyn Knapp, who provided five aces from the service line to go with five more digs. At the front of the net, the team’s libero in Mattie Buckley dished out 11 assists, along with five aces of her own from the line.

The regular season will end on Friday for the Lady Lions, as they look to close out the regular season with perfection back home, as they host the Lady Redskins of Canisteo-Greenwood for a 7:15 p.m. first serve.

Cuba-Rushford 3, Bolivar-Richburg 1 (Monday)

CUBA — After the Lady Wolverines started the night strong on Monday with a first set victory, the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford overcame the slow start inside the Wighthouse in a big way, as they coasted their way toward three straight victories to take the 3-1 decision at the end of the night by a 17-25, 25-10, 25-21, 25-17 count.

Leading Cuba-Rushford (7-2) on both the offensive and defensive fronts were Meghan O’Keefe (four aces and one block) and Summer Mattison (two assists, two blocks), each recording eight kills and six digs. At the front of the net, Quincy Tylor was busy handing out assists, finishing with a game-high 23 to go with seven more digs, four aces and three kills.

On the other side, the Lady Wolverines were paced by a 13-kill offensive effort from Jianna Nix, who added five blocks on defense along the way. Brena Walp added in six digs on defense to go with five aces from the line, and four more kills.

Setter Kaitlyn Graves handed out 14 assists to pair with her four kills to help Bolivar-Richburg, who had a quick turnaround Tuesday back home against Genesee Valley/Belfast. In that game Tuesday, the Lady Wolverines swept Genesee Valley/Belfast with a straight-set, 25-18, 25-14, 25-12 victory.

As for the Lady Rebels will go for their eighth win in their last 10 on the road, as they visit Houghton Academy in a 6 p.m. contest against the Lady Panthers on Thursday.