Rochester - The LeRoy Oatkan Knights defeated an upstart Avon Braves squad Saturday (11-10) at Fauver Stadium to capture the school's 9th sectional football crown. The 49-6 win over Avon gave coach Brian Moran his 100th career win at LeRoy (against just 32 losses and 2 ties) and his 8th sectional championship. Coach Moran is an amazing 8-1 when making it to the sectional title game.

Avon concluded a very successful 2001 campaign as the Class C runner-ups after downing defending champion Cal-Mum in the semifinals. Coach Andy Englert turned a club that was 1-8 in 2000 to a bona fide contender that won 7 out of 10 contests this season. A quick tough team, a dynamite running back, and a very supportive community all led to an amazing turnaround for the Braves this season. A very good JV squad at Avon this year looks to fill the slots that will be voided by departing seniors so look for the Braves to be outstanding in 2002 as well.

The Knights jumped on the Braves early and often in the championship tilt. Bruising RB Rick Laurie (Game Offensive Back MVP) notched the Knights' first score in the first quarter to set the tone on a 3-yard blast. QB Joe Shaughnessy (Overall Game MVP) hit WR Brendan Fulmer (Game Offensive Line MVP) with a 57-yard strike in the quarter to give the Knights a 14-0 after one. A heads-up bit of play was registered by a hustling Joe Cosimeno who picked up a Laurie fumble and galloped 20 yards for a TD in the second quarter. Game Defensive Line MVP Brendan Moran joined in the scoring just before halftime with an offensive tally of his own, an 11-yard TD run. At the half the Knights enjoyed a 28-6 lead as Avon managed a 2-yard TD run by QB Jeremy Dean.

A pair of 1-yard runs by Shaughnessy and Matt Miller pushed the tally to 41-6 after three quarters. The reserves played well in the fourth as RB Joe Caccamise dashed in from 5 yards for a score. The 2-point PAT was added by sophomore RB Jake Whiting who bulled in from 3 yards out to make for the final of 49-6.

Coach Andrew Paladino's defense was able to shackle Avon RB and Section 5 Class C Offensive Player of the Year Germaine Dixon to just 69 yards on 13 carries. Junior RB Ryan Farley showed some quick moves in earning 41 yards on 9 carries for the Braves. In all, the Braves collected 158 total yards against the stubborn LeRoy defense, a defense that has allowed just 35 points all season long. Leading tacklers for the Knights were Brendan Moran (10), Kenny Smith (9), Rick Laurie (8), and Joe Shaughnessy (7). Jake Syracuse and Matt Miller were also driving forces in the defense that controlled the Avon offense well. Jeremy Cosimeno snagged a fumble recovery to end an Avon drive that was deep in LeRoy territory in the second quarter. DB Reid Whiting perfectly sniffed out an Avon pass in the fourth quarter to score an interception of a pass intended for Dixon.

The explosive LeRoy offense was led by MVP Shaughnessy who registered a double-triple: 109 yards rushing on 11 carries while passing for 153 yards on 6-of-7 passing (5 of those passes were to Fulmer for 145 yards). Joe Cosimeno (11-62 yds, TD) and Rick Laurie (12-60) proved a viable tandem running the ball. In all, the Knights rushed 44 times for 270 yards and 6 TDs. Total offense amounted to 423 yards for the Knights.

SPECIAL NOTES

A thrill for myself and everyone in the locker room before the contest was to hear Coach Bob "Sully" Sullivan lead the team with the "I'm a Knight" chant. You want to talk about emotion. Tears and adrenaline were running rampant as Sully, a longtime football coaching legend on the JV level at LHS, pumped up the squad. Myself, I could not speak for several minutes after witnessing the ritual. It was amazing. Last week, Coach Santini. This week, Sully. You gotta love being able to witness this part of the LeRoy football program.

Special congratulations to the fans of Avon High. I do not think I have ever heard such continuous and high decibel cheering from a school that was well behind for most of the contest. The Avon fans were as supportive of the Braves when the score was 49-6 as when the score was 0-0. They truly enjoyed their day in the sun at Fauver and wanted their team to know how much they were behind them. LeRoy fans are great too, but we expect to see the Knights at Fauver year in, year out. Avon seized the moment and supported their squad from whistle to whistle. It seemed that no one left early, as in commonplace for all schools, LeRoy included, in one-sided contests. I imagine they will have just as much to cheer about in 2002. Good luck to coach Englert and the Braves.