Rochester — Their heads and helmets held high, the Marcus Whitman Wildcats soaked up the proudest moment in the football team's history as they walked off the turf. The Wildcats shocked defending champion Le Roy, caused double takes around the state and claimed their first "block of wood" from Section V with a 25-14 victory in the Class C final on Sunday at Fauver Stadium.

Whitman's claim of its first Section V trophy broke a string of 11 years in which either Le Roy or Caledonia-Mumford won this classification's championship after the division was realigned in 1994. The Wildcats (9-1) advance to play Silver Creek (10-0) of Section VI in the state quarterfinals at noon Sunday at Fauver Stadium.

"We call it a block of wood," Marcus Whitman coach Brian Wickham said about the sectional trophy. "Le Roy has won 11 titles. We've got our first. Are we as good as Le Roy? No, but today we are.
"The kids deserve this. They've put in a lot of time. The community has supported us by putting up the lights at Whitman. They come out and put 1,000 people at our games at little Whitman."

About that many Whitman backers watched junior QB Chris Wickham throw two touchdown passes and accept the game's MVP award. Wickham's 27-yard scoring throw to Adam Herod late in the second quarter put the second-seeded Wildcats ahead to stay, 18-14. The 6-foot, 170-pound quarterback and coach's son, added a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jason Cota in the third quarter after a memorable scramble.

"He's a great athlete," Le Roy coach Brian Moran said. "He's the kid who did a great job.

"They made plays when they needed it. They earned it."

Whitman senior Nate Cauwels ran for 114 yards on 22 carries, including a 4-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring. Ryan Stell inspired his Whitman teammates with an 84-yard kickoff return for a score in the second quarter.

"That was the turning play right there," Chris Wickham said. "The crowd went crazy. It just sprung us to a whole different level of football that we haven't played this year."

The Oatkan Knights (9-1) played on without their best two-way player, senior running back and linebacker Mike Farabella, who suffered a twisted knee during the semifinal round. Le Roy quarterback Mark Bennetti left the game with a separated shoulder early in the fourth quarter.

"It was one of those days," Moran said. "Sometimes that happens."

Whitman scored first going into the wind, late in the first quarter. The Wildcats converted three fourth downs during a 14-play, 83-yard drive, including Cauwels' touchdown run.

Le Roy took the lead twice in the second quarter after 3- and 4-yard touchdown runs by Dan Horning and Justin Casper, respectively. The Wildcats snatched the lead back twice to go ahead by halftime on Stell's kickoff return and Herod's go-ahead catch.

"We finally got it," Cauwels said. "Now the next guys coming up have something to strive for."

Game recap by Brian Hillabush - Batavia Daily News Sports

ROCHESTER - Shocked and disappointed.

Those are the words that describe the feelings of the Le Roy football players and fans after the second ranked team in Class C in the state was upset in the finals of the Section 5 Class C tournament at Fauver Stadium Sunday.

The top-seeded Oatkan Knights were beaten by No. 2 Marcus-Whitman 25-14 and will not get a chance to get back to the state final four.

"We're disappointed, but we played real hard and gave it 110-percent," Le Roy quarterback Mark Bennetti said. "That's all we can ask for."

110-percent was not enough to beat a physical Wildcat team that was led by sophomore quarterback Chris Wickham and captured its first sectional title in school history.

"This feeling is amazing," said Wickham, who was named MVP of the game. "I have never felt like this in my life. All the hard work we've put in is paying off right now."

Wickham was brilliant in this one, throwing for 92 yards and two touchdowns on 7-of-9 passing.

His only mistake in the game came on the first possession when he was picked off by Craig Tiberio. But it didn't matter because the Le Roy offense could not get anything going early and went three-and-out. Nate Cauwels - who rushed for 118 yards on 22 carries - had runs of 20 and 38 yards on a 14-play, 88-yard drive.

Marcus-Whitman picked up first downs twice on fourth down on the drive and Cauwels capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown run.

"Today just wasn't our day," Le Roy coach Brian Moran said. "Marcus-Whitman played extremely well and made the plays when they needed to. They played well."

Le Roy got the ball back with a little over a minute and a half left in the first quarter and went three-and-out, getting no first downs in the opening stanza. The Oatkan Knights were without injured running back Mike Farabella.

"You never know (what would have happened if Farabella played)," Moran said. "You can't even really think about it. Obviously we missed him, but it happens."

After a poor punt from the Wildcats, Le Roy drove 60 yards on 13 plays and Dan Horning scored on a 2-yard plunge. Tim Andrews was stopped on a third-and-1 a few plays before the touchdown, but a facemask penalty kept the drive alive.

Just when it looked like momentum had shifted and Le Roy was about to start rolling, Ryan Stell killed that momentum with a 74-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

"That kickoff was all our fault; we blew that," Bennetti said. "That's just the way it goes."

Two 23-yard passes by Bennetti - one to Tiberio and another to Justin Casper - set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Casper that gave Le Roy a 14-12 lead with 1:24 left in the first half.

The Wildcats started at their own 43-yard line and Wickham threw passes of 13 and nine yards before throwing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Adam Herod in the closing seconds of the half, giving Marcus-Whitman an 18-14 lead.

The Oatkan Knights were driving to open the second half, but Bennetti was picked off by Wickham, who returned the ball 55 yards. A block in the back penalty pushed the ball back to the Le Roy 21-yard line.

"I was going to throw to the tight end and I saw Wickham go right behind him," Bennetti said. "I knew it was going to be a pick. That was my bad."

It took six plays before Wickham made a spectacular play for a touchdown. He avoided a pair of would-be tacklers and scrambled all over the place before throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jason Cota.

"I thought I was going to run it at first but I noticed nothing was there so I wheeled around and went back the other way," Wickham said. "I saw that there was nothing there and wheeled back the other way and found Jason Cota in the end zone."

Le Roy never got moving in the fourth quarter until it was too late.

Cauwels was the top offensive back and Thomas Ryan was the top defensive back for Marcus-Whitman (9-1), who plays Section 6 champion Silver Creek (10-0) next week.

Shaun Swanson was the top offensive lineman and Kevin Brady was the top defensive lineman for Le Roy (9-1).