LEROY - Friday evening saw the LeRoy Oatkan Knights begin defense of their sectional football crown with a resounding victory over the Alexander Trojans by a final of 40-6. Head coach Brian Moran implored his seniors to take charge of the contest from the outset as the visiting Trojans were looking forward at their chance to mix it up with the #3 rated Class C team in the current New York sportswriters polls. The Knights, donning an all-black ensemble of pants, jerseys, and helmets for the first time, have not lost a home game at Hartwood Park in 9 years. The efforts of the entire team, including the stalwart play of seniors Brady Bonacquisti, Ian Humphrey, John Whiting, Marcus Epps, and Chuck Brandes ensured that the home streak would remain intact heading into the 2008 season.

The 8th-seeded Trojans of the Genesee Region indeed came to play, as they were successful in bottling up the middle of the vaunted LeRoy rushing attack in the early going. The Knights returned the favor on defense and allowed no scoring in the first quarter. Through 8 games, no team has scored in the first quarter against coach Andrew Paladino's defensive schemes. The Knights did score just less than 4 minutes into the game after forcing an Alexander 3-and-out. FB Brady Bonacquisti crashed over the goal line from 3 yards out to put the Knights on the board. All-purpose Travis Fenstermaker added the PAT kick to make it 7-zip Knights.

The Knights defense led by leading tacklers Marcus Epps (9), Bonacquisti (9), Chuck Brandes (6), Chris Andrews (6), and John Whiting (6) made for a tough evening for Alexander star RB Ben Antonucci. The holes for the GR League's seasonal rushing champion were hard to come by as Epps and Whiting registered 7 tackles for losses between them. Antonucci was held to 61 yards on 19 rushing attempts. Ben's skills were quite noticeable as he hit what holes that were available with ferocity. On defense, he registered 11 tackles, second only to teammate Dustin Say's 13. With the Knights allowing just 4 first downs for the entire contest, Antonucci was also busy punting (7 times, including a booming 66-yarder).

With under 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Trojans forced a 4th down with some excellent defense, forcing the Knights to opt for a field goal. Fenstermaker split the uprights from 26 yards out to make it 10-0 after one quarter of play.

The Knights added two TDs in the second quarter as Ian Humphrey scooted 9 yards for his 10th TD of the season at the 9:54 mark. Brother Mike Humphrey tossed a PAT pass for 2 points to junior John Scheuing to make it 18-0 LeRoy. Bonacquisti blasted into the end from 2 yards away for his 9th TD of the season at the 5:11 mark and Fenstermaker was true on the PAT kick to push the lead to 25.

The 'Thunder' and 'Lightning' rushing tandem of Bonacquisti and Ian Humphrey has been stellar on the season to date. The Knights came into the quarterfinal tilt averaging 38 points per contest. On the season, the offense has scored 306 total points, for an average of 38 points/game. Bonacquisti rambled for 120 yards against the Trojans to push his season total to 664 yards. He averages 5 yards per carry, all the while pounding a majority of his rushing attempts at the center core of the opposing team's defense. Humphrey dashed for 98 yards against Alexander which pushes his season total to within striking distance of the 900 yards he gained as a junior. To date, Ian has rushed for 824 yards, averaging just over 7 yards per carry. QB Travis Fenstermaker has also displayed a penchant for rushing the pigskin, to go along with his passing skills. Several times in Friday night's game, Travis powered his way through would-be defenders with great second effort runs. In all, Travis notched 91 yards on 11 carries, giving him 344 total rushing yards on the season, for a 6.7 yards/carry average.

Coach Moran, knowing that intensity, physical play, discipline, and concentration are oh so paramount in each playoff contest, urged the squad to once again take charge of the game in the second half and not let up against the visiting Trojans. QB Fenstermaker guided the high powered LeRoy O down the field on the opening drive of the half and found wideout Mike Humphrey for a 40-yard scoring strike to push the score to 32-0 at the 10:12 mark. Travis has completed 11 TD passes on the season (567 yards) and has thrown but one interception in 66 attempts. Mike Humphrey, when he is not intercepting the opposition, (6 pickoffs on the year), is the incredibly gifted main target for Fenstermaker. Mike has 17 receptions for 522 yards and 6 TDs, an incredible 30.7 yards per catch!

The defense of the Knights did not budge in the second half. For the contest, the Knights allowed just 79 yards of total offense and a 9% 3rd down efficiency for the visitors. The Knights' offense registered 24 first downs and 444 total yards of offense, 348 on the ground. At no time did the Knights punt in the contest. The defense has allowed just 74 points in 8 contests. Bonacquisti has led the tackling department with 64 earned from his LB position. Marcus "Big Cat" Epps has played exceptional as of late and has 47 tackles on the year. John Whiting, while being the main target of double-teams from the opposition's O-lines, has notched 43 takedowns thus far. A star in the making on both sides of the ball, junior Chris Andrews has 36 tackles on the season.

Numbers are nice and perhaps no number was more poignant in the contest than the number 6. That was the number of yards junior RB Brock Pasquale ran for a TD with 3:35 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The score was met with heartfelt cheers and teary eyes as Brock awarded the ball he carried over the goal line to his beloved grandfather, #1 fan, and the LeRoy football program's treasure of a coach and human being, Hooks Robertson. A truly special moment on the sidelines.

The Trojans avoided a shutout by scoring a TD with 9.5 minutes remaining as QB James Rozewski found Kenny Almeter in the end zone from 6 yards out. The final read LeRoy 40, Alexander 6 and moves the Knights into a semifinal clash with the Bishop Kearney Kings on Saturday, October 27th, @ high noon on the turf of Rochester's PAETEC Park.

Bishop Kearney is coming off a resounding win over the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets, their 5th win in a row, since a dismal 0-3 start to the season. Kearney is loaded with speed and talent and is on a roll, with all cylinders firing. The opposite side of the Class C bracket finds the Letchworth Indians once again in the title hunt as for the second year in a row they have eliminated the powerful Cal-Mum Raiders from the playoffs. Waiting for the Indians are the Pembroke Dragons which are led by coach Chip Foster and some excellent senior talent. The road to the title will be difficult for all of the four remaining teams. Come on out to PaeTec and support the Knights as they vie for the program's 13th sectional championship, which would tie them with Cal-Mum and Clyde-Savannah for the most team titles earned in Section 5 football history.