Players and coaches with the Rush-Henrietta and Pittsford football teams probably felt like they had been in a similar situation to the one they faced on Saturday.
Heavy rains Friday evening and Saturday morning left the grass field at R-H a sloppy, slow track. The conditions were almost identical to last year’s regular season game at Pittsford.
Fortunately for the Royal Comets, the result was different.
R-H shutout the Panthers 21-0 in a Monroe County Division I matchup in Henrietta. The Royal Comets improved to 2-0 on the season, while Pittsford dropped to 1-1.
“We’ve been excited for this game since Monday when we came into practice,” said R-H senior Bay Barley, who finished with a game-high 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns. “To hold them to zero points, it shows hard we worked. It feels amazing.”
The Royal Comets did all of their offensive damage in the first half, scoring three touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead into halftime.
Barley’s two-yard touchdown run gave R-H a 7-0 lead with 7:13 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Chauncey Scissum connected with wide receiver Chase Weichman for a 30-yard touchdown on the team’s next possession.
Barley’s nine-yard touchdown run with 4:10 remaining in the second quarter capped the scoring.
“We were able to run the football in the first half and that opens up a lot of things for us,” said Joe Montesano, Royal Comets head coach. “We hit a couple of passes over the middle. We were able to get some rhythm and tempo and our guys were able to make some plays when they had to.”
The Panthers defense tightened up in the second half, keeping R-H off the scoreboard. Unfortunately the Pittsford offense couldn’t close the gap.
Panther defensive back Mac Atkins intercepted Scissum and returned it to the Pittsford 39 with 9:19 remaining in the third quarter. The Panthers drove into Royal Comet territory, but the series ended in a punt.
Pittsford senior Glynn Molinich recovered a fumble in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter, and the Panthers went on their best drive of the game. The Royal Comets stuffed Pittsford running back Nick Barclay on fourth down on the R-H seven, and the Comets took over with 5:59 remaining in the fourth.
“You can’t go three and out, make a mistake and then ask to play defense again,” said Keith Molinich, Panthers head coach. “It was all those miscues and those penalties. Our mistakes seriously hindered us from doing the things we wanted to do.”
Players and coaches with the Rush-Henrietta and Pittsford football teams probably felt like they had been in a similar situation to the one they faced on Saturday.
Heavy rains Friday evening and Saturday morning left the grass field at R-H a sloppy, slow track. The conditions were almost identical to last year’s regular season game at Pittsford.
Fortunately for the Royal Comets, the result was different.
R-H shutout the Panthers 21-0 in a Monroe County Division I matchup in Henrietta. The Royal Comets improved to 2-0 on the season, while Pittsford dropped to 1-1.
“We’ve been excited for this game since Monday when we came into practice,” said R-H senior Bay Barley, who finished with a game-high 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns. “To hold them to zero points, it shows hard we worked. It feels amazing.”
The Royal Comets did all of their offensive damage in the first half, scoring three touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead into halftime.
Barley’s two-yard touchdown run gave R-H a 7-0 lead with 7:13 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Chauncey Scissum connected with wide receiver Chase Weichman for a 30-yard touchdown on the team’s next possession.
Barley’s nine-yard touchdown run with 4:10 remaining in the second quarter capped the scoring.
“We were able to run the football in the first half and that opens up a lot of things for us,” said Joe Montesano, Royal Comets head coach. “We hit a couple of passes over the middle. We were able to get some rhythm and tempo and our guys were able to make some plays when they had to.”
The Panthers defense tightened up in the second half, keeping R-H off the scoreboard. Unfortunately the Pittsford offense couldn’t close the gap.
Panther defensive back Mac Atkins intercepted Scissum and returned it to the Pittsford 39 with 9:19 remaining in the third quarter. The Panthers drove into Royal Comet territory, but the series ended in a punt.
Pittsford senior Glynn Molinich recovered a fumble in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter, and the Panthers went on their best drive of the game. The Royal Comets stuffed Pittsford running back Nick Barclay on fourth down on the R-H seven, and the Comets took over with 5:59 remaining in the fourth.
“You can’t go three and out, make a mistake and then ask to play defense again,” said Keith Molinich, Panthers head coach. “It was all those miscues and those penalties. Our mistakes seriously hindered us from doing the things we wanted to do.”
The R-H defense controlled the game, surrendering only 30 yards rushing and 123 total yards. Scissum finished with seven tackles, while Cassius Davis added six.
The Panthers got into trouble early, as they turned it over on a punt in the first quarter and fumbled the ball in the red zone.
“Our kids aligned properly and they played real hard,” Montesano said. “Our goal coming is we knew we had to stop the run and I thought our defense did a great job of that.”
Both teams are back in action on Saturday as the Royal Comets play at Schroeder at 7 p.m., while Pittsford hosts Gates Chili at 2 p.m. at Pittsford Mendon.
