OC Rivals down Pioneer in Class B semifinal

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Noah Harrison heads to the endzone for the OC Rivals second touchdown in the sectional win at Pioneer this evening as Carson Matyjasik of the Panthers chases the play.

Next stop the sectional championship!

Keeping a history making debut season rolling, the OC Rivals downed host Pioneer 21-6 this evening in the Section VI Class B semifinal playoff game.

The victory propels the OC Rivals into next Friday’s Section VI Class B championship game at 5 p.m. at the University of Buffalo against the winner of this evening’s other semifinal between West Seneca East and Depew.

“After a great week of practice the kids showed how much they continue to improve game after game,” said Rivals Head Coach Eric Valley. “A huge hats off to my defensive staff for dialing up another great game plan against a very physical Pioneer team. We stepped up and made some big plays in clutch situations on offense and on special teams. It was a great all around team effort.”

Pioneer did grab a 6-0 lead with 1:37 to go in the second quarter on a 59 yard touchdown run by quarterback Drew George but the Panthers would not find the endzone again as the Rivals defense slammed the door the rest of the way..

Rising to the occasion, the OC Rivals offense answered right back on a 4 yard touchdown run by Noah Harrison and an extra point kick by Boe Preston with just 33 seconds remaining to take the lead for good 7-6 at the half.

Elijah Doxey pushes Pioneer defender Cooper Rhodus out of the way to pick up good yardage for the Rivals.

The drive into Panther territory was the fourth of the half for the Rivals which had the three  earlier threats stopped by an interception, on downs and on a punt.

A 40 yard kickoff return by Elijah Doxey and a 38 yard pass completion from quarterback Preston Woodworth to Doxey set up the scoring opportunity.

The Rivals then put a lock on the victory with a pair of unanswered second half touchdowns both by Harrison.

First, Harrison scored on a 21 yard pass reception from Woodworth with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter to make it 13-6. He later added the clinching TD on a 3 yard run with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, He also tacked on the two-point conversion with a pass completion to Woodworth.

The Rivals got the ball back at the Pioneer 25 to set up that score after a very short Panther punt. A sack by Parker Roberts and TJ Champney forced the Panthers into that punting situation.

The OC Rivals will take a 9-1 record into the sectional title game while Pioneer finishes the season at 8-2.

Rivals defender Matthew Jacobs tackles Pioneer running back Carson Matyjasik for a loss.