Albion trims Tonawanda in sectional opener

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 25 October 2019 at 10:18 pm

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Kevin Hillman goes up to intercept a pass intended for Tonawanda’s Zach Wood. The action took place during the host Purple Eagles sectional win over the Warriors this evening.

Surviving a bit of a late scare, No. 3 seed Albion downed visiting No. 6 Tonawanda 17-14 in the quarterfinal round of the Section VI Class B playoffs this evening at Spierdowis Field.

Albion, which will now face the winner of Saturday’s No. 7 Olean at No. 2 Newfane quarterfinal in the semis next weekend, built up a 17-0 lead only to see Tonawanda rally for two touchdowns in the final five minutes to make the finish interesting.

The Purple Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 half-time advantage by scoring twice in the second quarter,

Albion’s Cody Wilson brings down Tonawanda running back Jason Frazer.

Deyonci Farley opened the scoring with a 1 yard touchdown run with 9:53 to go in the quarter as big pass completions of 23 and 42 yards from quarterback Thomas Furmanski to Kevin Hillman keyed the drive. Furmanski tacked on the extra point kick.

(Click here to see Deyonci Farley score Albion’s first TD.)

Tyray White then broke loose around right end for a 53 yard touchdown run as another PAT kick by Furmanski made it 14-0.

That drive followed a big series by the Albion defense which stopped the Warriors near their own goal line forcing a punt as Farley had two key tackles for losses.

The Purple Eagles offense did put together another big scoring threat just before halftime which reached the Tonawanda 10 only to have an interception in the end zone wipe out the threat.

Again in the third quarter, Albion had another scoring threat deep into Tonawanda territory wiped out by a turnover, this time by a fumble recovery into the Warriors end zone.

The Albion defense then came up with a turnover of its own with a big interception by Hillman at the Purple Eagles 40, a pick which ended up setting up a 20 yard field goal by Furmanski with 9:04 to go in the fourth quarter.

It was a field goal which at the time looked to merely pad the Albion lead to 17-0 but ended up being the margin of victory. A run of 12 yards by White and a 14 yard Furmanski to Hillman pass completion highlighted the drive.

(Click here to see Thomas Furmanski throw to Kevin Hillman for 14 yards to the Tonawanda 6.)

Tonawanda made the finish interesting by scoring twice late on touchdown passes from quarterback Justin Mangold to wide receiver Dylan Carey of 15 yards with 5:05 to go and of 20 yards with 29 seconds to go.

The Warriors got the ball back after the first touchdown on a fumble recovery by Mike Butsch. On the first snap Mangold hooked up with Carey for a big 52 yard pass completion down to the Albion 20 setting up the second TD.

Tonawanda then tried an onside kick but Albion made the recovery to lock up what proved to be a narrow win.

The Purple Eagles advance to the semifinals with a 7-1 record while the Warriors finish the season at 4-4.

(Click here to see Deyonci Farley make a tackle for a loss.)