Alden blanks Medina in Class B quarterfinal

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina quarterback Jason Hellwig rolls out during this evening’s 25-0 Class B quarterfinal sectional loss at Alden as Phil Zobrest pursues for the Bulldogs.

ALDEN – Unable to get untracked offensively, B North Division No. 4 seed Medina dropped a 25-0 decision to top seeded defending champion Alden this evening in the quarterfinal round of the Section VI Class B playoffs.

Medina did get off to a quick start as quarterback Jason Hellwig hooked up with Kyle Barna for a 22 yard pass completion and a first down at the Alden 49 on the Mustangs first play.

However, the Mustangs could not manage another first down in the half which finished with Alden clinging to a narrow 6-0 lead on a six yard touchdown run by Lyle Grant with 18 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Runs of 23 by Grant and 15 by Ryan Richards, along with pass completions of 20 and 11 yards by quarterback Brian Stoldt, keyed that drive.

The Medina defense stopped two other Alden drives deep in Mustangs territory in the half, the first on an fumble recovery by Devin Joy and the second with a stop on downs at the 15 as Barna and Dan Brown had key tackles.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Brett Pecoraro picks up yardage for the Mustangs against the Bulldogs as Nate Hodgins (54) makes a block.

Alden finally opened up a little breathing room at 12-0 on a 7 yard touchdown run by Grant with 7:26 to go in the third quarter. A big 36 yard pass completion by Stoldt set up the tally.

The Bulldogs closed out the win with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns on runs of 12 yards by Grant and 13 by Richards.

Medina, which had a total of only three first downs and no drives inside the Alden 45 through the first three quarters, finally drove to the Bulldogs 11 late in the game after a big 36 yard run by Barna but had a lost fumble wipe out that last scoring chance.

“Our defense kept us in it in the first half,” Medina coach Eric Valley said. “We knew we would have trouble offensively with them because they are so big and physical and we just couldn’t get our footing under us. But the kids played well under adversity.”

The contest took its toll on the Mustangs injury wise including one to Hellwig who left the game in the fourth quarter with a possible concussion.

Alden takes an 8-0 record into the semifinals while Medina slips to 4-4.

In other Class B quarterfinals, B South No. 4 seed Eden upset B North No. 1 Cheektowaga 23-12 and B South No. 2 Depew downed B North No. 3 Bennett 41-26.