OC Rivals play for Class B title Friday at U.B.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Quarterback Preston Woodworth and his OC Rivals teammates will face West Seneca East in the Section VI Class B championship game at 5 p.m. Friday at the University at Buffalo stadium.

Highlighting an outstanding debut season, the OC Rivals will play for the Section VI Class B football championship against familiar foe West Seneca East at 5 p.m. Friday at the University at Buffalo stadium.

West Seneca East handed the Rivals their only loss by a narrow 35-34 margin in a penalty filled week 6 contest. The two teams ended up sharing the B1 Division title at 6-1 as West Seneca East lost to McKinley 24-13.

The two teams bring identical 9-1 records into the title contest.

“They are a very tough opponent,” said Rivals Head Coach Eric Valley. “They are very physical and have a great running back. They have system that works very well.”

“For us”, Valley added, “our defense has really started to jell the last few weeks and we need that improvement to continue. We need our defense to set the tone and get our offense some good field position. Offensively we have to spread the ball around.”

“We have to play solid in all three phases of the game and try to eliminate penalties,” Valley stressed. “Penalties (some 150 yards worth) really hurt us the last time we faced them.”

Running back Josh Urban who has rushed for 1,673 yards and a Section VI leading 36 touchdowns leads the West Seneca East attack. Quarterback Joey Molnar has passed for 432 yards and 6 touchdowns.

OC Rivals quarterback Preston Woodworth has passed for 1,559 yards and 20 touchdowns. His main targets have been Noah Harrison (37 receptions for 677 yards and 9 TDs), Elijah Doxey (26 receptions for 638 yards and 5 TDs) and Hadrian Batista (9 catches for 111 yards and 4 TDs). Woodworth has also rushed for 6 TDs.

Doxey leads the Rivals ground attack with 777 yards and 12 TDs as Jayzon Wills has 575 yards and 4 TDs.

The Rivals advanced to the title contest by defeating Pioneer 21-6 in the Class B semifinals while West Seneca East downed Depew 35-20 in the other semi.

The winner will advance to the state playoffs and a meeting with the Section V champion in the Far West Regional at SUNY Brockport on November 21.