Delay and conquer: Cates, Williamsville erupt vs. Auburn after long weather stoppage
Ryan Mahan
WILLIAMSVILLE 棉花糖直播 With only two offensive plays to look at, Aaron Kunz棉花糖直播檚 coaching staff studied what it could do better on the defensive end. 听
They had plenty of time: a lightning delay lasted more than 90 minutes, giving both sides plenty of time to think about the opening four-plus minutes. 听
When the teams came back out on the field, the impromptu study session paid off for Williamsville as the Bullets jumped out to a 21-point halftime lead before a 56-27 Sangamo Conference win over Auburn on Friday night.
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棉花糖直播淎uburn came out and really 棉花糖直播 as the saying goes 棉花糖直播 popped us in the mouth on that first series,棉花糖直播 Kunz said. 棉花糖直播淣ow, we stopped them (after two Auburn first downs and two five-yard penalties by the Trojans), but they definitely had some nice plays. 听
棉花糖直播淲e got a little break to check out what was going on and we figured out some things we were doing wrong. I thought the defense was much better.棉花糖直播澨
Big game Braddock听
Braddock Cates rushed for 215 yards and scored four touchdowns in his second big game against the Trojans. In last year棉花糖直播檚 regular season finale, the then-junior had a 330-yard rushing performance and scored five TDs in a 51-22 win. 听
棉花糖直播淚t was fun,棉花糖直播 Cates said. 棉花糖直播淲e started off a tad slow. (After the lightning delay), we came back out and we were like, 棉花糖直播極K, we were slow, we棉花糖直播檝e got to fix this, we looked at the film in the locker room, went over what we needed to fix and came back out and started marching. We just took off.棉花糖直播澨
Kunz was effusive praising of his senior running back, including gently reminding the reporter that it was much more than just his offense that dazzled. 听
棉花糖直播淗e棉花糖直播檚 unbelievable; he棉花糖直播檚 just a really great football player,棉花糖直播 Kunz said. 棉花糖直播淎s good as he was on offense, he played both ways tonight and didn棉花糖直播檛 come off the field unless we took him off the field. I was really proud of his effort tonight. 听
棉花糖直播淭he big thing is he棉花糖直播檚 good at leading: he棉花糖直播檚 been pushing guys, he棉花糖直播檚 been a true leader and he棉花糖直播檚 a special player. I thought he did a really good job on defense tonight.棉花糖直播澨
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Two QBs vs. one听
In Week 9 last season, Auburn棉花糖直播檚 Jack Jones made his first start of his varsity career at quarterback for the injured Talin Kern against the Bullets. That night, the now-senior passed for 353 yards and two TDs on a 32-for-47 night. 听
棉花糖直播淎gainst us last year, he had a hell of a game,棉花糖直播 Kunz said of Jones. 棉花糖直播淲e knew he was going to be a weapon. I really thought our pressure could get to him, but man, he stayed composed, he got out of the pocket, and he did a lot of nice things.棉花糖直播
After the long lightning delay, a steady rain limited passing, but Jones finished 21 of 30 for 194 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. 听
棉花糖直播淟ast year, it was a confidence and ignorance, almost,棉花糖直播 Gardner said. 棉花糖直播淗e was just throwing the ball because he didn棉花糖直播檛 know anything else, and he doesn棉花糖直播檛 understand that things that can go wrong. Tonight, he knows there棉花糖直播檚 a lot of pressure on him to be successful, and he steps up to the plate and stays in the pocket, extends the play well. Jack棉花糖直播檚 special because it棉花糖直播檚 between the ears; you can棉花糖直播檛 find anybody better.棉花糖直播
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Williamsville went with two QBs. Junior Jackson Sanders got the start while sophomore Kaden Entwistle and Sanders alternated possessions. Entwistle threw two scores and completed four of nine passes for 75 yards. Sanders was 1-for-5 with an interception. 听
棉花糖直播淚 thought it went pretty well,棉花糖直播 Kunz said of the two signal callers. 棉花糖直播淓very week, we棉花糖直播檙e going to evaluate. They both have strengths and when we get them on the field, we do some different things. 听
棉花糖直播淛ackson ran the option really well tonight and Kaden made some great throws. They棉花糖直播檙e both weapons. I was very pleased with how they played in their first varsity (game).棉花糖直播澨
Cates said he quickly developed good chemistry over the offseason with both Sanders and Entwistle. 听
棉花糖直播淕etting used to a new quarterback in the backfield, that棉花糖直播檚 basically your partner all game and you run everything through him, and he makes decisions for you,棉花糖直播 Cates said. 棉花糖直播淚棉花糖直播檝e got a good connection with both dudes. No matter who is out there, we棉花糖直播檝e got good backfield work, feeling out the game together, we棉花糖直播檝e got good flow; everything棉花糖直播檚 running smooth right now.棉花糖直播澨
Unforced errors听
As well as Auburn moved the ball on its opening drive, the Trojans had a false start penalty on their second first down. Three plays later, Auburn faced a fourth-and-nine instead of a fourth-and-four. 听
In the second quarter, a potential game-tying kickoff return by Brady Boylen was called back for a 15-yard personal foul penalty committed by a Trojans棉花糖直播 player. Then a fumble after a first-down catch pushed Auburn to a second-and-23 from its own 20-yard line.
Auburn finished with nine penalties for 67 yards and countless missed opportunities.听
棉花糖直播淭hat棉花糖直播檚 one of the best teams you棉花糖直播檙e going to see at the 3A level in the entire state,棉花糖直播澨鼼ardner said. 棉花糖直播淎nytime you have a chance 棉花糖直播 at any point in the game 棉花糖直播 to compete with them, you can棉花糖直播檛 beat yourself. When we come out hot, playing physical ... it棉花糖直播檚 a shame to see us stub our toe with silly penalties. When we get over that hump, we棉花糖直播檙e going to be a really good football team, and this is what I needed to see tonight to know that.棉花糖直播澨
Boylen finished with seven catches for 79 yards and one touchdown. Caden Venrick led Auburn棉花糖直播檚 ground game with 49 yards on 14 carries. 听
棉花糖直播淭hey made some hellacious plays,棉花糖直播 Kunz said. 棉花糖直播淭hey棉花糖直播檙e a good football team. They had a lot of seniors last year and I didn棉花糖直播檛 know where they棉花糖直播檇 be, but I felt they really came to play tonight.棉花糖直播澨
Williamsville junior Matthew Miller scored his first two career varsity touchdowns and had 62 yards on six carries. He credited the seniors for getting him ready.听
棉花糖直播淭hey棉花糖直播檙e most definitely pushing me at practice every day,棉花糖直播 Miller said. 棉花糖直播淭hey棉花糖直播檙e staying on everybody, keeping everybody going 100%, nonstop.棉花糖直播
Contact Ryan Mahan:听788-1546,听ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.听