#6 Bath Rams (5-3) vs. #2 Le Roy Oatkan Knights (7-1)
Le Roy survived a tough first round test from Holley last week to advance to the Class C Semifinals, where they will face sixth-seeded Bath.
The Knights ran for 314 yards last week, despite playing without leading rusher, Peter Privitera. Tom Kelso and Marcus Mistersaro continued to be workhorses, while Le Roy got a huge and perhaps unexpected spark from senior Kylan Carter, who ran for 110 yards on nine carries.
They could get another boost Saturday. Privitera was cleared to begin practicing this week, but how much and if he plays is still in question.
There is no doubt that coach Brian Moran will attempt to control the clock again this week, after holding the ball for nearly 21 minutes in the second half against Holley, and limiting them to 11 offensive plays.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bath upset the third seed, Elba/Byron-Bergen in first round play, 6 to 0.
The Rams held the Genesee Region League’s leading rusher, Zack DuBois, to only 60 yards after he averaged over 220 per game for the entire season.
It was the first time that any defense had held DuBois to under 100 yards rushing all season.
Bath also held the Lancers to only 78 total yards of offense and three first downs for the entire game. While being a low seed, the Rams also have an impressive win over Class B’s Livonia earlier in the season. If they can duplicate last week’s defensive performance, and sustain drives offensively, they could pull another upset.
Kickoff is set for Saturday 1:30 p.m. at Sahlen’s Stadium, Rochester.
#2 Clyde-Savannah Golden Eagles (7-1) vs. #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1)
Notre Dame advanced to the Class D Finals after vanquishing Dundee, 28 to 6.
Dundee had won five consecutive games against the Fighting Irish dating back to 1996, including three in a row from 2007 to 2009.
This week, they will face a much stiffer test in the second-seeded Clyde-Savannah Golden Eagles.
They will undoubtedly rely on quarterback Tim McCulley, who went 7 for 15 for 125 yards and a touchdown last week. The Notre Dame offense has revolved around the junior all season, and he has responded by throwing a school-record 17 touchdown passes.
If Head Coach Rick Mancuso and the Irish can get their passing game going, it will open up running lanes for Nick Taylor and Andrew Mullen, who combined for 219 yards and two touchdowns against Dundee.
Clyde-Savannah ousted third-seeded York in their semi-final matchup, 40 to 22.
The Eagles come in to this game averaging 46.5 points per game, and have not been scored less than 34 points in any game this season.
They are also winning by an average margin of 30.4 points per contest. Like Notre Dame, Clyde will rely on their quarterback Tom Molisani, who is coming off of a 19 for 22, 282-yard, 4-touchdown performance against York.
They did surrender over 200 yards of passing offense to York, although most of it was after the game had been put out of reach.
Expect to see a high-scoring affair on Saturday night at Sahlen’s Stadium, with both offenses looking to air it out. Both McCulley and Molisani have put up impressive statistics this season and have carried their teams to this point in the season. If McCulley gets off to a quick start, look for Mancuso to control the time of possession with the running game. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
