Up in Holley, an interesting story line is developing in the 2009 Genesee Region football season. A team that rarely won over the first few years of its young football program seems suddenly unbeatable.
The Alexander Trojans found out firsthand today just how invincible Holley seems to be at just past the halfway point in the season.
The Trojans were dominated on both sides of the ball for most of four quarters and dropped to 2-2 with a 32-10 loss.
The Hawks move to 4-0 and face a challenge next week to their seeming invincibility when they butt heads with the division’s only other undefeated team, the Fighting Irish, at Notre Dame.
Alexander Head Coach Dave Radley expressed some dissatisfaction with his team after the game saying his players didn’t come ready to play and seemed to take Holley for granted.
On the other side of the field, Chad DeRock said his team is bearing the fruit of three or four years of extra effort.
“Our focus this season was on making history,” DeRock said. “I don’t know what the past record was – two and 60 or something – but that doesn’t matter. I’m happy for my seniors who’ve put in the time. I promised them, if you put in the time, you’ll see results. They put in the time. My juniors put in the time. My sophomores and freshmen have put in the time. My seniors are the most dedicated group of I’ve ever worked with. I’m proud of them. They deserve it.”
Holley opened the game by methodically marching the ball down the field only to lose it on the two-yard line to a fumble.
The Trojans, however, were unable to capitalize on a potential shift of momentum, coughing up the ball on the 20-yard line a few plays later.
It didn’t take long, then, for Sean Baylor to put six on the board for the Hawks with a six-yard run.
Alexander made one last stab at making a game of it early in the second quarter when Lucas Czechowski booted an impressive 35-yard field goal to make the score 6-3, but except for a little spark late in the fourth quarter, the game was all Holley’s.
By the half, the score was 20-3 after TD runs by Baylor and Guy Hills.
Turnovers were a key factor (four total by Alexander), including an interception for a 40-yard touchdown return in the fourth quarter by Holley's Mike Pernicano, which pushed the margin to 32-3 (Baylor had another touchdown run in the third quarter).
After another Pernicano interception, Holley started moving the ball toward the end zone again when the Alexander defense managed to force a fourth down.
Holley decided to try a long field goal, but the pop-up kick came up well short of the goal line and #88 Steve Schaffer found himself in an open field just waiting for the ball to come down. He then darted to the far sideline and carried the ball 80 yards before being forced out to put his team in the red zone.
Alexander capitalized on the opportunity, finally pushing the ball across the goal line on a one-yard run by Jared Quinn.
And that’s how the game would end – 32-10, Holley.
Notre Dame Head Coach Rick Mancuso had a keen eye on the game through all four quarters. It will be interesting to find out later this week what he thinks about the upcoming clash of two teams seemingly putting it all together in 2009.
More photos after the jump.
