By Mike Pettinella
Genesee County Spartans
The Genesee County Spartans’ season came to a disappointing end on Saturday night with a 28-3 loss to the undefeated Lockport Wildcats in the Northeastern Football Alliance Western Conference semifinals at Lockport’s Outwater Memorial Park.
Genesee County’s offense was unable to put anything together against the Wildcats, who take a 10-0 overall record into the semipro league’s championship match next weekend against the Southern Tier Stallions.
Southern Tier, now 9-1 overall, blanked Ithaca, 38-0, in the Eastern Conference semifinal.
The title match is set for 7 p.m. next Saturday in Lockport.
The Spartans’ only score came in the second quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Batavia High graduate Julia Petry.
Petry’s kick cut Lockport’s lead to 6-3 at the time but the Wildcats went on to score two more touchdowns before intermission – one on a 70-yard pass from league MVP Willie Fair III to Sean Marshall and the other on a 25-yard pass from Fair to Jordan Evert.
Lockport converted both two-point conversions to take a 22-3 lead at halftime.
The only scoring in the second half came on the game’s final play on Fair’s third TD pass.
The Spartans finish the season with a 6-3 league record (7-3 overall), with all three losses coming at the hands of the Wildcats.
“It was difficult for us to get untracked against Lockport. You have to give them credit; they have a solid team,” Rascoe said. “Our defense, on the other hand, played very well except for a couple of breakdowns.”
Spartans’ QB Corey Turpin, under pressure all game, completed just six of 23 passes for 81 yards. He was intercepted twice, fumbled twice and was sacked twice. Halfback Jed Reese carried the ball 10 times for 42 yards.
Genesee County’s top receivers, Deyonci Farley, Rayshawn Huitt and Tai Reffell-Pugh, were limited due to injuries suffered during the contest.
Defensively, the Spartans put up a fight but were victimized by a couple big plays. Defensive back Jzon Henderson came up with two interceptions – one in the end zone to thwart a Lockport drive in the fourth quarter — and Dontre Woods also picked off a pass.
Despite the loss, Rascoe said he was pleased with the way the team and the organization came together this season, and he’s looking forward to offseason workouts starting in November.
“We have really turned things around in terms of good sportsmanship and recruiting good players, on and off the field,” he said. “We look to be even better next year when we add more local talent.”
Rascoe credited the team’s board of directors for its hard work and support — Tammy Hathaway, Lauren Donovan, Victor Thomas, Otis Thomas and Jermaine Henderson – and thanked the businesses and individuals who sponsored the team this season.