Genesee County Spartans’ Head Coach Mike Williams with players Keith Williams, James Brown Jr. and Jzhon Henderson before the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game, which ended in a 14-14 tie. Photo by Mike Pettinella/Genesee County Spartans.
BY MIKE PETTINELLA
Genesee County Spartans
The Genesee County Spartans and the Lake Erie Power Pines played to a 14-14 tie in a Northeastern Football Alliance game on Saturday night at Pembroke Town Park.
The Spartans tied the game with just 3:39 left in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard pass from quarterback Levi Wright to tight end Logan Pike but failed to convert a pass for the two-point conversion, pushing the contest in overtime.
Neither team scored in the 10-minute extra period.
Turnovers and dropped pass plagued the home team, now 1-2-1. Lake Erie entered the game with an 0-5 record.
“Crucial mistakes killed us – fumbles, interceptions, dropped passes, penalties. We had three big plays that would have been touchdowns if not for receivers unable to haul in the passes,” Head Coach Mike Williams said. “That was frustrating, for sure, but we fought to the end. We didn’t give up.”
Logan Pike gets ready to celebrate his touchdown reception from quarterback Levi Wright early in the opening quarter of Saturday’s semipro football game against the visiting Lake Erie Power Pines. Photo by Mari Higgins/Genesee County Spartans.
The Spartans looked good at the outset, taking an 8-0 lead after the opening kickoff when Wright found Pike from 2-yards out for the touchdown and then running in for the two-point conversion.
A 9-yard run by George Hall and 20-yard scamper by James Brown Jr. were key plays on the drive.
Genesee County’s offense stalled from that point on – with four possessions ending on fumbles and interceptions – until late in the game.
Lake Erie got on the board with 2:20 remaining in the first half when quarterback Isaiah Okoro found wide receiver Dshawn Howard with a 13-yard TD pass to make it 8-6.
The visitors took the lead midway through the fourth period on a 27-yard pass from Okoro to wide receiver Javier Brown with 6:40. Okoro tacked on two-point conversion on a “tush push” to give the Power Pines a 14-8 advantage.
In overtime, the Spartans fumbled the ball away on its first two possessions with the second turnover giving Lake Erie the ball at the Spartans’ 33. Three plays later, the Power Pines had a first down at the 5-yard line.
From there, a penalty and a tackle for a loss by linebacker Cody Wenner pushed the ball back to the 22. Okoro’s pass to the end zone sailed over the receiver’s head, setting up a 38-yard field goal attempt by William D’Armiento with 51 seconds to play. The kick sailed wide and short of the goal posts, however.
The Genesee County defense recorded six sacks – two each by Pike and Delonta Curry and one apiece by Brandon Robinson and Wenner. Game standouts, as selected by Williams, were Brown (MVP), Pike (offense) and Curry (defense).
Despite the outcome, Williams said he is encouraged by the team’s willingness to stick together.
“At the end of the day, we’re a family, and we’re going to win as a family and lose as a family,” he said. “We’re building (the program) and we’re going to keep pushing and hope to have a strong finish to the season.”
Following a bye week – which will count as a forfeit victory since the Syracuse Strong folded before the season began — the Spartans return to action at 6 p.m. July 25 at the Watertown Red & Black.
Their next home game is set for 5 p.m. Aug. 1 against 716 Wildcats.