Marquel SlaughterRochester Democrat and Chronicle
How tough is it to prepare for a brand new coach?
That's the predicament UPrep coach Isiah Young was in entering Friday's season opener at Aquinas, where Maurice Jackson began his head coaching career for the Little Irish.
Aquinas (0-1) returned its defensive coordinator, so Young had an idea about the hosts' defensive tendencies. But UPrep (1-0) was unsure what Jackson, a former AGR Player of the Year from Marshall High, had planned for his offense. Fortunately for Young, Jaylen Singleton and his defense was up for the task, nearly shutting out the hosts as they rarely gave up plays that threatened a score.
"We had a pretty good idea what they were going to run (on defense). Offensively, we kind of went into this game blind," Young said after Friday's 33-7 Section V Class AA win over Aquinas. "For playing an 'unknown' offense, (allowing) seven points is pretty good."
UPrep senior challenges defense
Senior Isaiah Moonschein challenged his defensive line after a poor practice. His front was the star at Aquinas, crippling Derrion Battle's rush attempts and constantly pressuring Trent Buttles on drop backs. Middle linebacker Kamari Miller, Tyrell Simmons, Dezmere Favor, Khalid Bawa-Allah, Dallas Harris, Taivon Wilson, Alex Laboy, Landon Nesmith, Luis Dominguez, and Phillip Robinson are rotated on the defensive front with Moonschein.
"When my defense steps on the field, we turn the field into Gotham City," Moonschein said.
UPrep's front line pressure even made the secondary's job easier. A perfect example was when Simmons' hit on Buttles forced an interception to Jaylen Singleton, who had nothing but green in front of him on his 45-yard pick-six. Juelz Russell, CJ Robinson, Jaylyn Melton, and Tye Lebron-Melford are other defensive backs Young was proud of for limiting Noah Collins-Howard and his Irish receiving corps from many big plays.
"The D-line played great. The secondary has some young guys back there. We graduated the entire secondary. Those guys came in and played very, very well for their first varsity starts. I'm very happy to see that," Young said.
Caviness a catalyst for East Rochester/Gananda
Miles Caviness' first-quarter touchdown changed the game.
The East Rochester/Gananda receiver went right to work and "mossed" a Lyons/Sodus defensive back. Ben Newman's 26-yard touchdown was a rope where only Caviness could grab it from his back shoulder fade. The Lions' one-on-one defense against Caviness was quickly abandoned.
That play seemingly opened the Bombers' (1-0) offense. Lyons/Sodus coach Brad Steve's Lions (0-1) appeared to respect Caviness more, often sending safety Jamari Schulers over to help. Shading Caviness gave Noah Mather a chance to work on the opposite sideline, scoring on slants and fades. Cadearell Sneed Jr. scored a touchdown from the slot. Brayden Dohse, Asher Russell and Caleb Carpenter will also benefit off Caviness, especially when he's double teamed.
"Our offense was good," Bombers coach Tim Rose said. "We put up 50 points and got many guys involved in a lot of different ways, and we have the flexibility to move those guys into different spots. That really allows us to be creative, and puts pressure on the defense because you have to identify where those different guys are."
New era in Geneva
Breakout performances by Quadere Lawson and Ray DeJesus guided an emotional change of the guard in Geneva (1-0).
The Panthers' 36-0 win over Penn Yan/Dundee (0-1) on Friday marked the first win for coach Colin Cooper, a former Geneva player who made his head coaching debut prematurely. Tragedy struck the program when former coach Larry Guererri suddenly died in March. Guererri had coached Geneva since 2021, and improved an 0-6 team to 4-5 in 2022. His son Konnor is a senior for the Panthers. Lawson is an adopted son.
“Ever since I was little, he took me in as his own son,” Lawson told Rochesterfirst.com. “It was real special. He was like another dad. Like the dad I never had. I had a dad, but he really wasn’t in the picture so he took me right under his wing. Not only as his son, but his best friend.”
Webster Schroeder's Hilfiker, Hilton's Lowry thrive in new roles
Webster Schroeder (1-0) appears to be just fine at quarterback. Senior Drew Hilfiker has taken the reigns one year after Drew Pagano led a pass-happy offense to the 2022 section final. When coach Mike Stumpf's Warriors beat Brockport 42-21 Friday night, Hilfiker threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns while completing 24 of 30 passes. Receivers Tyler Washington and Gavin Horton had breakout games against coach Scott Nugent's Blue Devils (0-1).
Hilton rode a thunder-and-lightning rushing attack to the 2022 Class A title. With Jeff Broadnax's graduation, running back Robert Lowry now has the keys to the Cadets' (1-0) offense. And boy did Lowry look scary against Pittsford (0-1). Lowry followed lead blocker Kyle Serow through a crease on the left side and blasted through the hole for a 78-yard touchdown. No Panther came close to catching Hilton's speedy senior. Lowry rushed for 207 yards on just 13 carries in Friday's 21-6 win.
"He had a little crease and he was gone," Hilton coach Rich Lipani said.
