HOT KNIGHTS: #6 York/Pavilion uses late touchdown to upset #2 Canisteo-Greenwood in Class D Semi

Posted By on Oct 29, 2018 | 0 comments


Knights have won five-straight


(Photo credit: | Batavia’s Best)

 |  Monday, October 29, 2018 | BataviasBest.org

 

It was a cold, wet night in Caledonia this past Saturday, as red-hot #6 York/Pavilion shut out #2 Canisteo-Greenwood during the second half, and used a last minute touchdown drive to unseat the Redskins in the Class D Semifinal. It was the second-straight upset victory for the Knights, who have now beaten the #3 seed and #2 seed and won a total of five-straight games.

“It’s been a really fun ride and we’re really siked to keep playing football,” said Y/P head coach Kurt Schneider after the game. “November’s upon us and we’re going to be at it at least another week. Hats off to (our players).”

This was a 7-6 game at the half because the Knights failed to succeed on their point after a touchdown run from RB Sebastian Hackett, which tied the score following a Redskins’ score early in the second quarter.

That failure on the point after really came back to bite the Knights, who still trailed by 1 with 2:15 remaining in the fourth quarter when they got the ball at their own 45-yard line with one last chance to take the lead. The odds were certainly stacked against Y/P, who had struggled to find offensive consistency throughout the game.

However, despite the long odds, the Knights put together a drive for the ages and worked the ball all the way inside the 5-yard line with under :20 remaining. Then, Hackett came through again for his team as he was able to power the ball across the goal line for a 1-yard go-ahead touchdown, with only :13 left on the clock.

“We run the two-minute drill every practice and our line just did a great job (on the game-winning drive),” said Hackett following the win. “We played our game. We knew we had to get a touchdown or that was our last game, and we wanted to stay together for one more week.”

(Photo credit: | Batavia’s Best)

Outside of the players’ effort on the field these past two weeks, the effort from the Knights’ fan base has been equally impressive.

“The community really gets us pumped up,” said DL Riley Elliot following the game. “When they get pumped up and get cheering we want to get loud and make big plays.”

The majority of Y/P’s big plays on Saturday came on the defensive side of the ball, where they dominated Canisteo-Greenwood throughout the second half.

“It’s exciting knowing we shut down a #2 seed offense,” continued Elliot. “I’m very confident (in our ability on defense) going into next week against Alexander the #1 seed.”

Elliot finished the game with 5 tackles, 1 of which was for a loss, but the Knights’ defensive unit was led by LB Keith Muckle and DL James Kennedy who each recorded 8 tackles. Muckle added an interception, while Josh Davis picked up 2 tackles and 1 interception of his own.

Offensively it was a quiet night for Y/P, as outside of Hackett’s 15 carries for 91 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns there wasn’t much to report statistically.

Moving forward York/Pavilion will continue to play the underdog role in Class D, as they await their finals matchup with the mighty, mighty Alexander Trojans. That game will be played this Saturday night at 7:00 pm at Alfred University.

“We love being the underdog,” said Knights’ QB Matt McFarland after the win. “We like fighting from behind. Tonight, we were down most of the game, but we battled back and we’re going to keep battling into next week.”

Alexander previously defeated York/Pavilion 50-12 in Week 1, but the Knights believe they’re an entirely new team at this point of the season.

“We know they’re the team to beat,” said Knights’ HC Schneider. “We’ve known that probably since March. We played them in Week 1 and they took it to us, but we’ve gotten a lot better since then. We look forward to the challenge.”

It doesn’t appear likely that the Knights’ upset streak will continue, but you can never say never with this group.

There is something special about them, and they continue to prove it every week.

 

 

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