Stories and photos by CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
FILLMORE — Game after game, the biggest piece of advice that head coach Jon Beardsley has offered to his Lady Eagles of Fillmore team has been to savor every moment on the field. No matter what the end result the season was going to bring, the longtime Fillmore coach knows that his girls have exceeded every single expectation he has set forth for the campaign.
The year after they go all the way to the final day of the soccer season, to the Class D State Championship game, what do they do? They piece together yet another extravagant regular season that witnessed them record their 10th straight Allegany County League title, as well as another No. 1 seed for the Sectional playoffs.
Talk about picking up where you left off. Beardsley credits their determination for making all of it happen.
“Nothing has really been easy for this group all year. We have had the better of the play in most games, but often haven’t made life easy for us by scoring the easier chances,” he said. “But the girls and their effort, and their heart has pushed them through. To be back in a spot where we can go back to the Semifinals at 17-1 from where we started the season and what we were quietly thinking about ourselves, they have exceeded expectations. It is their heart that has gotten them where they are today.”
The Lady Eagles, after a strong Sectional debut against Marion back on Wednesday, were now within a stone’s throw of clinching another trip to the Semifinal round for what could potentially be a ninth consecutive season at the end of Saturday night. As they stepped onto their home field for the very last time this Fall, No. 9 Avoca-Prattsburgh served as the temporary barrier in front of Fillmore from continuing their incredible postseason streak.
But like most of their battles in 2024, the Lady Eagles had to fight. And fight, they did.
Right out of the gates, they put the Lady Titans on their feet right from the go with many opportunities at the cage. Despite all the pressure pinned up against the No. 9 seeds, the top seeds could not find the right touch to break the ice. But all of that early offensive combustion would soon reach a boiling point.
Better late than never.
After tussling with Avoca-Prattsburgh across nearly 60 scoreless minutes on the field, the Lady Eagles found a way to display their magic touch, as they scored a big ice-breaking goal off a corner kick — one of 17 total they would have in the game against the Lady Titans, before scoring a massive piece of insurance with close to 10 minutes remaining in the game to promptly solidify their advantage and their eventual trip back to the Class D Semifinal round with a 2-0 shutout.
“We came out of the gate firing on all cylinders and in the first five minutes, we had some great opportunities and just couldn’t put one home,” Beardsley said. “Then it went back and forth for a lot of the first half. We got on our heels a few too many times in the first half and gave them a few too many looks. The second half, we tightened things up defensively and then our effort and grit kept the pressure on. Tonight was about the effort and sticking with the plan. The crowd turned out and it was nice to finish off our last home game on the turf with a win in front of them.”
The Lady Eagles (17-1) displayed a relentless attack from the start, garnering multiple chances to break through the Avoca-Prattsburgh defense, with perhaps their best opportunity coming from Grace Walton early into the second half, as she beat out Lady Titans keeper Ellie Harrell for the loose ball in front of the cage, poking it past her to continue her momentum towards the vacated goal.
But at an instant, the defense behind her swarmed the ball and forced a clear outside the zone.
With 22:25 left to play, all of their cracking finally paid off with their first marker of the game, as Emalyn Mucher delivered the ice-breaking connection for the Lady Eagles in the midst of a scrum in front of the Avoca-Prattsburgh net, knocking home a corner that was delivered perfectly from Payton Duvall on the near side, taking one bounce towards the far post before Mucher put the right touch on the ball to knock home.
The Lady Eagles maintained their momentum following the goal, adding a massive piece of insurance down the stretch from Tenlee Miller, who did not hesitate knocking home the team’s second goal, displaying a stellar amount of patience while under pressure with possession to reveal a lane straight to the Lady Titans goal, as she fired a shot right to the far post and into the cage for a commanding 2-0 lead with 11:24 left in regulation time.
That would be all the scoring that the Lady Eagles needed, as they finished off a 22-shot display against Avoca-Prattsburgh to take care of business.
In total, the Lady Eagles went on to claim a 22-6 advantage in the shots department.
Between the posts, the shutout win was credited to Grace Clark, who made all six saves for Fillmore.
As for the Lady Titans, Harrell made 20 saves.
The story continues for the Lady Eagles on Wednesday when they take the field for the Class D Semifinal round, as they prepare to take on the No. 5 Keshequa Lady Wildcats at a site and time to be determined.
More stories after photo gallery:
Class C1 Quarterfinals
No. 2 Geneseo 2, No. 11 Cuba-Rushford 0
GENESEO — After an incredible performance filled with redemption against Canisteo-Greenwood to open their Sectional trek, the No. 11 Rebels of Cuba-Rushford were now pitted against a familiar face to continue their title defense — No. 2 Geneseo, the very team they edged out to win the Class C2 Championship last Fall.
To say that redemption of their own was on the minds of the Blue Devils entering Saturday night, would be an understatement.
But it was something that Geneseo most certainly wasn’t going to pass up, as they acted quickly right before the end of the first half to set the bar going forward for the Rebels, as they held a two-goal advantage from that point forward to close out Cuba-Rushford’s campaign on the pitch with a 2-0 home win in Class C2 Quarterfinal action.
“Geneseo is a very talented squad and we hung tight with them,” Rebels coach Rob Wight said. “We had our chances but unfortunately, that ball just cannot find its way to bounce your way sometimes. It’s a tough way to go out, but I’m really proud of the way my guys fought tonight. I’d really like to thank my Seniors for everything they have given to our program over the years, not only for myself but for coach (Devin) Kinney and coach (Nick) Perillo as well.”
The goal-scoring would proceed to occur right in the first half of play, as Geneseo survived a tough challenge from Cuba-Rushford early on to get their offense running on the right foot. In a span of 1:47, the Blue Devils changed to complexion of the gate at the drop of a hat, as Jack DiLaura and Leo Bailey went back-to-back to score a 2-0 lead they went on to never lose.
The two goals for the Blue Devils stemmed off a 23-shot volley against the Rebels, as the hosts proceeded to claim the 23-10 advantage in that respective department. In goal, Finn Ricketts put a stop to 21 shots he faced.
Another fine season of soccer for Cuba-Rushford has now reached its conclusion, as the team wraps up with a record of 8-9-1 overall.
The Rebels will graduate six seniors when Graduation arrives in June, in Ricketts, Caleb Elliott, Anderson Seigel, Ethan Chapman, Tyler Richards and Braedyn Kenjockety.
Class C2 Quarterfinals
No. 3 Genesee Valley/Belfast 4, No. 6 Harley Allendale-Columbia 0
BELFAST — After being awarded the No. 3 seed for their first trip through the Class C2 Playoffs, Genesee Valley/Belfast took some extra time to prepare for the long run before Sectional fever officially settled in at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast, Saturday night.
WIth the ladies team already having successfully assembled a game-winning formula to knock off the Harley Allendale-Columbia Lady Wolves the previous night down the road in Belmont, it was now on the boys team to take care of business themselves against the Wolves with a potential weekend-closing Quarterfinal sweep now in the cards.
It was a close quarters fight to begin, with the No. 3 seeds garnering the upper-hand early on to claim a one-goal advantage going into the break. But when the team returned to the field for the second half, Genesee Valley/Belfast went on to set the tone in resounding fashion, scoring eight seconds after the kickoff at midfield to double their lead, extending it with two more goals later on to firmly secure what was a 4-0 shutout over the Wolves.
“This was a great confidence builder to help us get going for Sectionals. They finished their opportunities really well in the second half, after we came up empty with a bunch of them in the first. We passed the ball well, we won the ball across midfield really well. It all just happened to work in our favor tonight.” said GV/Belfast coach Mark Sullivan.
The four goals for Genesee Valley/Belfast (14-2-1) came off a 14-shot outburst against Harley Allendale-Columbia, with Callahan Tallman getting the scoring started in the first half with a 1-0 lead going into the halftime recess.
Then the jets were at full blast for the hosts in black, as Evan Turybury connected on a score just eight seconds after the opening kick at midfield to instantly double their lead over the Wolves. Genesee Valley/Belfast would go on to add two more goals across their three-goal second half from both Turybury again and Will Guilford to complete a strong night of offense.
Ryan Snyder and Jordan White-Phipps each chipped in with an assist to help the offense further their cause against the Wolves.
As for the defense, Zach Thomas assembled a shutout in goal, making one stop for the hosts.
Coming up Wednesday night, Genesee Valley/Belfast now enters the Class C2 Semifinal round where they now prepare to take on No. 2 Dundee/Bradford for an opportunity to battle for all of Section V’s glory next weekend.
The site and time of their Semifinal contest has yet to be determined
Despite 6 touchdowns from Wellsville’s Geffers, Pembroke survives game-long shootout with Lions behind Felski’s massive ground attack in 64-48 home victory, Lions to host Red Jacket for Senior Night next week
PEMBROKE — Just like their first installment on the gridiron earlier this season in the Lion’s Den, Friday night turned into yet another shootout reminiscent of the wild, wild west, this time in Pembroke between the defending 8-Man State Champion Dragons and the Lions of Wellsville.
This latest chronicle of football, perhaps the craziest of the season by far and away, witnessing 19 combined touchdowns and a grand total of 112 combined points come to complete fruition across all 60 minutes.
It began with an early first quarter lead for the Dragons, and then the rest was history. Pembroke’s lead never switched hands, even after both teams combined to record 50 points and seven touchdowns across a back-and-forth second quarter filled with glorified madness, as they went on to record the season-series sweep of Wellsville in high-scoring fashion, led by another incredible ground game from Caleb Felski, with a 64-48 home win on Friday.
The night commenced on the biggest of bangs from the Dragons on the opening play of their first drive, as Felski stormed directly to the house from 69 yards out for the first of what would be nine total touchdowns in the game on the ground.
After Wellsville (3-4) went 3-and-out on their opening drive, Felski capitalized on the opportunity to extend Pembroke’s lead, using the majority of the clock in the quarter to score his second touchdown — a 36-yard scamper to double the Dragons advantage to 12-0.
From that point on, it was an all-out, back-and-forth blitz until the end.
Beginning with Wellsville’s first quarter-ending response all the way to the end of the third quarter, both teams would score on every single possession they would take the field on offense for, with the Lions reaching the board on the first of six touchdown throws from the arm of Brennen Geffers — two each to Trent Green, Jack Davis and JJ Howard, as Geffers connected with Green first from short distance to make it a 12-8 game.
Then the constant exchanging of pleasantries would really begin to settle in, in the second quarter.
In the midst of a 50-point frame of play, the Dragons would score all four of their touchdowns on the ground from Felski, finding the end zone on a score from 59 yards, along with a two-yarder and a pair of three-yarders, while the Lions secured their points off two touchdown passes from Geffers to Jack Davis from 39 and 36 yards out to go with a goal-line rush from Xander Outman.
When it was all said and done, Pembroke remained in the lead with a 42-28 advantage going into halftime.
The Lions kept pushing the pace against the Dragons at the start of the third quarter, converting on their first possession with Geffers’ fourth touchdown throw of the game — the second to Trent Green, who stiff-armed a pair of defenders on his slant route into the end zone for the 16-yard score, closing the gap down to eight one more time before Felski helps Pembroke utilize the clock to their advantage one more time on their first drive of the second half, scoring his seventh touchdown from five yards.
The Dragons later unearthed an opportunity to create some separation from Wellsville, using a big turnover-on-downs drive — the first Lions possession without a score since the start of the game, which was powered by back-to-back sacks to force the offense backwards.
As a result of their defensive efforts, Felski would convert his eighth touchdown of the game in the beginning of the fourth quarter to take a 58-34 lead, which was the largest degree of separation on either side.
Wellsville would remain alive until the end of the game, as Geffers racked up two more touchdown throws, both to JJ Howard from nine and 14 yards away to keep them within striking distance of Pembroke.
But in the end, the Lions would run out of time, as the Dragons went on to secure the wildest of victories in front of their home crowd.
Geffers would finish 21-of-34 under center with 290 yards and his six touchdowns through the air. He would add 56 more yards off 14 carries on the ground, bringing his grand total to 334 all-purpose yards.
On defense, Green led all defenders with 12 tackles. Howard and Matt Ritter each had 11 tackles, while Derek Coleman and Damon Davis followed with nine and eight, respectively.
The Lions will now put a bow on their regular season next weekend, as they prepare to host Red Jacket for their Senior Night celebration next Friday night at 7 p.m.
Wellsville 8 20 6 12 – 48
Pembroke 12 30 8 14 – 64
Scoring Summary
1st
PEM – Caleb Felski 69-yard run, 2-pts failed (6-0 PEM)
PEM – Caleb Felski 36-yard run, 2-pts failed (12-0 PEM)
WLSV – Trent Green 4-yard pass from Brennen Geffers, 2-pts good (12-8 PEM)
2nd
PEM – Caleb Felski 3-yard run, 2-pts good (20-8 PEM)
WLSV – Jack Davis 39-yard pass from Brennen Geffers, 2-pts good (20-16 PEM)
PEM – Caleb Felski 59-yard run, 2-pts failed (26-16 PEM)
WLSV – Jack Davis 36-yard pass from Brennen Geffers, 2-pts failed (26-22 PEM)
PEM – Caleb Felski 3-yard run, 2-pts good (34-22 PEM)
WLSV – Xander Outman 1-yard run, 2-pts failed (34-28 PEM)
PEM – Caleb Felski 2-yard run, 2-pts good (42-28 PEM)
3rd
WLSV – Trent Green 16-yard pass from Brennen Geffers, 2-pts failed (42-34 PEM)
PEM – Caleb Felski 5-yard run, 2-pts good (50-34 PEM)
4th
PEM – Caleb Felski 19-yard run, 2-pts good (58-34 PEM)
WLSV – JJ Howard 9-yard pass from Brennen Geffers, 2-pts failed (58-40 PEM)
PEM – Caleb Felski 60-yard run, 2-pts failed (64-40 PEM)
WLSV – JJ Howard 14-yard pass from Brennen Geffers, 2-pts good (64-48 PEM)
