Coach Mehr praises team effort, “tremendous” coaching staff, see the double GALLERY
By Drew Golden, Follow the Golden Lens on Facebook
The Hornell Red Raiders hosted Letchworth/Perry/Warsaw on Friday night and rolled to a 26-0 shutout in front of a loud student section and home crowd at Maple City Park. Hornell improved to 3-1 on the season.
At halftime, the program honored this year’s Hornell High School Sports Hall of Fame inductees: Cindy Mauro Freeland (Class of 1975), Chantre Milliner Mauro (Class of 2016), Sam Dagon (Class of 2016), Thomas Fagnan (Contributor) and Glenn Thomas (Contributor).
The Raider defense stopped LPW on every possession, forcing punts, turnovers on downs and sacks. Offensively, Hornell was patient and balanced, taking what was open and finishing several long drives that started deep in its own territory.
The Raiders rushed 28 times for 284 yards and three touchdowns. Matt Karr led the way with 15 carries for 150 yards and two scores. Fullback John Flaitz added five rushes for 102 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Brenton Booth completed 8 of 11 passes for 131 yards and a score, while Dylan Czarnecki led the receivers with four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Flaitz dominated at linebacker with 13 tackles, four for loss and a fumble recovery.
Gallery below from The Golden Lens
“A great team win last night,” Coach Mehr continued,
“I have to start by recognizing the coaching staff for putting in a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes and putting forth a tremendous plan offensively, defensively, and once again with special teams shining, giving us a tremendous display in all three facets of the game.
“Letchworth/Perry/Warsaw brings forth a really challenging offense to stop. They continuously grind away and move the chains with those three running backs in the backfield running the straight-T formation. They’re able to get multiple people to the point of attack, create lanes and also create misdirection. We really were able to establish ourselves defensively. Our goal was to limit their big plays and make them uncomfortable in third- and fourth-and-long.”
Mehr said Flaitz played inspired on both sides of the ball and that Booth continues to show poise and leadership at quarterback.
The win came with a short-handed roster after injuries forced last-minute lineup changes, including moving James Smith to defensive end in pregame.
“I have to recognize these young men for taking on adversity,” Mehr said. “We had a few key players unavailable Friday due to injuries and even on game day had to scramble. He may not be seen by all or known as well, but I can’t say enough about James Smith. He’s just an inspiring, selfless player who consistently makes plays, and he showed his versatility last night.”
“We achieved our goals. Now we have to move forward,” Mehr said. “This upcoming week we travel to Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton to face another tough opponent. I shared with the kids every week: the stage is higher, and it’s how we prepare and focus on ourselves to continue to get better.”
Hornell travels to Dansville to face the Mustangs at 7pm Friday. The Mustangs also currently hold a 3-1 record so far this season.
GALLERY BELOW FROM JC’S PHOTOGRAPHY
