“Very pleased with our play” Hornell 49, Marcus Whitman 14
Story and Photos from Drew Golden, follow The Golden Lens on Facebook
The Hornell Red Raiders opened Section V Class C sectional play Friday night with a dominant 49-14 win over Marcus Whitman at Maple City Park. The victory advances Hornell to the semifinals, where the Raiders will host East Rochester-Gananda on Friday, November 6, at 7 p.m.
Hornell scored all 49 points in the first half and finished with 307 yards of total offense. Matt Karr led the ground game with eight carries for 135 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback
Brenton Booth completed 5 of 8 passes for 119 yards and two scores without an interception.
Dylan Czarnecki caught three passes for 61 yards and a touchdown, while James Smith also hauled in a scoring reception.
Defensively, the Raiders held Marcus Whitman to 162 yards, the bulk of which came in the second half after the starters had exited. Linebacker John Flaitz finished with 15 tackles (five solo), a sack and a tackle for loss. The starting defense has yet to allow a point on the home turf this season. Overall at home, Hornell has scored 214 points while allowing just 32.
Special teams also clicked. Bryan Hess handled kickoffs well, and Carson Smith remained perfect on extra points, now 19 of 19 for the season. Smith missed a significant stretch earlier with an injury, and the Raiders have welcomed his return.
“We were very pleased with our play last night coming out of last week’s game,” Coach Izzy Mehr said. “We had noted things that needed to be improved regardless of what the scores are. It’s the details that matter. Following the Haverling-Bath game we saw things which needed attention. Once again we were very pleased as we did a very, very good job in all three parts of the game. Our offense was able to put up a total of 307 yards total offense, quickly putting up 49 in the first half. Defensively we were very tough and physical, holding them to only 162 yards. Our special teams excelled. Bryan Hess did a great job for us on kickoffs and once again Carson Smith was perfect in his place kicking duties and now is 19 of 19 for PATs. The kicking game is so important from handling kickoffs and PATs and we are really thrilled with our kicking game. Carson was out for a significant part of the season due to injury and we’re just delighted to have him back.”
East Rochester-Gananda has been a difficult opponent in recent postseason meetings. On Nov. 9, 2024, the Bombers defeated Hornell 44-30, and last year they eliminated the Raiders from sectional play with a 34-0 win. This year’s semifinals will be hosted by the higher seed rather than at a neutral site.
“We’ll be hosting the sectional semifinal football game at home. In the past, semifinals and finals have always been at a neutral site. This year the higher seed will host the semis,” Mehr said. “We’ll be facing a very good East Rochester team Friday, November 6, at home. We’re already working and prepping. We’ve done very good at being focused week to week and once again we have one goal: to be 1-0 Friday night coming up against ERG.”
Hornell hosts East Rochester-Gananda on Friday at 7 p.m. at Maple City Park.
