MAYVILLE — If there was any doubt about the Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brockton football team heading into Week 4, the Eagles will face undefeated Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove on Friday night. They quickly showed that they were the real deal.
After back-to-back wins over the district’s lowest-ranked team in Class C South, the Eagles scored 44 unanswered points and claimed their first loss of the year, 44-7.
“The message this week is that people feel like the two wins we’ve had don’t give us enough credit.” Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brockton head coach Ryan Gibbs talked about his team’s season. “Fredonia is still young, so it’s not going to look the same. This statement this week was, ‘Let’s show them that we’re actually here,’ and we weren’t able to do that tonight.” I think so.”
After struggling to move the sticks on its first drive, Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brockton (3-1, 3-1) punted on its first possession and Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove Matthijs Behr collected the rebound and fired it down the sideline for a goal. 92 yards touchdown.
“You always want your special teams to do well.” Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove head coach Curt Fisher said. “We don’t spend a lot of time on special teams. Isn’t that fun? But we certainly got a break on special teams.”
It seemed like Hurd was trying to sound the alarm on the Eagles, but that couldn’t be further from what actually happened.
Working a short field after Hurd’s onside kick attempt, quarterback Brayden Gibbs and the Eagles began to find their groove. Gibbs connected with Devin Hughes over the top for a 23-yard touchdown and a wild push with Gibbs on the 2-point conversion gave the Eagles an 8-7 lead they never relinquished and kept building.
“Matisse is a gamer” Gibbs said. “The message was we have our stars and they have theirs. He’s going to make a play, we’re going to be okay. We were going to be okay and I got the rebound and the rest is history.”
The Hurd (3-1, 2-1) didn’t have a chance to respond on its next possession, as a botched handoff sent the ball to the ground and Mason Marin recovered it the other way. Gibbs and Hughes connected again on the next play for a 20-yard touchdown and Carson Fairbank’s kick to make it 15-7.
The fumbling was a problem for the Hurd all night, most inconveniently leading to three consecutive Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton touchdowns. Trying to regain momentum on the hard side, Behr ran into a swarm of Eagles defenders on the kickoff and fed the ball to Tandon Bensink, but Bensink was stopped just short of a touchdown.
Gibbs kept the ball himself on consecutive plays and scored eight more points, giving Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton a huge 23-7 lead.
Turnovers were an issue all night for Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove, which fumbled several times without Eagles defenders nearby.
“We’re working on ball security.” Fisher said of the team: “It was just one of those nights where everything went wrong. But Chautauqua Lake is a good football team. I’ve said since the beginning of the year that they’re one of the top teams in the division. That’s what I thought, and you proved it.”
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove’s best chance to score came after Jacob Ross made an interception that led to a drive into the red zone. However, Hughes returned the favor by picking Ross in the end zone, ending the scoring threat.
“It’s nice to see him play with a little more confidence.” Gibbs said of Hughes: “We brought him up as a freshman and, you know, he’s frustrated with the program. Are you planning on making it double?”
Hughes was hands-off throughout Friday’s game, but Jacobson nailed it early in the second quarter. That’s when Gibbs made a big catch and ran for 66 yards for a touchdown. Jacobson had 155 yards and a touchdown on six catches, and Hughes completed three passes for 55 yards.
Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton extended its lead, but the Hurd’s biggest loss was on the field rather than the scoreboard, when Bael was injured in the first half and did not return.
“He’s a great athlete and a great player.” Mr. Fisher said of Mr. Baer: “When you lose that, and he was our captain, it’s a little depressing for a football team. Of course we’re just worried about Mathis, but we hope he gets healthy. I hope he does, because he’s definitely going to play at the next level, and we want him to be healthy for that.”
Bensink scored two touchdowns on the ground and put the final exclamation point on the victory as the Eagles moved into second place in Class C South.
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove 7 0 0 0 — 7
Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton 23 14 0 7 — 44
F/CV/MG – Baehr 92 Punt Return (Carlson Kick)
CL/W/B – Hughes 23 Pass from Gibbs (Gibbs run)
CL/W/B – Gibbs to Hughes 20 pass (Fairbank kick)
CL/W/B – Gibbs 2 Run (Gibbs Run)
CL/W/B – Jacobson 66 pass from Gibbs (Fairbank kick)
CL/W/B – Benshin Clan (Fairbank Kick)
CL/W/B – Bensink 3 runs (Fairbank kick)
Climbers — Caitlin Horton had 16 kills, two assists, three blocks and three digs to lead Panama past non-league…
FREDONIA — Fredonia defeated Chautauqua Lake 1-0 in nonleague men’s soccer action Friday at SUNY Fredonia.