By: Dylan O'Loughlin
BROCKPORT, NY --- It was senior night for the Brockport Blue Devils football team as they hosted the Greece Arcadia Titans in the final game of the regular season. Seniors scored five of the six touchdowns en route to a 41-14 win, clinching a playoff berth for the Blue Devils.
"Win at all costs," Brockport Blue Devils head coach Paul Carella said. "We try to treat every game the same. Everything's the same. But obviously, when you get towards the end of the season, you know what's at stake and these guys want to play another week. They want to make the final, they want to win, so we had our backs against the wall. We came out and we set the tone, and we did not relinquish. Testament to these guys, we had to win to get into the playoffs."
Brockport senior quarterback Landon Scott threw four touchdowns in the victory. Two of those tosses were to senior wide receiver Azay Odey. Senior wide receiver Tyler Judd caught one as well along with one for senior Jackson Tokarz. Senior Brayden Scaccia and junior Ryan Miller added rushing touchdowns apiece to go along with the four scores through the air. Brockport found the endzone on its first six drives of the game. Additionally, they forced either a punt or turnover on downs on its first seven drives defensively.
The Titans got possession first, but Brockport forced a three and out, and from there on it was all Brockport. Only three plays into the Blue Devils first drive, Scott connected with Odey for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 7-0. After a bad punt the following drive by Arcadia, Brockport was back in scoring position. Scott found Odey once again for a 54-yard touchdown just over a minute later. The Titans blocked the point after attempt, making the score 13-0 with 8:25 to play in the first quarter.
"They were playing man with no safety," Scott said. "If a team is going to do that against us, we're going to destroy you."
Brockport kept its foot on the gas pedal. After a turnover on downs by the Titans, Scaccia took over on the drive. Scaccia ran the ball down the field over multiple plays and topped it off with a rushing touchdown to increase Brockport's lead to 20-0 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
That wasn’t the last time the Blue Devils found pay dirt in the first. With 34 seconds remaining, Scott threw a dot down the sideline to a wide-open Judd who ran it into the endzone for the fourth score of the quarter. After one, Brockport led 27-0.
“Sometimes the pass game sets up the run and vice versa," Carella said. "It seemed like tonight, our quarterback was accurate with his passes, our receivers were running great routes and guys were open. They executed tonight, our quarterback he's a leader, he's a senior, and he showed up tonight."
In the second quarter, Brockport was able to capitalize off Titans mistakes. After a muffed punt by Arcadia, The Blue Devils were set up in the red zone, Miller rushed into the endzone to make it 34-0 with nine minutes still left to play in the half.
The final score of the game for Brockport came with 3:52 remaining in the second quarter. Scott drove the Blue Devils offense down the field once again and connected with senior Jackson Tokarz for his fourth touchdown pass of the game and a 41-0 score at the half.
In second half, it was quieter offensively. Brockport maintained control of the game as they drained the third quarter with a 9:45 drive that ended with a miss field goal.
The Titans tallied its first score of the game just seconds into the fourth quarter. It was freshman quarterback Jackson Childs as he found sophomore wide receiver Drake Sapp on a deep post which made it a 41-7 game. After Brockport chewed the clock a little more on the following drive, Arcadia struck pay dirt again. This time it was senior running back Xavier Smith who took a six-yard handoff into the endzone for a final score of 41-14.
"We did great," Odey said. "We moved the ball, we threw the ball, and I love how we came out. It was great."
The Brockport Blue Devils finish the season with a 5-3 record and have clinched a spot in the Section V Class AA playoffs. Last year at this time, Brockport was 2-6 and the season was over. Under its first season with Carella at the helm, they have made a drastic improvement.
"They come into work every day, working. We have great practices, and I think it starts there," Carella said. "I always tell my guys what you do in practice you're going to do in a game, so we're not going to beat anybody with gimmicks or tricks. We execute in practice; we complete passes in practice and the translation shows up on the field Friday nights. We got to continue to practice art, it's not going to get easy. I'm sure we're going to have a very tough opponent next week and my guys will be ready."
The Blue Devils await to see who its next opponent will be. They will play in the quarterfinals next Friday, Nov. 1.
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