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Hornets sting for Black Knights in win over Herd

By Braden Carmen 5 min read

SILVER CREEK -- The team is named the Black Knights and the home field is at Silver Creek High School, but the Forestville boys more than pulled their weight Friday night.

Thanks to two touchdown passes from Will Duliba to Jake Anders, two key defensive plays by Dom Anders, and tough running by Manny Sanchez, the Silver Creek/Forestville Black Knights defeated the Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove Herd 14-8 in a nonleague game on at Silver Creek High School.

"I said to the kids, 'I'm happy for you. I'm happy that you were able to fight through all those things, and things worked out for you,'" said Sean Helmer, Silver Creek/Forestville head coach. "When you get to celebrate and everybody is taking pictures, it makes for a better weekend, that's for sure."

Following a 35-6 loss at home to the Clymer/Sherman/Panama Wolfpack to open the season, the Black Knights were faced with another challenging test Friday. The Herd stepped onto the field at Silver Creek High School looking to improve to 2-0 and hand the Black Knights another loss.

Instead, both teams walked off the field late Friday night with identical records through two weeks of the season. What a difference a week makes.

"I thought Silver Creek played a heck of a game. Coming off a loss last week, we knew they were a lot better than that," said Curt Fischer, Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove head coach. "They played with a lot of heart tonight. That was a good football team we played tonight."

Helmer said that from a game plan standpoint, his team did not do much different from the week prior, but the difference on Friday was execution. He also noticed that his team played with more confidence this week.

"They're kids. It would be really easy to just put your head down and quit or make excuses, and they didn't," Helmer said.

Faced with an early decision, Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove (1-1) went for it on fourth-and-5, and it paid off. Brody Hawkins caught a pass near the visiting sidelines and broke a tackle to convert a first down. Shortly afterward, the Herd found the end zone with a 7-yard rush from Dylan Newman. He followed with the 2-point conversion rush for an early 8-0 lead for the visiting Herd less than four minutes into the contest.

Silver Creek/Forestville (1-1) went three-and-out on its next drive, but the Black Knights made up for it by recovering a fumble near midfield. Nothing came of it, however, and neither team scored for the rest of the opening period.

Early in the second quarter, following a big return by Manny Sanchez into the red zone, Duliba found Jake Anders on a 13-yard touchdown pass in the front right corner of the end zone. The Black Knights were down just a pair, 8-6, with 9:23 left in the second quarter. That score held until the second half.

Following a Silver Creek/Forestville fumble on the first drive of the second half, the Herd was set up in prime position to capitalize. A few minutes later, faced with a fourth-and-3 at the Black Knights' 6-yard line, a run up the middle was stuffed by Dom Anders. The Black Knights took over on downs with 7:58 left in the third quarter.

After Duliba found Jake Anders on third-and-14 near midfield, the Black Knights bet on black one more time, and it paid off. Jake Anders beat the cornerback on a double move and broke free down the home sideline on a deep ball. Anders put his arms out wide to celebrate after he reeled the ball in for the go-ahead 33-yard touchdown.

"They've been together for a really long time. When it's clicking, they're a really good combination," Helmer said of the connection between Duliba and Jake Anders. He later added, "They were on, that's for sure."

After a 2-point conversion, the Black Knights led 14-8 with 1:24 left in the third quarter. From there, it was up to the hosts to hang on, and they did just that. Jake Anders had an interception and Sanchez had several key runs to close out the victory.

"When he needed to get 3 yards, he got 5. When he needed to get 2 yards, he got 4. I thought he made a huge difference in the game. He's a heck of a runner," Fischer said of Sanchez. "That's the guy that I think changed the game."

The night was capped with a cheer from the home cheerleaders punctuated with, "We are proud of you."

Helmer said the focus all week was on trying to get better in the things they do as a team, rather than the result. He acknowledged after the game, speaking to the response from the crowd and the excitement on the sidelines, "We just needed a win. ... It was a great environment."

The Black Knights travel to Newfane next week in the Class D opener. The Herd will face Clymer/Sherman/Panama at Falconer High School in Class C South.

"Our schedule is tough. Every week is a challenge," Helmer said. "You expect to play the best and that's how you get better."

Both coaches said after Friday's game that starting the year with two nonleague games helped them prepare for the league season, which is the true test for both programs.

"Having two nonleague games, for us, was a good thing, because we needed them," Fischer said. "We're going to take apart this game. ... We're going to have about six changes. That's the value of a game like this. We're just going to learn as much as we can, and we're going to be playing chess with a lot of guys."

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