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MAYVILLE - Curt Fischer is in his 32nd season coaching local high school football.
Wins like the one Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove earned Friday night are what keep him coming back for more.
Ethan Conti threw his second touchdown of the game late in the third quarter and Patrick Braley thwarted Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton's final drive of the game when he forced a fumble that was recovered by Jaxon Kraft as the Herd beat the Eagles 14-8 in Class C South action.
"I love the kids. I love to watch the kids grow into great people," Fischer said postgame when asked why he keeps coaching after three-plus decades. "Football is that sport where that happens."
The win was the 248th of Fischer's storied career, tying him with the legendary Gene Masters for the all-time Section VI lead. Fischer will have an opportunity to break the record Thursday when Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove (5-1, 4-0) hosts Salamanca at Bill Race Field.
"It just means I've had a lot of nice kids. Honestly it wasn't just me," an emotional Fischer said when asked what the number 248 means to him. "The one guy who has to be mentioned is Dan Greco. Almost every one of those wins, they are as much his as they are mine. Dan Greco just means a lot to me. He deserves a lot of credit."
Fischer largely has his defense to thank for his latest win. Braley was a menace, being credited with nine tackles, including four for a loss, a sack and the game-deciding forced fumble.
"Patrick is a man amongst boys sometimes. He makes so many great plays for us," Fischer said. "He's our captain. He's a do-it-all guy for us. He's sacrificed a lot for this team."
Trailing by six, Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton (3-3, 2-2) took over at its own 25-yard line with 5:27 remaining in the game, looking for the tying or go-ahead score. A fourth-down conversion from Josh Swan to Lane Scarpine made it first-and-10 at the Eagles' 41 with 3:20 left.
A pass interference penalty pushed the ball to the Herd's 42-yard line before three straight runs set Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton up with a first-and-10 at the Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove 14-yard line. Fischer called a timeout for his defense and it responded.
"I have faith in Coach (Jeff) Jordan. He's done an unbelievable job all year," Fischer said. " ... He made the adjustments he had to make. Hats off to Coach Jordan, for sure."
On the next play, Braley darted into the backfield disrupting the handoff before Swan could get the ball to Tristen Gibbs. A pileup ensued and the Herd's Kraft came away with the ball.
"He was tremendous. He's a guy we identified this week in the scouting report. We didn't do a good enough job of getting him blocked," Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton head coach Ty Harper said of Braley. "The game usually comes down to players making plays and he made a lot of them tonight."
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove gained 9 yards on third-and-10, then coaxed the Eagles to jump offsides for a clinching first down with 40 seconds left.
"We just didn't do enough right tonight. You talk about important stats like penalties, field position and turnovers; we didn't do a good enough job in any of those categories tonight," Harper said. "Every time we'd have a spark and something good would happen, we'd have a costly penalty that would take us back or we'd turn the ball over at inopportune times."
A cagey first half left the Herd with an 8-0 lead. Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove tackled Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton's Thandon Bensink in the end zone for a 2-0 lead, then made it 8-0 later when Ethan Conti threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brody Hawkins with 8:22 remaining in the second quarter.
"I thought we made some big plays in the secondary ... but we really did sell out to try and stop the run. ... Curt has made a career out of really smashing the ball down people's throats and they're good at it this year," Harper said. "We wanted to be good at the line of scrimmage and sometimes that lends itself to some plays opening up in the pass game. They took advantage of it."
The Eagles marched 64 yards in eight plays to open the second half, tying the game on Swan's 13-yard touchdown pass to Aiden Woodis and Gibbs' 2-point run that followed.
But Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton gave the Herd a short field on a missed punt at its own 5-yard line and on the next play Conti threw a touchdown to Reese McKay with 4:37 left in the third quarter.
"That's the one part of our game we have to get better at," Fischer said of his passing game. "We are going to learn so much from tonight, it's going to help us out immensely."
That ended up being the winning score, thanks to Braley and the defense's late stand.
"They are a good team. They are what their record says they are," Harper said. "They are well-coached, they have one of the greatest of all time over there."
Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton will travel to the Orange Bowl on Friday night to take on Fredonia in what will be another key Class C South game.
"It's super frustrating, but at the same time when you take a step back and look at our inexperience and how many young guys are being asked to play meaningful roles for us, you are going to take your lumps," Harper said. " ... Our seniors have experienced a lot of success the past couple of years, so you really want to win for those guys."
NOTES: Dylan Newman ran 26 times for 108 yards while Conti completed six passes for 83 yards for the Herd. Noah Brandt was in on 10 tackles and Logan Muscarella was in on eight. McKay had a pair of interceptions. ... Bensink led the Eagles with 18 carries for 82 yards while Swan completed seven passes for 92 yards. Gibbs was in on 10 tackles; Trent Ramm was in on 10 tackles, including two for a loss; Lance Franklin had 10 tackles, including two for a loss, and intercepted a pass; and Logan Fuller was in on nine tackles, including one for a loss.
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove 0 8 6 0 - 14
Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton 0 0 8 0 - 8
F/CV/MG-Safety (Bensink tackled in end zone)
F/CV/MG-Hawkins 10 pass from Conti (kick failed)
CL/W/B-Woodis 13 pass from Swan (Gibbs run)
F/CV/MG-McKay 5 pass from Conti (run failed)