BUFFALO — They were the first words uttered by Phil Vecchio the night before.
“(Health Sciences) has a stable of talented running backs,” the Olean High football coach had said of his team’s next opponent. “We’re just gonna have to play really good, sound defense to stop their ground game.”
On this night, Olean just wasn’t quite able to do that.
Health Sciences, the No. 3 seed in the Section 6 Class B bracket behind only top 10 state powers Pioneer and Lackawanna, was just too good.
Kavon Pitts recorded 17 carries for 217 yards and three touchdowns and the Falcons piled up 323 total rushing yards in dispatching Olean, 34-7, in a Class B quarterfinal on Friday night at Buffalo State. The sixth-seeded Huskies, who returned to the playoffs after a 2-6 season last fall, ended one of the better seasons in Vecchio’s nine-year tenure at 6-3.
Still within two scores late in the first half (14-0), Olean drove close to midfield before seeing the series stall out on downs. Pitts then ripped off a 54-yard TD run to make it 22-0 and give the Falcons all the cushion they needed at the break.
While Olean had a tough time stopping Health Sciences, they had it equally difficult moving the ball. The Huskies finished with 118 total yards and eight yards while notching their lone score in the fourth quarter on a 21-yard run from Manoah Miketish.
“Both of their lines kind of controlled the game,” Vecchio acknowledged of Health Sciences. “That’s kind of obvious when you see the stats. We had some guys at the point of attack on a couple of plays, we just couldn’t get the guy down.
“There were a couple of opportunities. … It seemed like the ball was on the ground 4-5 times in the first half (via HS fumbles) and it would either bounce right back up to them or something like that. We never got the big turnover that we needed to kind of change the momentum.”
Of the choice to go for it near midfield late in the first half, Vecchio added, “I probably should have punted it, but (after) the kid ripped off a 54-yard run, my defensive coordinator said, ‘on that play, it would have been a 75-yard run, so what’s the difference?’”
Semahj Summerour caught a 23-yard touchdown pass and Pitts punched in his third score of the night in the third quarter to essentially put the game away for the defending Class B champions.
“Their defense was extremely fast,” Vecchio went on. “We couldn’t get anything going on the outside; we got some run plays going in the middle, but they played man-to-man defense and we just weren’t able to shake their guys. They were tough, that’s for sure.
“It was just … it wasn’t one of those where you’re shaking your head at the end of the game. They were better than we were, that’s all.”
Miketish finished with seven carries for 57 yards and Joe Mest completed 9-of-24 passes for 49 yards, five of those going to Austin Miles, who finished with 23 receiving yards. Jacksen Kahm and Miketish both had a team-leading eight tackles and Caine DeGolier chipped in six stops.
On the heels of a solid season, Vecchio was proud of the way his team punched in a final touchdown to break up the shutout and end on a high note.
“That’s just a testament to our kids’ character,” he said. “They never quit, they battled the whole time. To get that touchdown at the end, it was just a testament to our kids’ character. The seniors … I don’t think people were expecting a whole lot out of us (this season). We’re super happy with their effort. They can live with this the rest of their lives and be proud of their senior football season.”
Health Sciences (6-3) will meet either No. 7 Grand Island or No. 2 Lackawanna in next week’s semifinals.
AT BUFFALO STATE
Olean 0 0 0 7 — 7
H. Sciences 6 16 12 0 — 34
First Quarter
Health Sciences — Kavon Pitts 1 run; conversion failed, 6-0
Second Quarter
Health Sciences — Kevin Guy 3 run; Jordan Oliver run, 14-0
Health Sciences — Pitts 54 run; run, 22-0
Third Quarter
Health Sciences — Semahj Summerour 23 pass from Oliver; conversion failed, 28-0
Health Sciences — Pitts 15 run; conversion failed, 34-0
Fourth Quarter
Olean — Manoah Miketish 21 run; Dominic Giovine kick, 34-7
Team Statistics
Olean HS
First Downs 8 17
Rushes-Yards 24-69 41-323
Passing Yards 49 13
Comp-Att.-Int. 9-24-0 2-4-0
Total Offense 118 336
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-2
Penalties-Yards 2-23 7-60
Punts-Avg. 3-30.3 1-30.0
Total Plays 48 45
