By Pat Murray
AMHERST — If defense truly does win championships, the Sweet Home Panthers are ready to make a run for the Section VI title.
The Panthers put on an impressive defensive display, holding Starpoint to two yards of total offense in a 17-0 win over the Spartans in a Section VI Class A North game at UB Stadium on Sunday.
With the win, Sweet Home (6-1 overall, 5-1 division) clinched the Class A North crown, while Starpoint (3-4, 3-3) was eliminated from Section VI playoff contention. The Spartans, however, will likely earn a berth in the section’s Consolation Bowl Series.
“I have to give a lot of credit to our defense,” Sweet Home coach John Faller said. “They made a lot of big plays.”
The Panthers harassed Starpoint quarterback Joseph Scibilia all day, never giving him a chance to get set. Scibilia was 0-of-9 on the day, and was sacked five times.
Augustine Merlino and Marcus Johnson had two sacks apiece for the Panthers.
“They just kept coming at us all day,” Starpoint coach Al Cavagnaro said.
The Starpoint defense wasn’t all that bad, keeping the Panthers in check for most of the day. But Sweet Home capitalized on two big pass plays in the first half.
The first, a 50-yard connection from quarterback Ian Goree to Nathan McConnell, set up a 1-yard TD run by Joel Tillman in the first quarter. Goree hit Marcus Johnson with a 47-yard TD pass in the second quarter to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead at halftime.
Michael Lawandus closed out the scoring with a 35-yard field goal in the third quarter.
“We played well defensively, but those two big plays hurt us,” Cavagnaro said. “We played hard, but give Sweet Home credit. That’s a good team.”
Defensive end Kyle Gibas had 11 tackles, three for a loss, to lead the Starpoint defense.
Now Sweet Home plays a waiting game to find out who it will meet in the Section VI playoffs.
West Seneca East meets Cheektowaga on Wednesday. If West Seneca East wins, it’s will finish second in Class A South and travel to Sweet Home for a first-round game. If Cheektowaga wins, there would be a four-way tie for second place, forcing tie-breaker procedures to be put in place.
“A couple of games still have to be played this week,” Faller said. “We’re still in limbo.”
But more importantly, the Panthers are in the playoffs.
