By HUNTER O. LYLE
OLEAN, NY – Some would argue that there’s no better time to get your win at home than on Senior Night. The same could be said about scoring your season high in points. Well for the Olean football team, they accomplished both on Friday night.
Hanging back-to-back 40-point wins onto their resume, the Huskies gave Bradner Stadium one last show as they kept their postseason hopes alive with a dominating 43-18 win over Cheektowaga.
“I think the guys are starting to get it. The things we’ve been working on, the messaging, what it means to be successful,” said Olean head coach Terry Burrows, “They’re starting to just execute. It’s a young team that’s maturing and I’m not happy where we’re at yet, but things have come a long way in a couple weeks for sure.”
Back the calendar up one week and Olean was on the brink of postseason elimination. As their early season unfolded against them, putting them in a 1-4 hole, they would have to win-out to find a place in the Section VI Class C South bracket. The journey began in Dunkirk, where the Huskies’ notched their first do-or-die victory in the form of a 41-18 win over the Marauders.
Enter the Chargers who, despite an identical 2-4 record, held the second best quarterback in all of Section VI. While the weather was against them, forcing Cheektowaga to rely on the ground in the early goings, it wouldn’t stop them. Through the opening drive of the night, the Chargers marched down the field, seeing the endzone in seven snaps.
However, the Huskies were ready to respond. Following a week that saw him score four touchdowns against Dunkirk, all on the ground, Dom Myers led the way. In just three plays, which included a 45-yard carry, Myers carried Olean along the gridiron, cashing in on a retaliatory touchdown less than three minutes after the Chargers with a 10-yard scramble across the plain.
Although Cheektowaga ultimately responded, scoring on their following possession, the next time Olean reached the endzone, the floodgates opened.
Starting the second quarter with the ball on their own 26-yard-line, Olean continued to pursue short and consecutive gains on the ground. Spreading the touches between Myers, Hunter Silvis and Colby Booth, they were knocking on the Chargers door sooner rather than later. With just under six minutes left in the half, Myers tallied his second touchdown with a nine-yard carry, weathering a hit and bursting through contact for the score.
Taking the lead with a successful PAT, the Huskies doubled down, forcing a Chargers three-and-out before seeing Myers connect with Mason Hirliman on a fourth-and-10 for a 35 yard touchdown pass.
There would be no Cheektowaga rebuttal. Just two snaps into their next drive, Liam Ruggles came up with an interception, putting Olean’s offense back on the field and setting the stage for their third consecutive score, this one coming from a nine-yard pass to Silvis.
“We knew on film from studying all week that we had some things we could do and the guys just executed,” said Burrows. “The guys up front were blocking, started to gel a little bit so that’s been helpful.”
Entering the second half, the beatdown continued. While being forced off the field during their initial drive, Olean struck back with another interception, seeing Tyler Sullivan pick off a pass and take it back to the house, putting the Huskies up 36-12.
With over 20 minutes still remaining, Olean continued to blank the Chargers, forcing them off the field in rapid succession.
Although Cheektowaga finally ended their drought at the end of the third, scoring on a controversial blocked field goal, Olean notched their sixth touchdown of the night soon after – Silvis carried the ball across the goal line on a play-action scramble with zeros on the third quarter clock.
From there, the outcome was inevitable. Olean had kept their playoff survival story alive in dominating fashion, a final send off to their hometown crowd.
Myers ended with a game-high 147 yards on the ground and 60 through the air, combining for four touchdowns once again. Silvis ended with 86 rushing yards while Hirliman came away with 35 receiving yards, each reaching the endzone once.
Heading into the final week of the season, Olean will end their campaign against Lackawanna, a game that could potentially bring them back to 0.500 and keep their head above water in the C South standings. For Burrows, the main focus is to put it out of mind. It’s working now. Why complicate it?
“What I’m happiest about, we started our season with a juggernaut schedule and you can lose a lot of teams (mentally) but the kids hung in there,” said Burrows. “We’re sitting in a place where if we win next week, we’re in the playoffs. That’s a pretty good accomplishment coming off of what we’ve lost and what people expected of us. The growth has been good, let’s just keep it to Lackawanna and keep it going.”
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