By HUNTER O. LYLE
Olean Star
OLEAN – As they filtered through the tunnel out of Bradner Stadium, the Olean High School student section had plenty to celebrate. Not only were they about to start Homecoming weekend, but their Huskies football team had just put on a showcase, beating Lewiston Porter 29-7.
Olean came into this matchup with a chip on their shoulder. After starting the season with a 32-7 win over Albion, week two came with a dismantling by Springville, who handed the Huskies a 26-0 shutout loss on the road. Back in front of their home stands, they were determined to return to the win column.
The feeling out process for both teams took a drive or two. Both the Huskies and the Lancers faltered early as they struggled to poke holes in the opposition. After being shut out on a fourth-and-17 attempt, the Lancers fired back in their second drive of the night with a 20-yard gain through the air from Rykar Savard. While Lew-Port was able to make incremental gains on the ensuing few snaps, the Huskies were quick to shut them down thereafter.
Getting the ball on their own 38-yard-line, Olean tried out the run game but stumbled their way into a third-and-12 scenario. Backed into a corner, the Huskies switched to the air, targeting Austin Miles. Snagging the ball for 15 yards, Miles turned on the jets as he cruised upfield, breaking multiple tackles before finally crashing back to Earth on the Lancers’ 17-yard-line. Two snaps later, Domonick Hirliman found a hole up the middle and followed it into the endzone, putting the Huskies on the scoreboard first.
Feeling the mounting pressure, Lew-Port would waste no time responding. On the following kickoff, the Lancers would take off from their own 30, returning it 70 yards to the house to even the score.
“We talk about big plays all the time. Whether we make one or give one up, we got to play the next play no matter what,” said Olean head coach Phil Vecchio. “We tried to take that mentality.”
Things looked rocky for the Huskies on their next drive. The first two snaps resulted in an incomplete pass and a sack for a loss of five. While they would connect on a nine-yard pass, a holding penalty would pin them into fourth-and-long. Setting up to punt, Olean caught the Lancers off guard and managed to find Dominic Giovine for a 46-yard pass that ended with a celebration in the endzone. Their luck would continue as a bad snap on the point-after would leave Joe Mest with no choice than to run it in for two.
In the final two minutes of the half, it was all Olean. Defense came up big again for the Huskies, with Giovine stripping the ball on a Lew-Port run and forcing a fumble. Setting up shop on the Lancers’ 42-yard-line, Mest would again find Miles downfield for another highlight-reel worthy pass, resulting in a 53-yard touchdown to put the Huskies up 22-7. Throwing one more pinch of salt into the ever-widening wound, Olean’s Caine DeGolier nabbed an interception with 14 seconds remaining, stunting Lew-Port’s last ditch effort to narrow the deficit before the break.
“We were up big at the half and saw that we could get (Lew-Port) on the outside a little bit,” said Vecchio. “We were able to sustain a little bit of momentum.”
Holding a firm grasp on the game, Olean looked to solidify their incoming victory. To do that, they would need to keep Lew-Port’s offense off the field. Meticulously moving up the field, Olean burned time off the clock with successive ground gains. With under three minutes remaining, the Huskies were within striking distance. However, the Lancers’ defense would hold strong and fend off their surging opponents to force a turnover on downs.
Having a comfortable cushion on the scoreboard, the Huskies’ second win of the season was all but inevitable thanks to the efforts of their defense. Lew-Port’s fourth quarter offense ground to a standstill, with the Lancers unable to get a first down throughout the final 12 minutes. To drive the point home, Olean forced Lew-Port into a fourth-and-28 with back-to-back sacks from Manoah Miketish, before throwing one final touchdown pass to Brody Frame, giving them a final score of 29-7.
“We’re always on our offensive and defensive lines. It’s the oldest adage in football: the line wins or loses the game. Our line wasn’t good enough last week so I was happy to see how they responded,” said Vecchio. “We were able to get our quarterback loose and Dom and Austin made some plays for us.”
