By HUNTER O. LYLE
OLEAN, NY – With just 39 seconds left on the clock, the Huskies lined up for what would be the last kick off of the game.
One is good, two is impressive, but now the Olean football team was attempting to come away with a third-consecutive on-side kick recovery. The first two had trimmed a 15-point lead down to two and now, with the team firing on all cylinders, they needed one last opportunity.
However, as the ball spun and rolled and cleared the distance to be up for grabs, Depew swarmed. With multiple Wildcats piling on top, the ball, and ultimately the game, had been secured. After a valiant fourth quarter, the Huskies were unable to close the gap, losing 28-26.
“I thought we battled,” said Olean head coach Phil Vecchio. “I was really proud of our effort in the fourth quarter.”
Just three weeks into the season, Olean were no strangers to close contests. In Week One, their comeback against Salamanca fell just six points shy before coming away with a win in Week Two from a walk-off 68-yard kick return. Early against Depew, it seemed it would be another one of those nights.
The Wildcats hit the ground early, literally. Using their speed-and-power combo of running backs Zach Bridenbaker and RayJohn Vance, Depew systematically inched up the field on their first touch of the game. Burning nearly seven minutes of clock off the scoreboard, they finally punched in the first touchdown of the game with a 10-yard scramble from Kole Szratter.
Olean wasted no time retaliating. Giving the greenlight to Domonick Hirliman, they took gains on the ground in bunches as well before quarterback Joe Mest burst through a gap up the middle, taking the ball 70 yards downfield to the endzone just two minutes after Olean took over. A successful PAT would put the Huskies up 7-6.
Defense ruled the next two drives, with both squads going three-and-out and being forced to punt. Then, the Wildcats really slowed things down.
Continuing to pound the ball left, right and center, Depew crawled across the gridiron in the most literal sense of the word. Taking over 17 snaps and burning nine whole minutes of play, they dominated possession time throughout the majority of the second quarter. Even despite picking up 30 yards of penalties, the Wildcats found a way to come out with first downs, ultimately making it down to the one-yard-line where Szratter broke the plane with a tush push touchdown. Again, they would miss the 2-point conversion.
Having under three minutes left to cross the field themselves, Olean got to work. A 36-yard carry from Hirliman put them in the red zone before settling just four yards from the endzone. However, the Wildcats proved unmoveable, stunting the Huskies and causing a turnover on downs just two yards away from a touchdown.
“I think we had three possessions in the first half. We scored on the first one quickly and then right before half we got down to the four-yard line and we couldn’t get the ball in the endzone,” said Vecchio. “It comes down to execution. One guy misses a block here, one guy misses a block there, we just have to take care of the little things.”
Coming out of the break, the Huskies began to switch things up. Decisively having leaned on their approach via the ground, Olean began to open things up through the air, starting with a 14-yard gain from Mykel Rivera and a seven-yard connection from Colby Booth. Another throw, this time on a fake punt on fourth-and-eight, connected with Rivera and set the scene for Mest to scramble 25-yards into the endzone just two plays later.
“We were at that point where (Depew) was up two scores and we had to get something going,” said Vecchio. “(The fake punt) is something we work on and we got it playmaker to playmaker. We got it to Mykel (Rivera) who had a hell of a game for us.”
Depew took note and after driving the ball across midfield on their next possession, threw for their first passing touchdown of the night, targeting Tony Velazquez for a 38-yard toss and score. With just under four minutes left in the third, the Wildcats’ first successful 2-point conversion put them up 20-13.
Whether it be morale or fatigue, the Huskies then entered a slump. On offense, receivers struggled to break through coverages and gaps failed to stay open while on defense, Olean struggled to pin down tackles. Depew would continue to pick up steam, forcing a three-and-out before opening the fourth quarter with another touchdown, widening the gap to 13. As the Huskies stumbled, things went from bad to worse as a bad snap on fourth-and-18 was fumbled out of the back of the endzone for a safety. Things looked bleak with less than four minutes to go.
However, then came a spark. The Huskies’ first onside kick of the night eventually found friendly hands, putting them on their own 30. Battling the clock with quick snaps, Olean made key gains with Mest’s quick feet and quicker release. Finding Rivera, Liam Ruggles and Adrian Bohdanowwycz downrange, Olean put themselves in the endzone sooner rather than later – Mest connected with Ruggles for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:52 remaining.
Daring to repeat the feat, a second onside kick bounced around the field, back and forth before Olean once again landed on top of it. Again, key passes, including an 18-yard reception from Rivera and 22-yard reception from Hirliman, put the Huskies within striking distance. To finish the drive off and cut the lead to just three, Rivera rose up over a defender, soaring as he snatched the ball and came back down to Earth with six points. All the Huskies needed was one more chance.
That chance, however, wouldn’t materialize. A third onside kick was immediately recovered by the Wildcats, and as they lined up in victory formation, a final knee would seal the game.
Mest’s last-minute flurry of passes loaded his total for the night at 153 yards through the air, connecting on 14 of his 30 attempts and two touchdowns. He also led the Huskies in rushing with 127 yards on 11 carries, also scoring twice. Rivera was his main target on the night, catching six receptions for 125 yards and one touchdown.
“We’ve played three really good teams so far. The thing I’m most disappointed in is our inability to stop the run tonight. You have to be able to stop the run, if you can’t, everything else goes downhill,” said Vecchio. “It has to start in practice. We have to practice harder and practice better and be more efficient in everything we do.”
