The ride the Sweet Home Panthers were on beginning in Week Two ended at SUNY Brockport in the Far West Regional as they fell to Section V’s Brighton by a 48-14 score.
The Panthers were on a 10-game winning streak and had taken home their first Section VI title in 10 years but had no chance on Saturday night according to coach Jeremy Zimmer.
“(Brighton) was the better team tonight,” Zimmer said. “They were well-coached, aggressive. They fundamentally played good football. They tackled well, blocked well. You could draw up all the x’s and o’s you want, but tonight we got out-hit and out-hustled.
“It’s not the outcome we wanted, obviously, but I'm proud of our guys for getting this far.”
Sweet Home found themselves down 28-0 heading into halftime after Brighton scored four touchdowns courtesy of Miller Burrows, West Sturrup, Zack Rossignol and Matthew Heininger. The Bruins’ last three scores were each longer than 50 yards.
After a long kick return by the Bruins to begin the second half, Gavin Parks punched it in from six yards out. Heininger added another touchdown and Noah Wagner took a 99-yard interception return to the house.
“They dominated the line of scrimmage and their defensive linemen played extremely well,” Zimmer said. “They were able to go three over two on our receivers on each side and give us that light box in the middle. But we still couldn't run the ball, so in turn it made the passing game very hard.
“They were giving us a run game, as far as numbers-wise. But they were tough inside and physical and we couldn't take advantage of it.”
Damari Yancy scored both of the Panthers’ touchdowns, one coming from Rocco Panepinto in the third quarter and the other on a kick return in the fourth.
Having been the hottest team in Western New York heading into the matchup, a playoff loss will certainly be a sobering experience for Sweet Home. But for Zimmer and his graduating seniors, in time the experience of the 2024 season will gradually become a cherished memory.
“This stings and it’s going to be a tough bus ride back home, but our seniors need to look back on the season we had because it was great,” Zimmer said. “It's an amazing group, and there's only 14 of them. There’s some talented kids there and they never quit. A lot of them I’ve had since kindergarten, so it's been great to see them grow up into the young men they are.
“I don't think anybody thought in the beginning of the year that we would have been at the Bills’ stadium last week and dominating the way we did. It stings for the kids right now, but I want to get them to focus on how happy they were last week and on all we accomplished this year.”
Pics courtesy of Julia Elmederwar /Sweet Home CSD