HS Football: Ellicottville/Franklinville Dominates Class D Final

Franklinville/Ellicottville showed why they’re the top ranked Class D school in New York State Friday afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium.  The Titans used the strength of a dominant running game while forcing five turnovers on defense to secure a 34-7 victory over Frewsburg in the Class D Section VI final.

It’s the first Section VI title for Franklinville/Ellicottville as a merged entity. Ellicottville (merged with West Valley) won in 2012 while Franklinville won in 1992.

Franklinville/Ellicottville amassed 316 on the ground, led by senior running back Caleb Rinko’s 116 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.  Quarterback Tommy Easton did the bulk of the damage with his legs, running for 82 yards including a 44-yard score up the middle of the field in the third quarter that blew the game open.

When the Titans weren’t frustrating Frewsburg with their running game, they demoralized with a potent defensive pass rush.

Frewsburg quarterbacks Brady Collver and Trent Gray combined to complete just 12 of 36 passes for 159 yards while tossing four interceptions, largely because they spent much of their afternoon running for their lives.

Austin Grinos had two interceptions.  Caleb Palmatier and Deric Leiper each picked off one.

Franklinville/Ellicottville’s scored on their first possession; a 24-yard touchdown run by Rinko, who tight-roped the left sideline for the score.

An interception by Grinols on Frewsburg’s next possession led to a 55-yard scoring drive for the Titans, once again culminating in an 11-yard Rinko run.

The Bears got on the board with 4:32 left in the second quarter when on fourth down Collver connected with Christian Proctor on a 24-yard pass down to the Titans two, and two plays later Collver scored from the goal line to cut the deficit to 12-7

A strange and for Franklinville/Ellicottville, fortunate set of events benefited them just before halftime. The Bears forced a punt close to midfield and Brock Blecha’s attempt was blocked by Frewsburg’s Dennis Whippo.  However, the ball bounced directly to Blecha and he ran enough for the first down. A long run by Rinko got them in scoring position and Easton hooked up with Dooley Brennan on an eight yard touchdown pass with just seven seconds left.  Jonas Hurlburt caught a two point conversion pass and Franklinville/Ellicottville took a 20-7 lead into the locker room.

The Titans went up big, 28-7 with 7:14 left in the third when Easton took a snap in the shotgun and ran up the middle 44 yards untouched for the score followed by a two point pass.

Austin Whitmore accounted for the final points with a 15-yard touchdown run with 1:55 left.

A good postseason run for Frewsburg fell short on this day. They advanced to the Ralph by knocking off Westfield last week, 28-7 just one week after Westfield beat defending Class D state champion Randolph.

Collver led Frewsburg with 71 yards on the ground, while Cordell O’Brien caught five passes for 85 yards through the air.  Christian Proctor and Josh Peterson led the defense with 13 tackles apiece.

Franklinville/Ellicottville will play the Section V champion in the Far West Regionals next Saturday at Sahlens Park in Rochester at noon.