Ryan Hunter Chasing His Dreams Far From Home

Ryan Hunter (left) and Rich Robbins (righ

            When you think about a prototypical offensive lineman, you picture someone like RyanHunter.

            Hunter towers over the average person, measuring in at 6’5 and 315 pounds. He looks mean and intimidating, and on the field he plays every down like its his last.

            This imposing stature, combined with his physical mentality and leadership abilities, has garnered the Canisius High School senior a lot of attention from college recruiters throughout the northeast.

            Currently, Hunter is verbally committed to Bowling Green State University. He has also received offers from the University at Buffalo, as well as some FCS teams. Canisius head coach Rich Robbins says the excitement around Hunter is building, and they expect an offer from a bigger program might be coming soon.

            “We hope to get some other interest going, see what else is out there for him based on a much better senior film than a junior film,” said Robbins. “I know he’s very comfortable and ready to be a Bowling Green guy too.”

            No matter where Hunter ends up attending college, when he leaves for training camp this summer, he feels as though he will have an advantage over the other freshmen in camp. The reason Hunter is so comfortable is because for the past two years, he has been living with a host family, five hours away from his parents.

            Hunter is from North Bay, Ontario, which is about 212 miles north of Toronto. He moved to Buffalo in 2011 so he could attend Canisius High School and play football for the Crusaders.           

            “It has changed my life,” said Hunter.” I never thought growing up that I’d be leaving home this young to pursue my dream of playing football.”

            Hunter found his way to football as a boy in Canada, even growing up in a country where hockey is the most popular sport. He said that he knew he wanted to play from a young age, but it took some convincing to get his mother to let him.

            “I was begging my mom to (let me) play, and she didn’t want me to play because she thought I’d get hurt,” said Hunter. “But I was like the biggest kid in seventh grade so I don’t know why she was thinking that.”

            After a year of pleading with his mother, Hunter finally convinced her to let him play. He took a minute to think, before going on to talk the first time he put on his equipment.

            “From the first time I put pads on, I just fell in love with football,” he said. “It’s so much fun. It’s the only place where you can hit someone as hard as you can and you wont get in trouble if its between the whistle.”

            Hunter remembers one game in particular like it was yesterday. He was a on the JV team at his high school in North Bay, and he was feeling nauseous all day, but decided to play despite being sick. The rest of the story is better left to him to tell.

           
          This type of performance is something that Canisius fans have grown accustomed to over the past two years. He brings a physical mentality into every game, and Hunter thinks it gives him an edge over opponents.

            “It helps so much being physical,” he said. “If you start from the first whistle burying them in the ground, and you let them know that every play you’re going to be there burying them in the ground, he’s going to want to quit a lot sooner than you will.”

            This comment solicited a chuckle from Hunter’s coach. Robbins laughed and shook his head a little bit, then turned and nodded towards Hunter.

            “That’s a lineman right there,” Robbins said.

            In the classroom, Hunter excels just like he does on the gridiron. He carries a grade point average of just under 90 percent, but what is even more impressive is that English is not Hunter’s first language.

            Hunter speaks French as his primary language, and until coming to Canisius, he had never been taught in English.

            “He carries almost a 90 average here at Canisius High School, which is very challenging,” said Robbins. “Especially when you’re going to school in a language which isn’t your first language.”

            In college, Hunter said he is interested in studying psychology or criminal justice, but he doesn’t know for sure what he wants to major in. Regardless, Robbins feels that Hunter’s performance on the field will be strong.

            “I think he’ll have a very successful college career,” said Robbins. “With his size and agility and ability, I think he’ll challenge for a starting position right away.”

            Hunter shares his coach’s confidence in his ability. Even sitting in the chapel at Canisius, he seemed like he couldn’t wait for the fall to take on collegiate competition.

            “I feel like I could go up against any defensive end in any conference and do well against them,” Hunter said.

            For now, all he can do is sit and wait patiently. Hunter continues to work hard during the off-season, to try to improve his game and be ready to play at the next level. His coach has the utmost confidence in him, and doesn’t necessarily see Hunter’s career ending after college.

            “I think if he gets in with a good college program and works real hard for four years, he may have a chance to play on Sundays,” said Robbins.

Canisius and Bishop Timon to Meet for Monsignor Martin Championship

Ralph Wilson Stadium will be rocking this weekend, but the Bills won’t be on the minds of those in attendance.

              Canisius and Bishop Timon/St. Jude will clash for the Monsignor Martin championship game Saturday afternoon, in a rematch of one of the best regular season games this season. The schools finished first and second in their league during the regular season.

Canisius huddles after Thursday night's semi-final victory

              The Canisius Crusaders come into the game boasting a 10-0 record, and are ranked as the number one school in the area by The Buffalo News. Canisius’ head coach Rich Robbins has his team in position to win their second league title in four years. Before that, their last outright league championship was in 1980.

After their semi-final win last week against St. Francis, Robbins looked ahead to this Saturday’s showdown with Timon.

              “They’re tough kids,” he said. “We had a hell of a game with them Friday night a couple weeks ago out at Tift, and I expect nothing different on Saturday.”

              Timon enters the game with a record of 6-4, and is coming off a semi-final victory over St. Joe’s. The Tigers are making their first appearance in the championship game since the Monsignor Martin league adopted a playoff format in 2002. Their last outright league championship was in 1994.

“It’s a big one,” said Timon senior Jackson Brown after practice Tuesday. “I don’t think we’ve ever been to a title game, so if we get a win, it’d be good to end the Canisius undefeated season and finally get a championship for Timon.”

              Both team’s rosters are stacked with playmakers all over the field. For Canisius, junior running back Qadree Ollison leads the way, with 1681 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns on the season. Both statistics are Canisius single-season records.

Timon coach Charlie Comerford knows that slowing down Ollison will be key to his team’s success on Saturday.

“He’s a great player. I think they’re going to pound us,” Comerford said. “No one has stopped him all year. He’s probably the best player in Western New York, so we have to come up with something.”

Senior lineman Ryan Hunter is another playmaker for Canisius, although his contribution is usually to provide room for Ollison to run. After the Crusaders’ semi-final victory Thursday night, he talked about Timon’s physicality on both sides of the ball.

“I’m excited to play them. Timon is a really good team, they’re really physical up front,” Hunter said. “They have some great weapons, DiMillo, Jackson Brown, players like that. It should be a really good, physical game.”

Timon practices Tuesday, in advance of Saturday's big game

Timon is led by senior quarterback Ryan Dougherty, who has played through an ACL injury for most of the season. Dougherty realizes the significance of Saturday’s game, and his enthusiasm was evident after practice Tuesday.

“It’s exciting. I’ve been wanting to be in this game for three years now,” he said. “This is what we worked so hard for after we lost last year, we dedicated to ourselves, just to work for this game and be here. We’re finally here and it’s exciting.”

Timon has also benefitted from getting key players back from injury late in the season. The Tigers were plagued by injuries all season, and senior Lewis Vacarro feels as though we are finally seeing this team’s true potential.

“When we started off the season we were healthy, and we started off really good,” said Vacarro. “Now, everyone is coming back and we’re clicking.”

Canisius won the regular season matchup between the teams26-14. The game was physical and evenly fought until the fourth quarter, when the Crusaders were able to pull away late. Kickoff for the championship game is scheduled for noon on Saturday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Canisius Relies on Rushing Attack, Defense to Earn Victory

Ryan Hunter (left) and Tyler Mascio (right)

            The Canisius Crusaders continued their perfect season Thursday night, dominating St. Francis to advance to the Monsignor Martin Championship game.

            Canisius beat the Red Raiders 44-20 in a game that was even more lopsided than the score would indicate.

            Standout running back Qadree Ollison continued his breakout season with 230 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. His performance gave him the Canisius single-season rushing record. His 1681 yards on the season eclipses the previous record of 1560 yards that Mercer Timmis set last year.

            “We’re playing great,” Ollison said after the game. “We’re playing our best football we’ve played all year.”

            Ollison’s two touchdowns also tied him with Timmis for the single-season rushing touchdown record, which stands at 22.
            Quarterback Tyler Mascio chipped in as well, throwing for 190 yards and a touchdown on 8-11 passing. He also ran the ball 8 times for 23 yards and two touchdowns.

            The Crusader defense once again played physically Thursday, just as they have done all season. After the game, head coach Rich Robbins was noticeably pleased by his defense’s performance

            “I’m the most proud of my defense,” Robbins said. “Very physical tonight. We knew playing a Jerry Smith St. Francis team, you better be physical, because they will be, and we were. I was proud of some of those big hits and tackles and stops that we got in the first half to get us going.”

            Senior lineman Ryan Hunter agreed with his coach’s assessment of the game.

            “We were real physical on defense,” he said.

            Physicality seemed to be the word on everyone’s mind after the win. Both Hunter and Robbins talked about the need for Canisius to be physical when they play Timon next week for the league title.

            “They’re tough kids,” said Robbins. “We had a hell of a game with them Friday night a couple weeks ago out at Tift, and I expect nothing different on Saturday.”

Ollison celebrates a fourth quarter TD with his teamates

            Hunter agreed, adding that he was eager to play another physical team that also boasts playmakers like Canisius.

            “I’m excited to play them. Timon is a really good team, they’re really physical up front," he said. "They have some great weapons, DiMillo, Jackson Brown, players like that. It should be a really good, physical game.”

            Canisius and Timon will square off next Saturday at noon at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Canisius won the first matchup between the two schools 26-14 on Oct. 19. That game came down to the fourth quarter before the Crusaders could secure the victory.

            Not only will the league title be on the line next Saturday, but various other records will be sought after as well. Canisius will look to complete their first perfect season since 1975. That team went 8-0. If the Crusaders win, they will finish 11-0.

            Ollison will look to become the single-season rushing touchdown record holder. He only needs one touchdown for that. Two touchdowns would make him the team’s overall single-season touchdowns record holder.

            Timon will also be looking to make history. A Tiger victory would give Timon its first ever Monsignor Martin playoff championship.

            “Timon is a great team,” said a focused Ollison after the game. “They showed up tonight against St. Joe’s. We just have to go back next week and go to work, just like we’ve been doing all season.”

Bishop Timon/St. Jude Advances to First MMHSAA Game in School History

            For the first time in school history, the Bishop Timon/St. Jude Tigers are going to the Monsignor Martin championship game.

            Timon beat St. Joe’s 27-10 Thursday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium to punch their ticket to next week’s final.

            “We were in this position last year, and we got beat pretty handily by a good St. Francis team,” Timon head coach Charlie Comerford said after the game. “Our guys made a commitment, and 12 months later they’re reaping the benefits of that commitment.”

            Timon used a big first half and a strong defensive performance to secure the victory. They fell behind early after St. Joe’s senior running back Ilo Noble scored a 61-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. From there, the Tigers’ defense turned it on, and Timon finished the first quarter up 21-7.

            The big play of the game came early in the first quarter. With the game tied 7-7, Timon’s Adam DiMillo intercepted St. Joe's quarterback Dennis Gilbert on a third down pass, and returned it close to 40 yards for a Tiger touchdown.

            “We held him out of defense all year because of some injury trouble, but getting him at safety is a huge bonus to our team, and helps our team speed a lot,” a beaming Comerford said after the game.

            Timon was able to push their lead to 24-7 by halftime, and they held St. Joe’s to just three points in the second half.

            “They came back in the second half against us in the first game,” said DiMillo. “We knew we had to bring the same intensity as we came out with.”

            DiMillo finished the game with 82 yards on 15 carries to go along with his interception for a touchdown. Quarterback Ryan Dougherty went 8-14 for 137 yards, including four big conversions on third down. Senior fullback Jackson Brown added two touchdowns for the Tigers, and played physical defense all game.

            “That first play kind of stunned us a bit, then we realized we were in for a game,” he said. “After that we re-grouped, everyone started stepping up, and we played well.”

            The win not only gives Timon a chance at their first outright league title since 1994, but it also marks the first time in school history that the Tigers have beat St. Joe’s twice in one season. Before this year, Timon hadn’t defeated the Marauders since 2002.

            “It feels great,” said Brown outside the Timon locker room. “We haven’t beat them in a decade. This year, we beat them twice. They’re a very good team, we had to play our best game in order to beat them. It just feels amazing right now.”

            Noble had 87 yards and a touchdown on 6 carries in his last football game as a Marauder. Rod Payne once again led the defense, totaling 9 tackles and a sack in the losing effort. St. Joe’s finishes their season 8-3.

            Timon awaits the winner of the second Monsignor Martin semi-final game between Canisius and St. Francis. They will meet the winner next Saturday in the championship game at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Orchard Park Wins Second-Straight Class AA Championship

O.P. Coach Gene Tundo adresses his team after the game

            Orchard Park displayed once again Saturday night why Ralph Wilson Stadium is considered by many to be their home away from home.

            The Quakers beat Jamestown 35-20 to earn their second straight Class AA title. They have now won 13 sectional titles in their history, including 11 in the last 18 years.

            “It feels awesome,” said senior running back Mitch Wilson. “After that loss to Jamestown earlier this year, we had a reason to win this game. We wanted to prove that we’re the best team in Western New York, and I think we did that today.”

            Wilson put the Quakers on his back, rushing through the steady rain for 276 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. After the game, Wilson was quick to give credit to his teammates for his big performance.

            “I’m nothing without the line, so you shouldn’t be asking me about this, its all the line,” he said. “Everyone did amazing today on offense and defense, so it’s not just me today.”

            The Quakers dominated Jamestown on the ground all day, out-gaining the Red Raiders 476 to 103 on the night. That proved to be the difference in the game, as Jamestown simply could not stop Orchard Park’s potent backfield.

            “Our offensive line played awesome,” said Orchard Park head coach Gene Tundo after the game. “Our full back and our tailback had great games.”

            Senior quarterback Ben Holmes was also quick to praise his running back and offensive line. He laughed for a minute and shook his head, before offering his analysis of Wilson’s performance.

            “Too many good things to say about Mitch,” Holmes said, chuckling. “Mitch is an amazing running back, and our line, like I said last week, that’s our x-factor. They are just awesome and I love everyone of them.”

            Holmes finished the game with just 57 yards passing, but he got into the running frenzy with 87 yards on the ground.

            Orchard Park advances to the state quarterfinals with the win. They will play Section V powerhouse Aquinas next week for a chance to go to the state semi-finals. The Quaker’s players and coaches were optimistic after the game, and focused on their ultimate goal: a second straight state championship.

            “I think we can win states,” said Wilson. “We have the talent, we have the size, we have everything. This game just gave us so much motivation, I think we can go all the way.”

            Coach Tundo shared the sentiment. After the game, he told his team that they were 12 quarters (three games) away from their ultimate goal.

            “I feel good, I think all the teams left will be similar, it will be like today’s game,” he said. “Everybody is going to be in a battle.”

            Aquinas comes in to next week’s matchup on a roll, after beating Rush-Henrietta and Pittsford en route to the Section V, Class AA title. The teams will meet at All-High Stadium Saturday night at 6.

St. Joe's Dominates, Advances to Monsignor Martin Semi-Finals

St. Joe's players after they dominated Cardinal O'Hara 48-6

Execution was the word on every player’s mind Saturday afternoon as St. Joe’s dominated Cardinal O’Hara to advance to the MonsignorMartin semifinals.

            The Marauders controlled the game from the outset, routing the Hawks 48-6 on a cold, windy day at Robert T. Scott field.

            “It was a good performance,” said St. Joe’s running back Ilo Noble. “We came out fast, just like how coach told us to do, and we executed a lot of plays.”

            Noble set the tone early, with a 36-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game. He followed that with a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown to put the Marauders up 14-0 less than four minutes into the game.

            Junior Rod Payne took over from there, punching it into the end zone three times, with touchdown runs of 12, 27 and 37 yards.

            “I give all the credit to my line,” he said after the game, shivering in the cold fall air. “They came out and blocked hard, executed, and we got it done.”

            Payne finished the game with 142 yards on eight carries, with three touchdowns. He didn’t play at all in the second half.

            St. Joe’s went in to halftime winning 42-6. They had 234 yards of offense on just 13 plays, and had the ball for only 5:45 through two quarters.

            “We just came out and took care of business right away, and that’s the name of the game,” St. Joe’s coach Dennis Gilbert said after the game. “We talked about it, we wanted to get in, get off to a fast start and be smart.”

            The Marauders did all of those things Saturday, and after the game, players and coaches were already focused on their next game, Thursday night against Timon.

            “This time, we have to make sure we limit our turnovers,” said Payne. “No turnovers would be a great game, so if we limit our turnovers, we give ourselves a great shot to win the game.”

            Noble, one of the senior leaders on St. Joe’s got an extremely focused look in his eye when talking about Timon outside of the locker room after the game.

            “We came off a tough loss, but we kept our heads right, so we just have to get ready for Timon at the Ralph,” he said. “Execute and no turnovers.”

            Gilbert shared the sentiment, and offered insight into the team’s mindset ahead of their rematch against the Trojans.

            “Listen, we lost 2 games this year, and I told the boys, ‘you play you’re cards right, you get a chance to avenge both of them,’ and that’s motivation enough,” he said.

            Next week’s game between the Marauders and Trojans will be at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The teams will play at 5 p.m. for the right to play the winner of the other semi-final game for the Monsignor Martin championship.

Sweet Home Wins Sixth Straight Section A Title in Dominating Fashion

            The Sweet Home Panthers continued their decade of dominance over Section VI Friday night in front of a raucous crowd on hand at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

            The Panthers dominated a previously unbeaten West Seneca East team, who many thought had a good chance to knock off Sweet Home in the class A final.  The Panthers had other ideas, controlling the game from the opening whistle en route to a convincing 28-7 victory over the Trojans

            “It feels amazing,” Sweet Home senior lineman Billy Attea said after the game. “A lot of people picked us to lose, so it’s nice to get the win.”

            The victory pushes Sweet Home’s streaks to six straight class A championships, and 60 straight wins over Western New York opponents.

            “It just feels tremendous, it feels just as good as the first one we had,” said Sweet Home head coach John Faller. “We got a different group of kids, who find a different way to get things done with the same results.”

            Sweet Home led the entire game, after completing a methodical 97-yard touchdown drive late in the first quarter, which put the Panthers up 6-0. The drive was led by senior running back Kahlil Humphrey, who capped it off with a 12-yard scamper over the left side of the line for the score.

            “The line does their job, and they expect me to do mine,” said an ecstatic Humphrey after the game. “I just have to make the best of it.”

            Humphrey finished the game with 126 rushing yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns, as well as two catches for 55 yards receiving.

            Senior quarterback Mike Torrillo was extremely efficient in Sweet Home’s victory, going 14-22 for 208 yards and two touchdowns. After the game, he was beaming and noticeably proud of the win, and thankful to be able to share it with his father.

            “It feels great. My dad has been coaching for the last 8 years, I’ve been through it, and I went over and hugged him at the end of the day like, ‘hey, this one is ours. I did it,” said Torrillo.

            Sweet Home moves on to face the winner of the Eastridge-Canandaigua Academy game next week at All High Stadium in the state quarterfinals.

            The loss brought to an end West Seneca East’s dream season, who finish with a record of 9-1. The Trojans fought hard, but the speed and toughness of Sweet Home was just too much for them Friday night.

            “I give credit to our defense,” said Faller after the win. “They’ve been tough all year, they’ve kind of been the sleeper in our program, but without them we wouldn’t be here.”