It’s a thrill unique among New York state high school football teams enjoyed only by those in Western New York.
To decide a championship, the best teams in WNY follow in the footsteps of the region’s professional football team. Section 6 remains the only section in New York to hold its sectional championship at an NFL venue: Highmark Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills.
To teenage football players, playing for a sectional championship can be thrilling enough. Add a walk out of the tunnel to play under the bright lights at a 70,000-plus-seat stadium and you get a lifetime memory-making experience.
“It was awesome,” Randolph coach Brent Brown said of Friday’s Section 6 Class D championship game. “It’s fun any time you come here. As soon as we started coming down the tunnel, there’s some kids that have never even been to a Bills game here and they looked at it and they just started freaking out. And it is cool, you understand because it is neat.”
The Cardinals made their most out of their time in the spotlight, the program’s first sectional final appearance since 2014. After a slow start in a scoreless first quarter, Randolph pulled away for an 18-0 halftime lead and won 26-0 against Franklinville/Ellicottville. It’s Randolph’s 11th sectional title since 1992.
“I’m happy for the kids, of course they worked hard,” Brown said. “F/E came out really tough at the beginning of that game. They started getting dinged up a little bit, but they made us work for everything. We’ve got to give them credit.”
This generation of Cardinals grew up watching some of the great teams in program history and wanted to emulate them. Junior running back/linebacker Xander Hind watched the 2013 sectional title game at the stadium as a youngster.
“This has been our dream since we were like 8 years old, make it to the Bills’ stadium, win a sectional championship,” Hind said. “So it’s awesome.”
With a sectional title now in hand, perhaps now the Cardinals can dream about chasing the same kind of glory some of their predecessors reached in the state tournament.
The Cardinals have won five state titles, all in the last 17 years: 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been here,” Pagett said. “We’ve been looking back at those guys, seeing the things they did, and we’ve just been doing the same things.”
This time, rather than a trip to Rochester or back to the Buffalo area for the Far West Regional, the Cardinals have a short bus ride down I-86. Section 6 is hosting the regional this year at Jamestown’s Strider Field turf. Randolph plays Section 5’s Oakfield-Alabama/Elba at 5 p.m. Friday.
“This week is great because our defensive coach actually went to Jamestown,” fullback/defensive back Luke Pagett said of defensive coordinator Nate Armella. “So this means a lot to him and it’s going to mean a lot to us.”
The hometown team, the Jamestown Red Raiders, will also play in the Class A regional game later Friday night.
“Isn’t that the best or what? Normally we’re in Rochester, right? This is awesome, Jamestown, hope Jamestown can pull it off here too and we’ll do it back to back,” Brown said before Jamestown’s sectional championship.
(Salamanca Press sports editor Sam Wilson may be contacted at swilson@oleantimesherald.com)
