Tomorrow, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame take a 5-1 record into the quarter final round of Section V playoff football, the sectionals.
The Irish will host Red Jacket from the Finger Lakes West League.
Red Jacket comes into the game with a 2-3 overall record and ranked 61st in the section, while Notre Dame is ranked 23rd.
Even so, Head Coach Rick Mancuso isn't taking Red Jacket lightly.
"There's a good group of teams in their league," Mancuso said. "They've earned their way here. They're going to be a real strong test. We know they throw the ball an awful lot. They run option. They've got a great defense. Their offense is really something to contend with because they spread you out and they've got the athletes to run that offense."
That offense is led by #18, Trevor Sanders, at quarterback, and Mancuso said he has a strong arm.
"He can really stretch the field," Mancuso said.
Notre Dame's offense is known as a big play unit, with the likes of Mike Pratt, Beau Richter, Gianni Zambito and Tony Bochicchio working hard to put points on the board.
Of course, getting breaks, not making mistakes, taking care of the ball and a defense that gets the job done are a big part of winning a sectional game, but Mancuso said special teams also play a big role at this stage.
"We spend about a third of our time working on special teams," Mancuso said. "Special teams are something that maybe gets overlooked by the fans, but it's something that's very, very important also."
Mancuso said his squad is ready to go and focused on this game.
"We're taking it the same way as we have all year long," Mancuso said. "Everybody says the same thing. It's cliche, 'week-to-week,' but I think that's truly what everybody has to do at this particular time. It's lose or go home. So you've got to come, you've got to play your A game, you've got to leave everything out on the field and you've got to hope for the best.
The game starts at 1:30 p.m. on the Notre Dame field.
Tonight is homecoming night for the Batavia Blue Devils. They take on Greece Olympia. If you go, please be sure to bring a donation for Don Carroll's Toys for Kids. The JV cheerleaders will be taking up collections at the gate prior to the game.
Tonight, we'll cover Oakfield-Alabama's play-off game against Cal-Mum at Cal-Mum.
In other weekend football action, Alexander hosts a playoff game against Lyons, and in non-playoff action, Pembroke is at Attica, Wellsville is at Le Roy, and tomorrow, Elba/BB is at Holley.
