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Class D, semifinals: Perry vs. Notre Dame

By Brian Hillabush

 Perry (4-3) vs. Notre Dame (5-2)

3 p.m. Saturday, at East Rochester

Surprise, surprise. 

While everybody was looking forward to seeing post season rivals Notre Dame and C.G. Finney playing each other in the semifinals, Perry knocked off Finney and gets a crack at the Fighting Irish.

The Yellowjackets knocked off Finney 32-22 in the first round and are now playing the Cinderella role in this playoff.

James Devitt rushed the ball 19 times in that game for 124 yards and Zane Hendrickson pitched in 70 yards as Perry seems to be playing its best football of the season. The Yellowjackets started off 0-2 and have won 4-of-5 games since.

Notre Dame is playing some real solid football right now and is coming off a 55-6 conquering of DeSales. The Fighting Irish rushed for 313 yards in the game and were led by Kevin Schildwaster's 12 carries for 131 yards.

Schildwaster keeps getting better every week it seems and now has 617 yards and eight touchdowns. He's assisted in the backfield by Mike Pratt, who has 506 yards on the ground.

Notre Dame has been involved in a pair of blowouts over the last two weekends and have gotten a lot of experience for other runners, like Greg Barr, Beau Richter, Gianni Zambito and Jon Corona.

But ND might go away from the run a little bit in this game because the East Rochester field has turf.

Nick Bochicchio has proven to be one of the top quarterbacks in the league and has the ultimate weapon on his side in receiver Kevin Francis. He's probably the fastest player in the Genesee Region League and if Bochicchio can get him the ball in space; he's gone.

Francis returned a punt for a touchdown last week and caught 27 passes for 337 yards and five TDs during the regular season. He added a touchdown reception in the playoff opener.

Notre Dame received an honorable mention in the state rankings this week and would advance to the finals next weekend against the winner of the Dundee/Geneseo game with a victory.

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