Published: November 08, 2009 01:03 am      

HS FOOTBALL: St. Joe’s, O’Hara advance

A goal-line stand in the third quarter and a pair of touchdowns in the fourth propelled second-seeded St. Joe’s to a 14-3 win over No. 3 St. Francis in the Monsignor Martin League AA semifinals Saturday. The Marauders (6-4 overall) will play Canisius for the League AA championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The visiting Red Raiders had a 1st-and-goal at the 2-yard line in the third before the St. Joe’s defense rose to the ocassion and held them to only a field goal. The in the fourth, Nick Hall ran in for a score to give the Marauders the lead. A 50-yard connection between quarterback Matt Rosenhahn and tight end Kent Greer with 2:05 left sealed the victory. Rosenhahn completed only three passes on the day, but did accumulate 103 yards. Jeff Bellanca was the Marauders’ leading rusher with 63 yards on 11 carries.

Defensively for Joe’s, Dominic Bargnesi had 11 tackles and a sack, Tyler Beresford added 10 stops, Christian Didas had three sacks and both Rosenhahn and Hall had interceptions.

St. Mary’s 41, N. Catholic 30

The Patriots fell behind 34-0 at the half before putting together a furious second-half comback that fell short in Monsignor Martin League A semifinal action. Dave DeVaughn led the NC offense with 109 yard and a touchdown on just 11 carries. Mouse Matthews had three catches for 40 yards, including a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Mike Richbart added two catches for 18 yards, a score and a two-point conversion. NC quarterback Zach Evans was 6-for-16 passing for 76 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Defensively for Catholic (2-6 overall), Matthews had eight tackles and a fumble receovery and both Carmen Marra and Antonio Johnson had six stops. Melvin Dyster recovered a fumble and returned it 40 yards for a score in the loss.

Luke Hinton, a Lockport resident, tossed two touchdowns and ran for another for the Lancers.

O’Hara 28, Nichols 6

Jabari Gordon ran for a touchdown and passed for another to lift the Hawks to the Monsignor Martin League A semifinal win. O’Hara (6-3 overall) will play St. Mary’s of Lancaster for the League A title at 5 p.m. Thursday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Fred Nolley and Kyree Carter also scored rushing touchdowns and Ryan O’Sullivan hauled in the TD pass from Gordon. Rob Davis was the team’s leading rusher with 11 carries for 88 yards, followed by Nolley with 72 yards on eight carries and Dylan Jindra with 67 yards on seven carries.

Defensively for the Hawks, Gordon had nine tackles, DaShawn Davis added seven stops and blocked a punt and both Dawuan Hicklen and Jindra had an interception.