Wildcats Swat Hornets 14-3

The West Genesee Wildcats apparently haven't heard the saying, "what a difference a day makes". No, they would have nothing to do with any reversal of fortunes or adjustments made by the opponent in a key rematch with Fayetteville-Manlius on this chilly April 28th evening. The 'Cats methodically dismantled the Hornets on their home turf in front of a standing room only crowd to notch their 12th victory of the season against the #11 ranked Hornets to win their 21st game in a row.

It didn't take long to see that the 'Cats brought their "A" game this night. On both sides of the ball the 'Cats clawed away at the Hornets in every aspect of the game in what clearly was the best all-round performance from all positions for an entire game this season. It usually takes a month until the Genny motor really starts to hum and boy it sure did tonight.

Tim Griffin got the 'Cats on the board first when he strode in from the left side and ripped the top right corner three minutes and twenty seconds in to go up 1-0. It then took almost 6 more minutes until the Wildcats struck again when co-captain Mark Cometti came running in from the top right side and buried the second goal of the contest at the 3:36 mark. The 'Cats found themselves in a man-down situation soon after the ensuing face off but quickly redeemed themselves as the staunch Genny defense put the hammer down on the Hornets, not allowing them to establish any semblance of an attack. The Wildcat defense played superb throughout yet again in turning the swarming Hornets aside, forcing bad decisions and stripping most every F-M pocket clean. In what has become routine in the past 4 games, senior defensive ace Sean Leahy scooped up a dislodged ball and took off up field before passing it up to Cometti who again tallied to put the 'Cats up 3-0 with 2:32 remaining. To add insult to injury and to close the quarter, Senior attacker Jeff Ryan then worked the backdoor pass to perfection in finding Tim Spillett alone in front of goalie Dan Parker where he quick sticked a shot with 3 ticks left for a back-breaking 4-0 Wildcat lead and left the F-M faithful shaking their heads in disbelief.

It took just 45 seconds into the second for the 'Cats to head up field on a fast break led by yet another "Leahy Charge" where the ball touched the crosses of Brian Griffin and Ryan Barber before ending up in the pocket of Tim Spillett where he quickly notched the fifth goal of the game to extend the lead. From there the quarter saw both teams settle down and exchange posessions for nearly ten minutes. The Hornets had their two best looks of the game to date denied by senior goaltender Danny McKeon as he stepped up and smothered both attempts and "Cross Bar King" Brian Griffin dented another on the season before the Hornets finally got on the board. Mike Mullett through an inside roll move to beat his defender and bounced a shot past McKeon's left hip with 1:19 remaining to cut the lead to 5-1.

Cometti got the 'Cats rolling in the second half one minute and ten seconds in as he strode in from the top right side and whipped a right hander that found the top left corner for his third goal of the evening which bumped the lead to 6-1. Junior middie Kevin Courtney pushed the Cat lead further as he came in on the left side and went 5-hole with a nifty left hander with 8:42 remaining to raise the lead to 7-1. After giving the Hornets just two glances at the cage in the quarter, the third time was a charm as Adam Drypolcher spun and bounced the second goal for the Hornets in with 4:22 remaining. Forty seconds later Tim Griffin took matters into his own hands when he zipped in from the right side to within a few feet of Parker and literally pushed the ball in to give Genny a 8-2 lead. The Hornets last gasp and reason for their fans to cheer came as middie Mike Smith unleashed a shot as he hit the turf which somehow found its way to the back of the cage, cutting the lead to 8-3 with fifteen seconds remaining but by then it was all too late to assume a comeback was in store.

Usually it's the third quarter that Genny owns but tonight it turned out to be the fourth, even though it took almost 4 minutes to make a statement. Freshman attacker Ryan Barber working the ball from behind the cage took off circling around the front and with a quick leaping twist ripped a low shot between the legs of Parker to push the score to 9-3 at the 8:03 mark. With just under seven minutes to play middie Brian Griffin came running in from the top right side and hurled a shot that skipped off the F-M turf from 10 yards out and nestled just under the cross bar to bump the score to 10-3 and the rout was on. Off the ensuing face off, Courtney advanced the ball quickly, hitting Ryan Barber who in turn gave it up to Tim Spillett who was camped out behind and to the right of Parker. After a short side step Spillett then flicked the ball cross crease to Jeff Ryan for yet another point blank shot from the doorstep as the lead bulged to 11-3.

With 5:49 left, Cometti notched his 4th of the game as he charged in straight-on at the Hornets back-up 'tender and after a few shuffle steps buried the 12th goal for the 'Cats. A minute later it was Timmy Griffin with his third goal of the night when he launched a right handed shot off the run from 10 yards out that found the top right corner. With 3:01 left in the contest, Andrew Vecchio then spotted Brian Griffin alone across the field on the same plot of land where his cousin had just tallied. In a fitting way to end the contest with a statement, Griffin wound up and launched an unbelievable rocket blast that stretched the top left corner of the net at least two feet to close out the night with victory number 12 for the Cats.


vvvroom, vvvroom the motor is starting to rev up...look out because the 'Cats are just hitting their stride.