Lancaster Football in the News

Connolly Cup!

November 17th, 2021

Micah Harry is a finalist for the Connolly Cup!

After a one-season hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Connolly Cup awards dinner is back and the organizing body has announced its 10 finalists for the Western New York scholastic football player of the year.

The winner will be announced during the Connolly Cup dinner/banquet on Dec. 8 at Ilio DiPaolo’s Restaurant in Blasdell.

The finalists are Bennett running back/defensive back Dominac Allen, Jamestown running back/safety Jaylen Butera, Canisius quarterback Tyler Baker, Iroquois quarterback Trey Kleitz, Depew RB Carson Alberti, Hamburg RB Devin Collins, Lancaster running back Micah Harry, Randolph running back Xander Hind, St. Mary’s Christian Lewis and Medina quarterback Xander Payne.

Lancaster Alumni

November 17th, 2021

Lancaster Alumni will be playing in a couple of ECAC Bowl Games this weekend!

The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced via a live selection show the matchups for the 2021 ECAC Division III Bowl Games.

The eight teams selected by the ECAC Division III Football Committee to participate are SUNY Brockport (7-3), Fairleigh Dickinson University – Florham (6-4), Grove City College (7-3), Hobart College (8-2), Saint Vincent College (5-5), Utica College (6-4), Washington and Jefferson College (8-2) and Westminster College (PA) (8-2). The games will take place on Nov. 20 at campus sites.

WNY Athletics

November 14th, 2021

Bennett dethrones Lancaster to win Class AA championship

There’s a new king in Section VI Class AA, and the crown is heading to Main Street. Timely defensive stops and a big day from Dominac Allen led the Bennett Tigers to a 14-10 victory over Lancaster for the Tigers’ first sectional title since 2016, when they were in Class A, on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.

The Legends had won the Class AA title the past five seasons.

Buffalo News

November 13th, 2021

Bennett ends Lancaster's reign, claims Section VI Class AA football title

Bow down to the Bennett Tigers, the new kings of Section VI Class AA football.

Bennett’s quest to become one of the hunted in Western New York became reality Saturday night, as it ended Lancaster’s five-year reign as champion with a 14-10 victory on a blustery fall evening at Highmark Stadium.

Dominac Allen played a key role for the Tigers. The senior rushed for a game-high 322 yards on 32 carries and scored a touchdown. Teammate Edgar Key III ran for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, as Bennett won its second Section VI championship in program history and first since capturing the Class A crown in 2016 when current Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie was a senior for the Tigers (9-1).

Buffalo News

November 13th, 2021

Section VI Class AA football championship: Pictures

Buffalo News

November 13th, 2021

Section VI Class AA football championship: Bennett vs. Lancaster

WHO: Bennett Tigers (8-1) vs. Lancaster Legends (9-1)

Where: Highmark Stadium.

Championship game history: Lancaster is 7-7. The Legends defeated Orchard Park 28-21 in last season’s final at Foyle/Kling Field. The Legends have won the last five Class AA championships. Bennett is 1-3, winning the Class A title in 2016 against Starpoint. The Tigers have lost in the Class B (2014), Class C (2015) and Class AA (2018) finals.

WIVB

November 11th, 2021

Section VI Championship preview: Class AA

The Class AA Section VI Championship features the Lancaster Legends yet again, but this time, they’re going to be facing the top-seed Bennett Tigers, the only team that beat the Legends this season.

Lancaster Bee

November 11th, 2021

Legends blank Red Devils in semifinals

The Lancaster football team continued its tear through the AA playoffs with a 27-0 win over Clarence last Friday at home. Lancaster was the first to get on the board, putting up a touchdown in the first quarter of the game. The Legends built their lead with an additional three touchdowns in the second quarter to jump out to a 27 point lead. In the second half of the game, the Legends were able to take their foot off the brakes offensively to put the game to bed. According to head coach Eric Rupp, the win was a product of a Legends team that is fully in sync.

“It was a total team effort, and we were clicking in all three phases of the game. On special teams, we were able to block one punt and we also had a huge punt return,” Rupp said. “On offense we were able to make some big plays through the air. On defense we were able to shut their run down and kind of slow the game down.”

Buffalo News

November 8th, 2021

How to get tickets for sectional football title games at Highmark Stadium

Advance tickets for Friday and Saturday's Section VI football championships at Highmark Stadium can be purchased at each participating school.

Tickets also will be sold at the stadium at the mobile ticket office between Gates 2 and 3. All tickets are $10.

Game 10 Clarence

November 7th, 2021

Semifinal

Lancaster beat Clarence 27-0 in the Semifinal round this past Friday night.

They will move on and play Bennett at Highmark Stadium next Saturday Night in the Section VI Class AA Championship Game!

Buffalo News

November 6th, 2021

Bennett steals football spotlight with 70-point effort

It’s hard to believe, but there still are tightly contested, low scoring high school football playoff games being played in Western New York.

They’re just so few of them that they’ve been easily overshadowed by teams putting up big numbers.

WNY Athletics

November 6th, 2021

Big second quarter powers Lancaster back to Class AA finals

Death, taxes, and Lancaster high school football in the Section VI Class AA title game.

The No. 2 Legends tallied three touchdowns in a 1:02 span in the second quarter, powering them to a 27-0 victory over No. 3 Clarence in the Section VI Class AA semifinals, punching their ticket to Highmark Stadium for next week’s finals where No. 1 Bennett awaits.

Lancaster Bee

November 4th, 2021

Legends beat Hutch Tech, advance to semifinals

The Lancaster football team was able to blow past Hutch Tech in last Thursdays first round playoff match up. The Legends won 42-8 in a dominating performance that saw Hutch Tech out of the score column until the final frame of the contest. The Legends were able to go into halftime with a 35-point lead that would provide a wide buffer through the remaining 30 minutes of the game. Head coach Eric Rupp attributed the team’s focus and tempo as the major contributing factor as the team rolls onto the semifinals.

Game 9 Hutch Tech

October 28th, 2021

Legends pick up win in Playoffs

The Legends opened up the Playoffs last week with a win over Hutch Tech.

The team would start the night on defense and would collect a turnover early on. The offense would move into the endzone on a run up the middle and get ahead early on this night.

Lancaster Bee

October 28th, 2021

Legends win big in classic rivalry game

In a tradition dating back over a hundred years, the Lancaster and Depew football teams squared off last Friday night on Lancaster’s home field for a classic game under the lights. The Legends were able to walk away with a 42-13 victory over the Wildcats. For head coach Eric Rupp, perhaps the best thing though was being able to enjoy this rivalry game once again, after it was cut from last Spring’s COVID-abbreviated season.

Foyle-Kling Field!

October 24th, 2021

Ole Miss had a special field design for Eli Manning Day this weekend, painting “MANNING” into the end zones for Saturday’s game against LSU.

The Oxford, Mississippi does not have the coolest special field design in the country, though.

Playoffs 2021!

October 24th, 2021

Let the playoff tournament begin.

The field for the Section VI football postseason is officially set, with four of the five unbeaten teams in Western New York Jamestown (Class A), Iroquois (Class B), Medina (Class C) and Randolph (Class D) each earning a No. 1 seed. The other team without a loss, Class C South Division champion Fredonia, will at least play one home game, as teams begin the tournament whose championship games return to Highmark Stadium, the home of the Buffalo Bills, after a one-season absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Game 8 Depew

October 23rd, 2021

Homecoming for the Lancaster Legends means Lancaster/Depew Game! The Red and Black once again met their rival Depew Wildcats after a year away and the home team did not disappoint!

Buffalo News

October 23rd, 2021

Noah Kimble didn’t enter this football season without any experience playing quarterback.

The Lancaster senior served as the signal caller on junior varsity two years ago. Though he was technically the backup on varsity last season, he started at wide receiver – earning All-Western New York third team honors while helping the Legends win their fifth straight Section VI Class AA title.

Lancaster Bee

October 21st, 2021

The rain poured, the thunder rumbled and the lightning arched through the sky, but it wasn’t a scary story for Halloween. It was last Friday’s game between the Lancaster and Clarence football teams. Despite numerous delays and an ultimate postponement until the next day to finish the game, the Legends were able to beat Clarence 24-17. According to head coach Eric Rupp, the unusual pacing of the game tested his player’s conditioning.

Game 7 Clarence

October 15th-16th, 2021

In one of the longest halftimes in Lancaster history, the Legends traveled twice to CHS to face the Red Devils and earn a victory!

WIVB

October 16th, 2021

The 5-1 Lancaster Legends and the 5-1 Clarence Red Devils squared up for a huge AA matchup on Friday that took until Saturday due to weather.

Thunder and Lighting

October 15th, 2021

Advantage lightning: Lancaster vs. Clarence football game to resume Saturday due to weather.

Dad's Surprise Visit

October 13th, 2021

It's a toss-up as to which even is more amazing.

The fact that Joe Podraza didn't find out his father was secretly planning to surprise him by showing up for his son's senior night festivties at Lancaster on Friday night even though Joe expected him to be away at work. Or, that the stars aligned so that John Podraza could arrive from Washington, D.C., to be part of his son's special night.

Game 6 WN Spartans

October 9th, 2021

On Senior Night at Foyle-Kling Field, Lancaster and Williamsville North met on Friday in a critical Class AA matchup. The Legends would be able to score early in this game and pulled away from the Spartans to earn the Victory. They are now 4-1 in conference play with a huge game against Clarence looming!

Signs

October 7th, 2021

Any high school football fans looking at the Lancaster sideline the past two seasons may have noticed at least two individuals using hand signals in between defensive plays.

Game 5 Bennett

October 1st, 2021

Bennett hosted the Legends on Friday night and Lancaster was down early to the Tigers but were able to come back to tie it up at 24. It would not be enough though as the Tigers were able to sqeeze out a victory in a critical Class AA matchup.

Game 4 Niagara Falls

September 25th, 2021

Niagara Falls hosted the Legends on Saturday at Niagara Falls High School. Lancaster jumped out early and were able to walk away with a 41-6 victory to move to 4-0.

WNY Athletics

September 18th, 2021

Lancaster Defense Shuts Down OP Offense in Big Win Friday

If Lancaster was supposed to have a down year, the team obviously didn’t get the memo. Paced by the two-headed rushing attack of Jacob Zimmerman and Micah Harry, the Legends took down Section VI Class AA rival Orchard Park 28-6 in front of a packed Foyle-Kling Field...

Game 3 Orchard Park

September 17th, 2021

In a highly anticipated game between region powers in Class AA, OP traveled to Foyle-Kling Field to face the Legends. Lancaster would score on their first 4 touches of the ball and held on defense the entire game.

WIVB

September 17th, 2021

WIVB video of Lancaster/Orchard Park Game

WIVB

September 17th, 2021

LANCASTER, N.Y. (WIVB) — It was rivalry weekend for the undefeated Lancaster Legends as they played host to 1-1 Orchard Park on Friday night...

Game 2 Hutch Tech

September 10th, 2021

Lancaster started Class AA play Friday night when they met Hutch Tech.

Game 1 Lockport

September 4th, 2021

Lancaster traveled to Lockport to play the Lions Football Team last Saturday in a Class AA Matchup.

Red/White Scrimmage

August 28th, 2021

Lancaster had their annual scrimmage at Foyle-Kling Field the 28th.

The Buffalo News: Photos

August 23rd, 2021

Class AA champion Lancaster opens football practice

Lancaster Bee

August 19th, 2021

Lancaster Bee: Lancaster’s Mansell, Jelonek share L/D Male Athlete of the Year

WIVB

August 5th, 2021

2021 Player to Watch: Lancaster WR Noah Kimble