WILLIAMSVILLE — When Orleans County Rivals quarterback Preston Woodworth took the snap and looked in front of him, he was swarmed by Williamsville South defensive linemen.
He had to trust that on the other side of the massive wall was a waiting Elijah Doxey. The senior knew that all of the times the team practiced that exact moment in practice would be worth it.
He floated the ball over the outstretched arms of the lineman and into the hands of his running back who did the rest. A few moves later and that was it, Orleans County was in the end zone and moving to 3-0 with a 38-34 win over Williamsville South Friday.
“We rep that play a lot in practice,” Woodworth said. “So I know where everyone’s supposed to go. I know where Elijah’s going to be and just to get a little bit of air on the ball to get it over the d(defensive) linemen.”
That touchdown was one of three that Doxey finished with to go alongside 211 total yards, with 148 receiving and 63 rushing. It now gives him eight total touchdowns this season.
“I seen the endzone, I knew I had to get in there,” Doxey said. “There was no other option. I knew what I had to do.”
The story of the first half was all about turnovers as Williamsville South had two fumbles and lost one of them and Orleans County’s Woodworth had two interceptions resulting in 15 points. After a first half interception returned for a touchdown, Valley reassured his quarterback that he needed to stay calm because the team was going to look to him for a big play later in the game.
Woodworth did just that finishing with 275 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
One moment which looms large in the context of the game came on the opening drive of the third quarter. The Billies took the ball with the game tied at 22 and drove all the way down to the Rivals’ 4-yard-line. But on fourth and goal, two Rivals threw down Williamsville South quarterback Phillip Gangi for a turnover on downs.
“They’re just so explosive and the same thing, they spread the ball out,” OC Rivals head coach Eric Valley said. “… We’re one play away. I kept feeling like we’re one play away. So to get that finally and get the ball back in our hands was a big momentum swing for us.”
The Orleans County Rivals are back in action at 7 p.m. Friday when it goes to Lewiston-Porter.