BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Week 3 of the high school football season pits multiple unbeaten teams against one another and also features two of Western New York’s top running backs going head-to-head.
Here are four games to watch in Week 3. To see the full WNY high school football schedule, click here.
Orchard Park at Bennett
7 p.m. Thursday
Despite losing some top talent from last year’s state champion team, Bennett (2-0) still looks to be the dominant squad in Class AA. They were well on their way to a dominant victory last week against McKinley before the game was called at halftime due to an altercation in the stands with the Tigers up 36-0. They square off with an Orchard Park team (2-0) that will be looking to avenge a postseason thrashing from last season, when the Quakers fell to Bennett 50-6 in the Class AA semifinal. Orchard Park clawed out a 36-35 overtime win against Frontier in Week 2 on a game-winning two-point conversion.
Dunkirk at Iroquois
7 p.m. Friday
Iroquois (2-0) has totaled 107 points through their first two games, which is tied for the most in all of Section VI. Quarterback Justus Kleitz and running back Trevor Barry have led a balanced and effective Chiefs attack, and the latter is coming off arguably the most impressive stat line in the area so far this season. The senior totaled 296 yards and six touchdowns on the ground in his team’s 56-18 Week 2 win over Burgard. While Dunkirk (1-1) has its work cut out for them stopping the Chiefs offense, they do boast a talented running back of their own in senior Michael Hanlon, whose 521 rushing yards heading into Week 3 is tops in Section VI by a wide margin.
Clymer/Sherman/Panama at Wilson
7 p.m. Friday
Wilson (2-0) boasts just 18 players on its roster, but that hasn’t hindered them from scoring two dominant wins over Akron (39-12) and Cardinal O’Hara (53-12) in their first two games. The Lakemen will get their biggest test yet on Friday when CSP (2-0) makes the long trek up to the coast of Lake Ontario. Wolfpack quarterback Tate Catanese has looked strong through two games, leading his team in rushing while also passing for 351 yards and six touchdowns. CSP was ranked as the No. 2 Class D school in New York State in the NYSSWA’s first rankings of 2023.
Franklinville/Ellicottville at Gowanda/Pine Valley
7 p.m. Friday
In case you were wondering what team is tied with Iroquois at 107 total points entering Week 3, it’s none other than undefeated Gowanda/Pine Valley. Sophomore quarterback Carter Capozzi has quietly put up impressive numbers for the Panthers through two games, completing just under 63% of passes for 344 yards and leading Section VI with nine passing touchdowns to zero interceptions. Similar to Wilson and their hot start, the Panthers will get a noteworthy test in Franklinville/Ellicottville (2-0), who have been led by running back Isaac Towne’s four rushing touchdowns.
Adam Gorski is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team in 2022. You can find more of his work here.