TYLER BASS DRILLS 61-YARD FIELD GOAL TO LIFT BILLS TO VICTORY
Lifted in the air by his teammates, Tyler Bass was the happiest of 70,000 people at Highmark Stadium yesterday as the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 30-27.
It’s been a rough start to the season for Bass, facing constant scrutiny from Buffalo fans who feel the fifth-year pro has lost his ability to consistently make kicks, and they have somewhat of a gripe. Including the last year’s playoffs, Bass has missed six of his last twenty field goal attempts. That 70% success rate is bottom of the National Football League, and that’s not including the two missed extra-point kicks he’s accrued this season. With those inconsistencies, the Bills had been bringing in kickers during the week to compete with Bass in practice, putting more pressure on the 27-year-old to find his rhythm.
Despite all of the outside noise, and one of those extra point misses coming in the second half yesterday, Bass deserved every ounce of the praise he received after drilling a 61-yard field goal in the dying seconds of the game to give Buffalo the win. That kick also set a new franchise record for longest made field goal in Buffalo’s history.
Josh Allen and the offense also had to pull their weight without Amari Cooper. The Bills offense was a bit shaky in the first half, dealing with weak offensive line play and multiple questionable penalties that took points off the board. Buffalo trailed ten to six at halftime, but as they’ve proven time and time again this season, they are more than comfortable turning it up a notch in the second half. In each of their games except one this season, Buffalo has trailed at halftime. Now six of their seven wins have been games where the Bills had to erase a halftime deficit. Out of halftime yesterday, the Bills scored a touchdown on each of their first three offensive possessions, with their only other second half drive ending in the climactic kick with five seconds left.
Tyler Bass was the hero for the Bills, who swept the season series over Miami, taking a firm grasp of the AFC East division. Buffalo won’t play a divisional opponent again until the final three weeks of the season, when they play New England twice and the Jets one more time. That being said, the 7-2 Bills don’t get much time to soak up the victory, as they’re back on the road next week in Indianapolis, with home games against Kansas City and San Francisco on the horizon.
STREAKY SABRES LOST BOTH ON BACK-TO-BACK
After losing to the Islanders at home on Friday night, the Sabres left Detroit on Saturday losers of three straight for the second time this season, and winless in back-to-back situations.
Coach Lindy Ruff has had his hands full with this team, now sitting at 4-7-1. Ruff has been tinkering with offensive lines the last few games, looking to generate more scoring, while trying to ingrain sound habits into the minds of his youthful defensive core.
Friday night, brutal defensive mistakes cost Buffalo a win when they kept pace with their opponent for a majority of the game. Taking advantage of multiple defensive miscues from Connor Clifton, the New York Islanders defeated the Sabres 4-3. Buffalo’s Jason Zucker recorded a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick,” with a goal, an assist, and a fight in the loss.
In Detroit on Saturday, the Sabres’ special teams were the story, as Alex Tuch scored his second shorthanded goal of the season to open the game with a 1-0 Buffalo lead in the first. That would be the only time the Sabres would celebrate all night, though, as Buffalo suffered two goals from Red Wings’ captain Dylan Larkin on power players. The Sabres’ man-advantage unit went scoreless in their two attempts, leading to the 2-1 loss and the extension of their losing streak.
The Blue and Gold were just as inconsistent last year as they’ve shown of late, but they rarely fell into stretches of numerous losses in a row. Buffalo suffered just two losing streaks of three games over the course of the entire 2023-24 season. Today, they find themselves on their second three-game sling skid in the first month of the new campaign.
The Sabres look to bounce back into the win column on Election Night, as they host the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night at 7PM.
HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Over the weekend, sixteen high school soccer teams were crowned champions of their section, with two championship matches on the schedule tonight.
Both the Boys and Girls soccer teams at Lancaster, Clarence, and Lewiston-Porter each won their respective section. Tonight, Ellicottville has the chance to join that list, as their boys team takes on North Collins at 7:30 for the Class D title. That’s the latter of two matches to be played at West Seneca West this evening, with Randolph and Allegany-Limestone playing at 5PM for the Class C Championship.
Boys
MMA Division A - Canisius over St. Joe’s 3-1
MMA Division B - Park School over Bishop Timon
Class AAA - Lancaster over Jamestown 8-1
Class AA - Clarence over Hamburg 6-1
Class A1 - Grand Island over Williamsville East 4-1
Class A2 - Lewiston-Porter over Lackawanna 7-0
Class B1 - East Aurora over Lafayette International 1-0 (OT)
Class B2 - Southwestern over Medina 7-1
Class C - Randolph vs Allegany-Limestone at 5PM tonight at West Seneca West HS
Class D - Ellicottville vs North Collins at 7:30PM tonight at West Seneca West HS
Girls
MMA Division A - St. Mary’s (Lancaster) over Nichols 2-1
MMA Division B - Mt. St. Mary over Mount Mercy
Class AAA - Lancaster over Niagara Falls 5-1
Class AA - Clarence over Lockport 2-0
Class A - Lewiston-Porter over Pioneer 2-0
Class B - Falconer/CV/MG over Allegany-Limestone 2-1
Class C - Frewsburg over Randolph 2-0
Class D - Ellicottville over North Collins 2-0
NUNES AND THE SPARKS FLY PAST WILL SOUTH INTO THE SECTIONAL SEMIFINAL
The South Park Sparks football team flew to victory on Friday night as they defeated Williamsville South 22-14 in the Class B Sectional Quarterfinal, highlighted on Friday Night Lights.
No lead was ever larger than eight points, despite turnovers and penalties negating scores for both teams throughout the night. It was a battle between two elite running backs in Western New York, as Williamsville South’s junior Amir Ceasar and South Park’s Adam Nunes went head-to-head. During a South Park drive in the first half which ended in a Nunes touchdown, the speedy senior surpassed 2,000 rushing yards on the season. Adam Nunes became the sixth player to eclipse the 2K mark in WNY this decade, and the first since 2022, when Iroquois’ Trevor Barry and Randolph’s Xander Hind both rushed for over 2300 yards.
For South Park, they advance to the Section VI Class B Semifinal, where they will travel to Pioneer for a rematch with the undefeated Panthers. Pioneer was the only team to defeat South Park in the regular season.
Full Section VI Semifinal Schedule:
(Teams , Date , Time , Location)
Class AA
1- Bennett vs 4- Jamestown Friday 11/8 7PM All High Stadium
2- Lancaster vs 3- Orchard Park Friday 11/8 7PM Foyle-Kling Field
Class A
(A1)1- McKinley vs (A2)2- Kenmore West Thurs 11/7 7PM All High Stadium
(A2)1- Sweet Home vs (A1)2- Clarence Friday 11/8 7PM Sweet Home HS*
*This game will be featured on Friday Night Lights on both WBFO & WNED Create*
Class B
1- Pioneer vs 4- South Park Friday 11/8 7PM Pioneer HS
2- Lackawanna vs 3- Health Sciences Sat 11/9 2PM Lackawanna HS
Class C
(CS)2- Chautauqua Lake/W/B vs (CS)4- Portville Friday 11/8 7PM Chautauqua Lake
(CS)1- Salamanca vs (CN)2- Medina Friday 11/8 7PM Salamanca HS
Class D
2- Randolph vs 3- Franklinville/Ellicottville Friday 11/8 7PM Randolph HS
1- Clymer/Sherman/Panama vs 4- Gowanda/PV Sat 11/9 1:30PM Panama HS
