Homer Trojans’ season ends with regional round loss vs. Maine-Endwell (Photos Included)

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Varsity Football Class B State Regional Round: Homer vs. Maine-Endwell. (Photo Source: Kaitlyn Hession).

The Homer Trojans lost a heartbreaking game to Maine-Endwell with a score of 8-53 in the regional round of the Class B State Tournament on Saturday (November 19th).

Coming into the game, Homer was ranked seventh in the state for Class B; while Maine Endwell was ranked first, according to the state rankings from the New York State Sportswriter Association.

It was a tough game from the beginning for the Trojans. They ended the first quarter down 8-22, and were held scoreless throughout the rest of the game by Maine-Endwell’s defense.

Maine-Endwell extended their lead in the second half by scoring an additional 25 points to win the game, and advance to the state semifinals.

Homer was led by Sam Sorenson (125 rushing yards, 1 two-point conversion & 4 tackles), Hunter Riehlman (24 rushing yards, 1 fumble return touchdown, 1 tackle, 1 assist & 2 forced fumbles), and Reid Partis (5 tackles & 1 assist).

Here is a score breakdown of Saturday’s game:

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Homer	8	0	0	0	8
Maine-Endwell	22	6	17	8	53

With this loss, Homer ends their season with an overall record of 9-2.

When asked what he will be looking forward to next year, Homer Head Coach Gary Podsiedlik said, “I’m looking forward to the reality of the message that will come from this (Homer) team that did not underachieve. They overachieved with everybody on that roster. Had we had gotten beaten by Camden, there would have been no shame. That was an excellent football team we beat. If we would've lost in the Dome to Indian River, there would’ve been no shame.

The message from this group is going to be that we got so much better the second half of the year, because every down, we tried to do everything we were taught. Sometimes coaches overuse that phrase, but I’m excited that next year there’s going to be a huge core of players who are going to say ‘we got this’. We are going to be able to come back and be able to hit the ground full speed because there are so many things we now know that make the difference.”

This was Coach Podsiedlik’s 40th year coaching the Trojans.

“The message from this group is going to be that we got so much better the second half of the year, because every down, we tried to do everything we were taught,” stated Coach Podsiedlik. “Sometimes coaches overuse that phrase, but I’m excited that next year there’s going to be a huge core of players who are going to say “we got this”. We are going to be able to come back and be able to hit the ground full speed because there are so many things we now know that make the difference. So I’m excited about that. They’re going to have a mature attitude, and that’s maybe one of the most exciting parts. When you come in with some maturity and knowing the cohesiveness, fundamentals, and doing what we talk about and scheme; you hit the ground running that way.”