HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: HORSEHEADS CELEBRATES HOMECOMING WITH WIN OVER CENTRAL SQUARE (24 PHOTOS) (October 9, 2026)

BY BRIAN FEES
Southern Tier Sports Report
HORSEHEADS — Horseheads got off to a fast start with two touchdowns in the first two and a half minutes on their way to a 60-28 homecoming game win over Central Square.

Bryce Thomas keyed the fast start for Horseheads, with a nine-yard run at 10:03 and then he had a 24-yard fumble return just 24 seconds later to put the Blue Raiders up 14-0.

Liam Hayes had a seven-yard touchdown from Braxton Lucas at 3:48 of the quarter for Central Square, before Thomas scored his third of five touchdowns on the day with a 10-yard run at 2:52.

“(It was good) to get out and get some points early and kind of get in the flow a little bit,” Horseheads coach Kevin Hillman said. “I didn’t like that they came back and got the score and got to 14-7, so we kind of let them back in, but for the most part I thought the guys did a good job today.”

After a big win over Vestal to wrap up the division title and home field through the playoffs, the Blue Raiders didn’t have a let down on Friday.

“That was important, because I kind of worried after a big win like that,” Hillman said. “We kind of achieved some goals early with our playoff seeding. I was kind of worried coming into this week that we’d have a little loss of focus, but the guys came in and did a nice job. We had a couple. Moments we have to work on, but besides that, great job. Let them enjoy the weekend and then we come back Monday to prepare for a big one.”

The opening drive of Horseheads was keyed by a long Jaxson Burchard run that set up the Thomas touchdown. Burchard was back for his second game this year after returning from an injury.

“It’s just great to see him back out there,” Hillman said. “After last year just seeing the poor kid on the sideline missing the whole thing and then this year when he first got here we were a little worried it could be the whole season again. So, just to see him back out there doing what he does, seeing him having fun, just brings a huge smile to our faces.”

Thomas had a six-yard run at 4:56 of the second quarter and a 54-yard score at 1:54 of the quarter. After a defensive three-and-out, Jack Patchett had a big punt return inside the 10 and then he took the ball away from a defender for a 10-yard touchdown catch off a pass from Lyncoln Bennett with two seconds left in the half.

Bennett had a 10-yard scoring run in the second half to make it 48-7, before Landyn Dignean had a 24-yard run for Central Square. 

Lucas had a 75-yard run for Central Square, before Sullivan Craft had a 23-yard touchdown for Horseheads.

Mason Clark caught a 30-yard touchdown from Lucas and Craft then had a 61-yard touchdown run for Horseheads to cap the scoring.

Thomas ran for 127 yards on 13 carries and Craft had 125 on seven carries and Burchard had 101 on seven carries as the Blue Raiders had three players over 100 yards. Bennett was 7-for-13 passing for 85 yards. 

“Offensively we pretty much did what we wanted to do today for the most part,” Hillman said. “We kind of hurt ourselves at times, but otherwise I thought we moved the ball well. Defensively we played pretty well, some instances we have to clean up.”

Ben Peffer ran for 35 yards and Bennett ran for 10. Elijah Miller had two grabs for 36 yards, Patchett had three for 20 and the score and Jahviee Meisner had two grabs for 19 yards. 

Burchard had five tackles for Horseheads.

Horseheads has Elmira next week, followed by Corning and Maine-Endwell. While the division is wrapped up, the rivalry games will keep the team focused on the final weeks of the regular season.

“It’s great because after this week we have Elmira and corning which are rivalry weeks so the kids are going to be up for it and then you have Maine-Endwell that last one which is our senior game too which is a really good team,” Hillman said. “Hopefully it keeps us motivated as we go through the season. To kind of get that stuff early on can get you kind of lax so having these games with Elmira and Corning helps us. If it was other teams it could be another issue. We also have if you have guys with injuries and stuff we have to be smart because we have our playoffs set so the last thing you want to do is get someone hurt.”
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PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE GAME

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