Lyndonville seeks spot in title contest
Journal-Register
Friday, October 08, 2026

Looking to avenge a pair of regular season losses, the Lyndonville Tigers will challenge the Buffalo Gladiators in the semifinal round of the New York Amateur Football League playoffs at 9 p.m. Saturday at Clint Small Stadium in Tonawanda.

The Gladiators trimmed Lyndonville twice early in the season by scores of 14-8 and 28-17, as the fledgling Tigers got off to a 1-3 start on their inaugural season.

However, the Tigers made some lineup changes and rebounded back strongly winning five of their next six games including a 26-17 victory over the Mohawk Valley Vikings two weeks ago in the opening round of the playoffs.

“We’ve really upgraded our offense and our defense since then and we’ve changed our defensive scheme to handle their short passing game,” Tigers fullback and tri-captain Joey Suhr said. “We’ve gone 5-1 since Lionel Rhim took over at quarterback.”

Rhim has thrown 14 touchdown passes during that stretch, nine to wide receiver Cory Frasier, to spearhead the Tigers resurgent offense that has has also sparked on the ground with the addition of running back Greg Hodgins.

Another running back who had good success in the Tigers second meeting with the Gladiators, Chris Stalker, is also slated to return to the lineup for the contest.

Fullback Eric Valley leads the Tigers in rushing touchdowns with four.

Defensively, the Tigers have been led by linebacker Eric Vaughn, who also has provided some added punch at the running back spot the last two outings.

That defensive unit will be looking to stop the passing game of Gladiator’s veteran quarterback John Augustine.

“He’s hard to stop because he is a possession type of passer,” Suhr said. “The key for us on defense will be to stop his short passing game.”

Saturday’s other semifinal will have the Monroe County Sting at the regular season champion Central New York Express.

The title contest is scheduled for next Saturday.
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