Jamestown’s Jaylen Butera turned in a record-setting season to help the Red Raiders reach the state Class A semifinals. P-J photo by Tim Frank

Jaylen Butera stood on the snow-covered football field at Cicero-North Syracuse High School last Friday night and answered questions from the media after Jamestown’s gut-wrenching two-point loss to Christian Brothers Academy in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A semifinal.

“That’s the way the game goes sometimes,” the senior running back/defensive back said. “If you leave it all out on the field, it’s going to hurt, but there’s always tomorrow. You just have to wake up and figure out how to live my life without football for a couple months.”

Well, maybe there won’t be any on-the-field football for the 6-foot-2, 196-pound senior, but he won’t be lacking for football-related activities/honors in the weeks and months ahead.

The first of many came earlier this week when Butera was named the Section VI Class A South Player of the Year, one of eight Red Raiders to earn first-team recognition.

Butera’s numbers affirm why he was the POY.

In leading Jamestown to a 12-1 record, Butera became the school’s all-time single-season and career rushing record holder with 2,337 and 4,270 yards respectively, surpassing the marks previously held by Aaron Leeper (Class of 2001). Butera’s 45 touchdowns this season are second to Leeper’s Western New York-record 47. Defensively, Butera recorded 90 tackles, intercepted five passes and defended 20 more.

“Jaylen is one of the best we’ve ever had,” Red Raiders head coach Tom Langworthy said after the state semifinal game. “He’s had an awesome career. He’s been fantastic in so many different ways. We appreciate him. He’s also been an inspiration to our football program and our community because of his character. People are going to remember that, I think, just as much as his on-the-field play, and I think that’s really important.”

Teammates joining Butera on the first team are junior quarterback Trey Drake; senior offensive linemen Nick Miraglia, Joey Delgado and Julian McGaughy; senior defensive lineman Caleb Bane; and senior linebackers Ben Anderson and Drayce Garland.

Drake completed 88 of 147 passes for 1,450 yards and 15 touchdowns; Miraglia, Delgado and McGaughy helped anchor Jamestown’s dominant offensive attack; Bane registered 76 tackles, including 20 for loss, intercepted two passes, forced a fumble and had a pick-six; Anderson set a school record with 170 tackles, including 35 for loss, to go along with 10 sacks and an interception for a touchdown; and Garland collected 61 tackles, including four for loss.

Jeff Tripp of Hamburg was named the Coach of the Year; Christian Dewer of Williamsville South was selected the Offensive Player of the Year; and Justin Piwowarczyk of West Seneca West was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Hamburg was the recipient of the Team Sportsmanship Award. Andrew Takacs was the player representative.

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

Trey Drake Jr. Jamestown QB

Sean Sansone Jr. Williamsville East QB

Vinnie Monaco Sr. Frontier RB

Devin Collins Sr. Hamburg RB

Teddy McDuffie Jr. Sr. Amherst RB

Jaylen Butera Sr. Jamestown RB

Dylan Mack Sr. Frontier RB

Isaiah Simmons Sr. West Seneca West RB

Christian Dewer Sr. Williamsville South RB

Dorian Facen Jr. Williamsville East WR

Gaven Borello Sr. Frontier WR

Nick Miraglia Sr. Jamestown OL

Joey Delgado Sr. Jamestown OL

Julian McGaughy Sr. Jamestown OL

Caleb Kruzicki Sr. Williamsville South OL

Jack Foster Sr. Amherst OL

Andrew Takacs Sr. Hamburg OL

Tavi Cruz Sr. South Park OL

Max Voyer Sr. Williamsville South K/P

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE

Sam Adgate Sr. South Park DL

Matt Murphy Sr. Williamsville South DL

Caleb Bane Sr. Jamestown DL

Sam Adgate Sr. South Park DL

Aiden Matyas Jr. Hamburg DE

Konrad Krzyszton Sr. Frontier DE

Justin Piwowarczyk Sr. West Seneca West LB

Tyler May Sr. Frontier LB

Jack Novack Sr. Frontier LB

Ben Anderson Sr. Jamestown LB

Brad Evelt Sr. Williamsville South LB

Drayce Garland Sr. Jamestown LB

Kyle Gembolys Sr. West Seneca West LB

Ray Kwasniewsk Soph. West Seneca West DB

Nolan Heavern Sr. Hamburg DB

Ryan Gomolka Sr. Hamburg DB

Parrell Fulgham Sr. South Park DB

Brady Reinagel Sr. Hamburg P/K

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE

Austin Lippert Sr. Frontier QB

Lucas Freeland Sr. West Seneca West QB

PJ Tasca Sr. Williamsville South QB

Peter Picillo Sr. Williamsville East RB

Nathaniel Zachery Sr. Williamsville South RB

Nick Baco Sr. Frontier OL

John Gangemi Sr. Frontier OL

Beau Haubeil Sr. Amherst OL

Connor Van Dusen Sr. Hamburg OL

Justin Penn Sr. Hamburg OL

Antonio Halton Sr. South Park TE

Jeremy Yancey Sr. South Park WR

Amar Paulk Sr. South Park WR

Chris Molnar Sr. Williamsville East WR

Max Graves Sr. Williamsville South WR

Tevin Mobley Sr. West Seneca West WR

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE

Demarie Johnson Jr. South Park LB

Rahdaun Crule Jr. Amherst LB

Jake LeClerc Sr. Amherst LB

Sean O’Brien Jr. Jamestown LB

Owen Valley Sr. Williamsville East LB

Alex Cook Sr. Williamsville East LB

Nolan Holtz Jr. Williamsville South LB

Ben Cranston Sr. West Seneca West LB

Drew Mascio Sr. Frontier DL

Jaral Farmer Sr. Jamestown DL

Alex Knowles Sr. West Seneca West DL

Sincere Green Sr. Jamestown DB

Mark Testa Sr. Amherst DB

Jeffrey Leavell Jr. Hamburg DB

Bryce Hand Sr. Hamburg DB

Ella Propheter Soph. Jamestown K

HONORABLE MENTION

Amherst: Patrick Tan (Jr.), Wyatt Bair (Jr.), Dommel Alexander (Jr.)

Frontier: Conrad Ring (Sr.), Max Carter (Sr.), Nick Gonzalez (Soph.), Tyler Naegle (Sr.), Brendan Busch (Sr.)

Hamburg: Cam Viavada (Sr.), Jack Coots (Sr.)

Jamestown: Kyler Nickerson (Sr.), Radon Wright (Jr.), Colin Melendez (Jr.)

South Park: Jamir Stevens (Sr.), Sharad Patterson (Sr.), Saiquan Bland (Jr.), Noah Willoughby (Soph.)

West Seneca West: Mike Newcomb (Sr.), Omarion Thomas (Jr.)

Williamsville East: Aidan Lin (Sr.), Aidan Murphy (Sr.), Zaid El Nasser (Soph.), Abdul Allahbakhsh (Soph.)

Williamsville South: Jeremy Thompson (Jr.), Luke Coppola (Jr.), Dom Govenettio (Sr.), Aaron Tallman (Sr.)