Jamestown’s Chase Bonta tied a Section VI record with eight touchdowns and rushed for a Jamestown High School record 373 yards in the Red & Green’s 63-0 win over Hutch Tech at Strider Field on Friday night. P-J photo by Tim Frank

With under two minutes remaining Friday night and Jamestown leading Hutch Tech 63-0 in a Class AA football game at Strider Field, the Red & Green student section at the far end of the bleachers started chanting the all-too-familiar “start-the-buses” refrain.

It could be argued, however, that the Red & Green’s figurative “bus” had been running pedal to the metal for 2 1/2 hours.

Junior Chase Bonta was that good.

The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder with a bruising running style rushed for a school-record 373 yards on 30 carries and a Section VI record-tying EIGHT touchdowns on bursts of 10, 14, 6, 6, 8, 1, 65 and 18 yards.

“At 7:30 (Friday) morning I texted (head coach Tom Langworthy), ‘Good morning, it’s a great day. I feel like I’m rushing for 300 today.’ I texted my O-line and I told them I loved them and that we were going to go to battle together.”

Bonta, who turned out to be prophetic, isn’t the only Jamestown running back to put up monster rushing yardage. Below are the remaining players on the school’s all-time top-10 single-game list, accompanied by a recap of their memorable performances.

2. BRET SHAW

351 YARDS

OCT. 17, 2003

Only a sophomore, Shaw had an afternoon to remember in Jamestown’s 39-7 victory over Clarence at Strider Field.

Needing only 19 carries, Shaw amassed 351 yards and scored five touchdowns on runs of 73, 47, 30, 73 and 18 yards. On four of the TDs, he took advantage of his cutback abilities to find running room.

“I just saw something in the hole and they over-pursued, so I was lucky to see that,” Shaw said.

Noted head coach Wally Huckno: “I thought Bret had not stepped up the last few weeks. I’ve been imploring him, ‘Bret, I think you can do a little more, a little better. Keep your eyes open a little more and start making your cuts,’ and today he did.”

3. JAYLEN BUTERA

339 YARDS

SEPT. 3, 2021

Jamestown held off Orchard Park 38-27 in a nonleague game at Strider Field.

Butera deserved the lion’s share of the credit.

The 6-foot-2, 196-pounder scored six touchdowns of 23, 49, 7, 2, 9 and 47 yards, the last two scores coming 17 seconds apart inside the final three minutes to finally put the Quakers away.

“It feels good,” said Butera, who also had an end-zone interception to stop an Orchard Park drive. “I’m glad to see where our guys are. We can obviously get a lot better. It’s only week one, but you kind of get a general feel of where this team is at right now and how much we can improve on and what the rest of the season will look like.”

Added head coach Tom Langworthy: “Jaylen is a special player. He’s a great person … who is also very talented. Those are the players you’re just thankful to have.”

4. BRINTON BATTLE

298 YARDS

SEPT. 9, 1998

Talk about rebounding from a loss.

After being shut out 39-0 by Orchard Park the week before, Jamestown rolled past Frontier 26-7 on the road.

Battle played a key role, rushing for 298 yards on 31 carries and scoring three touchdowns on runs of 18, 66 and 2 yards.

“Brinton was a gamer today,” Huckno said that day. “He reached down. I believe he has to do those things. You’re tired after 15 carries and you’re more tired after 20, and Brinton carried the ball 31 times. I think that’s important for him because he had not been a tailback until this year.”

5. DAVID HINSON

273 YARDS

SEPT. 30, 1994

Hinson needed all of 37 seconds to let Lancaster know of his talents with a football in his hands.

The junior running back raced 65 yards for a touchdown on the first offensive play of the game on his way to a 273-yard, three-touchdown performance in a 35-14 victory at Strider Field.

“I had a gaping hole. It was humongous,” said Hinson, who also had TD runs of 11 and 3 yards. “I got through there and I was streaking down the sidelines, and then I saw (Lancaster’s Andre Cook). I saw he had the angle on me, but I knew he was running top speed, so I just cut it back on him and took it to the end zone.”

6. DEVAN JACKSON

268 YARDS

OCT. 29, 2015

Jackson turned in a performance to remember in the Class AA Chuck Funke Memorial Classic Bowl, running for 264 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-29 victory over Clarence.

Battling winds that gusted to 55 mph, the Red & Green used a ground-and-pound game plan that worked to perfection as Jackson finished with touchdown runs of 3, 38, 55 and 5 yards.

7. SAVON VANSICKLE

264 YARDS

OCT. 20, 2017

VanSickle amassed 264 yards and scored four touchdowns in fifth-seeded Jamestown’s heart-stopping, I-don’t-believe-what-I-just-saw 53-52 Section VI Class AA double-overtime quarterfinal victory over No. 4 Clarence.

And VanSickle, a freshman, put up those numbers despite sitting out most of the fourth quarter after suffering a leg injury.

For the record, the Red & Green secured the win when quarterback Drew Boggs connected with receiver Andrew Pumford on a 19-yard touchdown pass in the second overtime and then Boggs found Pumford again on the successful 2-point conversion toss.

8. JAYLEN BUTERA

262 YARDS

MAY 7, 2021

One can only imagine the numbers Butera might have produced if he played an entire game.

Carrying the ball just 13 times in the first half, he rushed for 262 yards and five touchdowns in a 57-14 victory over Williamsville South in a Section VI Class A semifinal game at Strider Field.

Butera’s touchdowns came on bursts of 3, 6, 69 (off a fake punt), 69 and 44 yards. He also added a pair of 2-point conversions; and registered six solo tackles and two assists.

“He’s different from everything I’ve seen,” Langworthy said after the game. “I think he’s the best back in Western New York. … He’s just so special at catching, running and defensively. He’s just so valuable, and there’s really no comparison I can make. He’s such a great person. That’s the part that makes it special.”

9. DAVID HINSON

261 YARDS

OCT. 7, 1994

Jamestown clinched the Division 1 title and improved its record to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the division after downing Frontier 22-6.

Hinson amassed 263 yards on 23 carries and all three touchdowns, from 82, 7 and 53 yards.

Ironically, he had only had 10 yards on four trips through the first quarter, but then ripped off the 82-yarder.

“Joe McKoy led up the hole and then Jamie Bloomquist blocked the inside linebacker,” Hinson said, “and I just cut back and there was really no one there.”

10. JAYLEN BUTERA

255 YARDS

MAY 14, 2021

A crazy season — brought on by a global pandemic — ended with South Park’s 30-29 Section VI Class A championship game victory over Jamestown at Strider Field.

Butera, then a junior, went out with a bang, rushing for 255 yards on 32 carries and one touchdown, to go along with a 46-yard TD pass on a halfback option.