Cafe Rio Player of the Game Ledger Wight

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Heavy winds, with rain coming down sideways, and offenses tested by mother nature. All things were there to create a memorable opening round of the playoffs for Syracuse and Westlake.

With the weather consistently pouring throughout the game, Westlake was able to stick to the run game they're known for, but Ledger Wight and the Syracuse Titans had to adjust their game plan from being an aerial threat.

Even though Wight averages 61.9 rushing yards per game, he exploded for 137 yards on 18 carries to go along with 148 yards in the air on five completions.

"We knew we had to run the ball pretty well against them ... come in here establish the run," Wight said. "We were planning on throwing the football a lot more, but conditions didn't really allow us to."

Wight nearly had to change who he is as a player and had 15 pass attempts compared to his average of 25.2 attempts he averaged throughout the regular season.

Though all eyes were on the success of Wight, he gave his flowers to his teammate Parker Moffat, who finished the night with 80 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown and a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown.

"Parker (Moffat) is my go-to guy." Wight said. "He's explosive and fast, too."

Wight continued to be selfless as he mentioned his offensive line being, "the heart and soul of our team."

After not having a game for three weeks, first drive jitters couldn't get in the way of the Titans pulling off an upset on the road in the opening round of the playoffs to beat Westlake 35-19.

Syracuse will continue its road in the playoffs as the underdog where they'll face 6A juggernaut Corner Canyon, who eliminated Syracuse last season in the quarter finals 56-14. Wight said, "We've seen them before ... we'll take that challenge."

Kickoff for the quarter final matchup between Syracuse and Corner Canyon will be at 5 p.m. MT Friday, where the winner will be one step closer to a state championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

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