CENTRAL NEW YORK – Now the Fayetteville-Manlius football team may have a clear path toward hosting a Section III Class A playoff game later this month.
All it requires is the Hornets defeating Christian Brothers Academy in its Oct. 22 regular-season finale, since both sides now have one defeat in the books at the expense of Indian River.
F-M, no. 23 in last week’s state Class A rankings, welcomed East Syracuse Minoa to Hornet Stadium last Friday night and proceeded to run wild throughout a decisive first half on the way to handling the Spartans 49-7.
Having jumped out 21-0 on West Genesee the week before, the Hornets again had plenty of energy at the outset with two first-quarter scoring drives, in each instance Ethan Powell scoring after long runs from T.J. Conley.
It continued into the second period, F-M twice more finding the end zone to stretch its margin to 28-0 while its defense, led by Jacob Dobricki (seven tackles), Denim Hall (five tackles, one interception) and Jacob Poruczek (four tackles) stifled every ESM opportunity.
Conley did not get in the end zone until the third quarter, but for the night he amassed 267 yards on just 13 carries.
Chris Hoalcraft ran for 111 yards on 13 carries to go with his seven-for-10 passing for 89 yards. Alex DuPuy added three long runs for 97 yards.
This followed last Thursday’s showdown between CBA and Indian River, and while the Brothers had the no. 15 state ranking, it was the no. 19-ranked Warriors who, with its dominant ground game, prevailed by a 51-30 margin.
All night long, IR running back Rowan Marsell burned the CBA defense, carrying the ball 25 times and accumulating 296 yards while scoring four touchdowns as Gabe Lynch added 93 yards on 18 carries.
Marsell first scored on a three-yard run in the first quarter followed by Ramsey Burnard’s 32-yard field goal. Then a 70-yard dash to the end zone in the second period answered Jordan Rae’s 44-yard scoring pass to Syair Torrence that got the Brothers on the board.
Rae and Torrence connected again on a 21-yard TD pass right before halftime, but CBA still trailed 27-14 and would get kept off the board in the third quarter, Marsell converting from nine yards out and the Warriors adding a safety.
Battling to the end, the Brothers saw Rae throw a third TD pass, 15 yards to Dan Anderson, as Jamier Handford scored on a two-yard run.
Before they face each other, CBA will first host West Genesee on Friday at Alibrandi Stadium, while F-M travels to Holland Stadium to take on Auburn.
In eight-man football, Bishop Grimes took a 36-24 defeat to New York Mills, the Cobras falling to 2-3 overall as the Marauders improved to 4-1.
