ONONDAGA COUNTY – Just one more win, and football teams from Fayetteville-Manlius and Christian Brothers Academy can celebrate undefeated regular seasons.
The Hornets, no. 6 in the latest state Class A rankings, hosted Carthage Friday and, with its potent ground game, was able to fend off an upset bid from the Comets and prevail 35-25.
Meanwhile, the Brothers, also no. 6 in its state rankings in Class AA, traveled to Liverpool and struggled for a while, too, before its penchant for big plays allowed it to pull away and earn a 35-13 victory over the struggling Warriors.
It was Senior Night at F-M, and special on several levels. Not only were fans, family and friends were in attendance, so was Syracuse University football coach Dino Babers on the eve of his team’s big game with North Carolina State.
Carthage wasn’t fazed by any of this and scored the game’s first points, which seemed to focus the Hornets, who tied it 7-7 on George LaCombe’s 40-yard touchdown dash.
Again, the Comets went in front, 10-7, in the second quarter, and again F-M responded, going in front for good when Denim Hall broke free and went 36 yards to the end zone.
During the second half, the Hornets patiently put together two more scoring drives, capping each of them with T.J. Conley scoring on short runs, plus two-point conversions.
Yet the game wasn’t clinched until F-M, leading 28-17 midway through the fourth quarter, saw LaCombe put in his second TD of the night.
Conley ran 16 times for 184 yards, with LaCombe adding 64 yards on just three carries. Liam Brown had a team-best six tackles as LaCombe added five tacklers and Hall recorded an interception.
As this went on, CBA was confronting a Liverpool side, coached by former CBA assistant Joe Sindoni, which had lost four in a row and was shut out 36-0 by Cicero-North Syracuse the week before.
But the Warriors kept the Brothers off the board early and got on the board here when Jah’Deuir Reese broke free on a 40-yard TD run, with Marco Roja adding the extra point.
Jolted by this, CBA recovered to score twice, on runs of 14 yards by Jamier Handford and six yards by quarterback Jordan Rae, allowing it to go to halftime with a 14-7 edge.
As long as the Warriors were able to keep the Brothers from getting those trademark big plays, it had a chance, but three second-half strikes helped CBA get clear.
First, Rae found Amarri Pitts on a 39-yard scoring pass. Then CBA’s defense got a touchdown when a Liverpool fumble in the end zone was pounced on by Andrew Cooney.
Then, after Reese scored a second time on a one-yard plunge, the Brothers thwarted any possible comeback when Rae, from his own 35, threw deep and found highly-touted receiver Syair Torrence, who went the rest of the way for a TD.
