ONONDAGA COUNTY – For four decades, a Friday night football game between Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse meant going out in the fall and experiencing the rivalry that birthed the ‘Star Wars Cup’.
Now it is part of inaugural season of girls flag football, so it was only fitting that the first Liverpool-C-NS varsity showdown took place on a Friday night.
That April 19 game proved a catharsis for the Warriors, who had lost its first four games of the season but broke that skid at the expense of the Northstars, netting four touchdowns in a convincing 26-6 victory.
Both sides won their lone games the following against the same opponent, starting with C-NS, who got into a tense, defensive battle with Oneida and emerged with a tough 6-0 victory.
As for Liverpool, it took on Oneida two days later a and, moving to 2-4 on the season, prevailed 21-6 over the Express.
Strong on both ends in the first half, the Warriors built a 14-0 advantage. Then it matched Oneida’s lone touchdown with one of its own in the second half.
C-NS, meanwhile, put together a big win of its own Friday, rallying in the final seconds to beat Syracuse East 21-20.
The Northstars trailed 20-13 when it got back possession of the ball at its own 20-yard line with 29 seconds left, needing to drive 60 yards to have a chance.
Working the sidelines to stop the clock, C-NS moved downfield until, with just 1.5 seconds to play, quarterback Mia Sotoperez found freshman Hailey Dupra for a touchdown that cut the margin to one.
Not interested in a tie, the Northstars went for two points and the win, and got it when Sotoperez found an open Elyse Cook in the end zone for the conversion.
Now sitting at 4-3-1 overall, C-NS will get the big challenge this Friday night when it faces undefeated Baldwinsville, just as Liverpool gets Syracuse Academy of Science after a Monday game with Syracuse West.
