All is now in place for what is sure to be one of the most anticipated home games in the Baldwinsville football program’s 101-year history.
The Bees, now 6-0 following Friday night’s 43-20 victory over Cicero-North Syracuse, will host Christian Brothers Academy, also 6-0, next Friday at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium for the Class AA-1 division regular-season championship.
Twice, B’ville met CBA in 2009, prevailing both times – first in a memorable September shootout at Alibrandi Stadium, then again in the Section III Class AA final in the Carrier Dome, when it rallied from a halftime deficit to prevail 30-12.
Now they go at it again, and the Bees are quite confident following its trip east on Route 31 to Bragman Stadium, where it added to the woes of a CNS squad already at 1-4 and falling out of playoff contention.
In yet another routine display of his young brilliance, sophomore tailback Tyler Rouse piled up 297 yards on the ground as the line of Matt Moreland, Nick Robinson, Jake Margrey, Joe Tanguay and Ryland Jennings pushed the Northstar defensive line around.
Yet it was the Bees’ underrated passing game that struck for the only points of the first quarter. From the CNS 26, Casey Colligan dropped back, threw to the end zone – and found Augie Zona for the touchdown.
That just proved as the appetizer, though, for a second-quarter feast where B’ville would amass 28 points and pull clear from the Northstars. Rouse, scoring on a 14-yard run, made it 13-0, but it was after CNS got on the board with Corey Scanlon’s five-yard TD run that the fun really began.
On B’ville’s next possession, Rouse, taking a handoff on his own 34, found a seam and used his deceptive speed to go 66 yards to the other end zone. Minutes later, it was pure power as Rouse broke several tackles on a 41-yard TD run that expanded the lead to 27-7.
And just before halftime, Colligan hit a wide-open Zona again in the end zone, the scoring pass covering 21 yards as the Bees strolled into halftime with a 34-7 edge.
The second half proved a kicking showcase for Stanard. Three different times, B’ville scoring drives stalled near the end zone, but Stanard salvaged them with successful field goals of 20, 37 and 25 yards, as the Bees withstood a pair of late CNS touchdowns to earn its 17th win in the last 18 games.
All this leads to CBA, who kept itself unbeaten Friday with a hard-fought 14-7 win at Rome Free Academy. Possessing a stellar defense and a proven senior quarterback in Tyler Hamblin, the Brothers are bent on atoning for how the Bees treated them a season ago.
Emotions already run high on Senior Night, but the massive stakes of this league title game between B’ville and CBA only add to the theater.