CENTRAL NEW YORK – Three straight defeats was something to which the Cazenovia football team was unaccustomed, even if the quality of competition (including state-ranked General Brown and Skaneateles) may have something to do with it.
Still, when the Lakers welcomed Southern Hills Saturday for Homecoming and the official dedication ceremony for the turf at Buckley-Volo Field, it was in no mood to continue this skid.
With a potent offense finally unleashed in the game’s early stages, the Lakers defeated the Storm 40-20, though the margin didn’t reflect how good Cazenovia was, especially in the second quarter.
Already up 6-0 thanks to Bobby Livingston’s two-yard scoring run, Cazenovia erupted for 28 points in those 12 minutes before halftime, extending its margin to 34-6.
Livingston had four touchdown passes in that span. He hit Carter Bowden on a one-yard strike, then found Bowden again from 33 yards out for a second TD before going six yards to Paul Mitchell and, just before the break, connecting with Mitchell on a 22-yard play.
Of Livingston’s 10 completions in 18 attempts, five were for touchdowns as he accumulated 162 yards through the air while also rushing for 90 yards on 16 carries.
Bryce Enders had seven tackles to pace the Lakers’ defense. Bowden and Bryce Odessa both had two tackles for losses, while Max Costello earned an interception.
A day earlier, Chittenango went to Westhill and found itself in yet another wild, high-scoring affair, but the Bears had the final push and would defeat the Warriors 54-42 to improve its record to 3-2.
Both defenses were pushed around for much of the first half, resulting in a 22-22 tie as Chittenago got on the board with Seamus Gardner’s one-yard scoring plunge and then saw Gardner throw touchdown passes of 11 and 34 yards to Zailor Caras.
Ironically, it was a defensive TD on an interception that gave the Bears a 29-22 lead going to the break, and the second half would evolve into a long chase where every Westhill surge was met by a Chittenango answer.
Kyle Wehrlin twice found the end zone on runs of five and three yards in the third quarter. Gardner returned in the final period to score from three yards out after the Warriors had closed the gap to 46-42.
To win, the Bears had to overcome Westhill quarterback Elijah Welch completing 17 of 22 passes for 226 yards and adding 134 rushing yards on 17 carries.
