ONONDAGA COUNTY – Regardless of what happened when the Marcellus football team faced Cazenovia Friday night, it knew the Class C West division title would hinge on its regular-season finale with rival Skaneateles a week later.
Still, the Mustangs wanted to go there undefeated, but were denied that opportunity by a Cazenovia side that, once 0-3 this fall, earned its third straight win by outscoring Marcellus 47-38.
The close calls Marcellus had taken at Solvay and Bishop Ludden/SAS the previous two weeks hinted at issues, but it was Cazenovia who managed to outrun the Mustangs to the finish line.
Start to finish, Cazenovia got a breathtaking all-around performance from Bobby Livingston, who accounted for more than 400 yards of offense and also paced the defensive unit.
Despite all he had done, though, the Mustangs only trailed 39-38 lead early in the fourth quarter, kept from going in front because the Lakers’ Wyatt Scott intercepted a possible go-ahead two-point conversion after Marcellus had pulled within one.
With more than eight minutes to play, Cazenovia gained possession near midfield. Then it lurched forward, twice having to make clutch conversions including a third-down-and-22 when Livingston hit Paul Mitchell for 24 yards.
Even with that, the Mustangs appeared ready to take over on downs when it stopped a fourth-and-13, only to have a personal foul keep the Lakers’ offense on the field. Livingston then scored with 1:05 left and the two-point conversion clinched it.
So ended a night where Livingston constantly burned the Marcellus defense, completing 18 of 25 passes for 273 yards while also gaining 140 yards on the ground on 21 carries, the longest of which was a 69-yard dash to set up a touchdown.
Trailing 6-0 early, the Lakers took the lead for good on Livingston’s 11-yard scoring scramble before Livingston found Scott on a 35-yard TD pass. This, along with a second Livingston scoring run and a 26-yard pass to Mitchell, gave Cazenovia a 27-20 halftime lead.
Twice in the third quarter, Marcellus answered Cazenovia scores, including an 87-yard kickoff return for six points, all of which led to the drama of the final period.
As this went on, at Hyatt Stadium Skaneateles outlasted Solvay, overcoming a rough start to defeat the Bearcats 35-16.
Solvay twice found the end zone in the opening period and added two-point plays to grab a 16-6 advantage, but the all-around work of Torin Bennett at quarterback helped turn the game around.
Throwing 12 times, Bennett completed 10 of those passes for 141 yards. He also ran for 124 yards on 21 carries and scored twice, his scoring drive and Teague Foley’s field goal moving the Lakers within one, 16-15, at halftime.
Much of the second half belonged to the Skaneateles defense, who smothered every Bearcats opportunity. Reid Danforth and Cole Krauter both got interceptions as Brady Ellis produced seven tackles, Danforth and Luke Bruna adding five tackles apiece.
Colin Henry complemented Bennett in the ground game, his 12 carries amounting to 121 yards, while Ellis caught four passes for 61 yards and a TD.
The only team to beat Skaneateles this season, Ludden/SAS, had an easy time of it Friday against Southern Hills, cruising to a 40-0 victory over the Storm.
It was 34-0 by halftime, the Gaelic Knights seeing Jahbari Clarke score on runs of 20 and 37 yards while X’Zavion Streiff threw TD passes of 12 yards to Tom Cervantes and 38 yards to Jahmarion Clarke as Joevon Mitchell also scored on a one-yard run.
Streiff was 10-for-15 for 180 yards through the air, Jahbari Clarke adding 148 yards on just 13 carries. Micah Baker caught three passes for 77 yards as Dewan Hunt had seven tackles and Jahmarion Clarke 6 ½ tackles to pace the defense, Premiere Phillips adding an interception.
