Not so long ago, the Fayetteville-Manlius football team looked up – way up – at Christian Brothers Academy, wondering if its program could ever reach the championship heights the Brothers often scaled.
Those dreams of a sectional title remain in the future, but as of now it’s clear the Hornets have gained a decisive edge in this burgeoning local rivalry, as evidenced by the 40-16 victory it authored over CBA in last Friday’s home opener.
Both sides had lost their season openers – F-M to Liverpool in the Kickoff Classic at the Dome, CBA to Cicero-North Syracuse – so there was some urgency to get a victory, even if it wasn’t a league game.
There was also a stark contrast to the conditions F-M faced indoors a week before. Heavy winds blew from start to finish, all but grounding the passing attacks for each side – which is just what the Hornets wanted.
With a big physical advantage on both front lines, F-M all but pushed CBA around, especially in a first half where it played with speed and confidence and roared out to a 27-0 advantage.
Evan Welling scored the Hornets’ first two touchdowns, on runs of 15 and three yards. Then Jack Nucerino found the end zone and, right before halftime, quarterback Zak Conley scored on a four-yard dash.
F-M kept adding to its total in the second half with drives that resulted in TD runs by Will Duncanson and Jacob Porzucek. CBA finally got on the board late with Jamar Ballard’s 10-yard scoring run and Sam Bonacci converting from two yards out.
Welling kept making the big runs all night, amassing 182 yards on 26 carries. Duncanson and Nucerino combined for 100 yards and each carried the ball 10 times.
League play starts for the Hornets this Saturday as it travels to 2-0 Utica Proctor for a 1:30 kickoff. CBA travels north on Friday to face another 2-0 side, defending Section III Class A champion Indian River, at 7 p.m.
