Fans of the West Genesee football team had to wonder what was going on as the Wildcats went to halftime of last Friday’s home opener against Central Square.
Here were the Wildcats, who had put up 56 points in its opener at Auburn, getting pushed hard by a Red Hawks squad that surrendered 63 points to Cicero-North Syracuse the week before.
As it turned out, no one needed to be concerned.
Roaring out of the locker room, WG smothered Central Square throughout the second half, turning a potential shocker into a comfortable 37-6 victory that moved the Wildcats to 2-0 on the season.
Part of the early closeness of the contest could be attributed to Central Square’s deep pool of motivation. Embarrassed by the 63-19 defeat to CNS and (like every other WG opponent) fired up to face the defending state Class AA champions, the Red Hawks were ready from the opening kickoff.
By contrast, WG took a while to get itself involved, struggling through a scoreless first quarter before getting on the board with a bit of trickery.
On a reverse handoff at Central Square’s 32-yard line, Jake Fietkiewicz stopped, then threw deep downfield, finding Joe Fazio in the end zone for his first touchdown of the season and giving the Wildcats a 7-0 edge.
Answering quickly, the Red Hawks moved downfield to WG’s five-yard line, from where John Denslow scored. A two-point attempt to put Central Square ahead got thwarted, and that missed conversion remained the difference as they went to the third quarter.
WG quickly drove to Central Square’s three-yard line, but got stopped. Fazio, filling in at kicker for Kevin Petrick, proceeded to boot a 20-yard field goal through the uprights.
That kick seemed to get the rest of the team moving. WG’s defense turned up the heat, forcing a string of Red Hawk turnovers and scoring opportunities.
Before the third quarter was done, running back Jeremy Jones had gone 20 yards for one TD, and quarterback Jim Marks threw 35 yards to Fietkiewicz for another.
Just like that, WG led 24-6, and added to it in the final period. Jones got his second touchdown on a three-yard run and Simon Wright scored from seven yards out. Fazio made all four of the extra points he attempted.
Even with the win, WG knows that it cannot afford a slow start this Friday when Liverpool visits in a huge early-season showdown that kicks off the Class AA-1 league schedule. Game time is 6 p.m.
Led by one-time Wildcat head coach Dave Mancuso, the Warriors come off a 23-22 win over Corcoran. Liverpool would be 2-0 had it not used an ineligible player in its season-opening 32-12 win over Baldwinsville. Also, Liverpool is looking to avenge two defeats to WG last fall — one in the regular season, the other in the sectional Class AA semifinals.
