Everyone associated with the Liverpool football team may have expected a blowout when winless Central Square came to the Carrier Dome on Saturday night.
But the Red Hawks made it quite difficult for the Warriors, staying close much of the night before Liverpool eased away in the fourth quarter to record a 21-0 victory and move to 4-1 on the season, 2-1 in the Class AA-1 division.
This had all the makings of an ugly affair. Liverpool was coming off its highly-hyped Sept. 25 loss to Baldwinsville, and the consensus was that the steamed Warriors would let out a lot of frustration on a Central Square squad that had allowed 213 points in four losses, or an average of more than 53 points per game.
Given the expectations, it was understandable that Liverpool kept starting quarterback Cam Jones on the sidelines. Jones had suffered a concussion late in the B’ville game, and head coach Dave Mancuso did not want to take any chances in a game the Warriors could win without him.
Yet that led to Liverpool’s offense struggling in the first half under new quarterback John Barbieri, as Central Square never made him feel comfortable. All the Warriors would get before the fourth quarter was Greg Bell’s 19-yard touchdown run in the opening period.
That 7-0 lead felt quite safe, though, because of the way the Warriors’ defense was playing. Central Square managed just 173 yards of total offense, 45 of them on the ground, and Liverpool came up with four interceptions — two by Zavon Watkins, one each by Tyland Thompson and linebacker Mike Donitzen.
Eventually, all that success on the defensive side would translate to some points in the fourth quarter, when the nervous Warriors finally got a cushion.
Bell, who ran 24 times for 172 yards (nearly outgaining the entire Central Square offense by himself), took off on a 34-yard TD run to make it 14-0, and Barbieri, who took just three passes all night, found Ethan VanMarter for a 43-yard TD strike to wrap it up.
It figures to be tough again Friday at the Dome, when Liverpool clashes with Christian Brothers Academy at 7 p.m. CBA is 3-2, but just 1-2 in league play, and had to hold off Rome Free Academy 40-36 last Friday just to keep its playoff hopes alive.
