Right about now, the West Genesee football team is getting sick and tired of consolation.
Sure, it’s nice that the Wildcats have put up great efforts every week in the 2009 campaign and had a chance to win games in the second half.
But at some point those wins have to start happening, and that proved elusive again Friday night in a 30-28 defeat to Class AA-2 division leader Corcoran at the artificial turf version of Wildcat Stadium in Camillus.
Three different times, WG led. Each time, the Cougars rallied, managing to take sole possession of first place in the league, with its win plus Auburn’s 30-19 loss to Henninger.
Having faced superstar running backs throughout the season (Baldwinsville’s Malik Burks, Liverpool’s Greg Bell, Auburn’s Ismail Brooks), WG had to be relieved that Corcoran featured no one as dominant in the backfield.
Plus, it was not like the Wildcats’ offense had been dormant, putting up 104 points in its first five games despite a 1-4 mark.
WG wasted little time seizing the lead, going down the field on its first possession and scoring when Sirron Wright found the end zone on a four-yard run.
And the Wildcats’ 6-0 lead held until the second quarter, when Corcoran made its first comeback, starting with Travon Burke’s one-yard TD run.
The Cougars appeared to seize control when, with 28 seconds left in the half, quarterback Anthony Heard raced 10 yards for a TD, making it 13-6.
Those 28 seconds were enough time, though, for Connor Zeman to race his Wildcats downfield. And on the last play of the half, Zeman found Matt Naton for a 12-yard TD pass, and Mike Moran’s extra point made it 13-13 at the break.
Again, they exchanged blows in the third quarter – Corcoran going in front 19-16 on Riley Stroman’s 30-yard field goal, WG answering with Zeman’s eight-yard scoring pass to Mike Moran.
Of the six lead changes, three of them took place in the fourth quarter, starting with Travon Burke’s 16-yard TD run that pushed the Cougars back in front 23-19.
Staying poised, Zeman moved the Wildcats down the field again, using up yards and time. With 4:43 left, Zeman hit Tim Stagnitta on a two-yard TD pass, and WG now had a 26-23 lead to protect.
This lead barely lasted two minutes, for the Cougars zoomed down the field and, with 2:37 left, went in front for good when Burke scored his second TD from two yards out.
WG could not score on its next possession, and Corcoran, killing time toward the end, took a safety rather than risk giving the Wildcats a short field at the end. WG never got close to the end zone again.
Despite this 1-5 mark (1-3 league), WG could still make the Class AA playoffs if it beats Fayetteville-Manilus at home Friday and Utica Proctor falls to Henninger.
