Old-fashioned conditions – rain, then lots of mud – required old-fashioned football from the Cazenovia Lakers, when it ran up against Holland Patent in Saturday’s Section III Class C quarterfinal at Buckley-Volo Field. And Chad Dorrance didn’t mind the dirty work one bit. In a performance that reminded Laker fans of Chris Nourse and his 2007 heroics, Dorrance ran for 267 yards on 27 carries to lead Cazenovia past the Golden Knights 28-7. With the win, the Lakers advanced to face Cooperstown in this Friday’s Class C semifinal at 8 p.m. at Rome Free Academy Stadium, which will decide the South/East division title, too. The final score didn’t quite indicate how close much of the game had been, as both sides struggled to get moving on a field churned into mud by lots of activity and 24 hours of fairly constant rain. Following some early fumbles, the two teams settled down, but it wasn’t until Dorrance got the ball that the Lakers got on the board late in the first quarter. Dorrance cut loose for a 40-yard run deep into HP territory. After Cody Foster put up a 10-yard run, Dorrance, from the Golden Knights’ 25, ran up the middle, then turned right and kept going to the end zone. Chris Rogers’ extra point put the Lakers up 7-0. And that’s where it stayed, deep into the third quarter. Even though Dorrance had 126 yards by halftime, and even though the rain let up, HP kept pinning the Lakers deep in its own end (four times inside the 10-yard line), and long drives were difficult to put together in the soggy conditions. On the other hand, Cazenovia’s defense was its usual stingy self, even with Clancy Kemp out due to illness. Travis Mimms filled in for Kemp and was outstanding on the front line, as was Liam Ryan, Jake Ayer and Tom Toole. Foster, Nick Petrovich and Dan Majewski kept making plays from the linebacker spots, while Zack Golden, Justin Hoffmann, Tom Colligan and Chad Dorrance dominated in the secondary. All that was nice – but until quarterback Jeff Hopsicker took off down the right sideline on a 70-yard sprint to the end zone in the last minute of the third quarter to make it 14-0, the Lakers never had a comfortable margin. And on the first play of the fourth quarter, HP got back in it, John Iselo breaking loose for a 56-yard TD run of his own to cut the margin to 14-7. It was the first points Cazenovia had allowed since the Sauquoit Valley game on Sept. 24. If the Lakers felt threatened, though, it didn’t show as, on the ensuing drive, it drove 80 yards, most of it on runs of 18 and 19 yards by Dorrance. Fittingly, Dorrance went 26 yards for a touchdown with 8:09 left to restore the 14-point margin, and Zach Golden added a last-minute TD to account for the final margin. Cazenovia now turns its attention to Cooperstown, who also carries a 7-0 mark after beating Sauquoit Valley 33-26 in the first round and Canastota 46-24 in the quarterfinals. The winner will go to the Carrier Dome Nov. 7 to face Bishop Ludden or General Brown for the Class C title. Since the Gaelic Knights and Lions are also unbeaten, it is guaranteed that two 9-0 teams will play for a sectional championship.