From the hugs and high-fives shared on the sidelines to the roars of the large fan contingent in the stands, the message rang out – the Marcellus football team is in the Section III Class B championship game for the first time ever.

Decades of waiting and frustration finally melted away Friday night at West Genesee High School as the Mustangs rode its fast-improving defense to a 24-0 shutout of Solvay in the Class B semifinals.

“Our program has had some tough years,” quarterback Will Fiacchi said. “But we’ve been working so hard for this, and we knew it would pay off.”

The payoff is a Class B final between the Mustangs (7-2) and bitter rival Westhill (9-0), who ripped Vernon Verona Sherrill 37-7 in the other semifinal in Camillus. The Warriors will be playing in its fourth straight sectional final.

For so long, the work of Fiacchi and his mates on the Marcellus offense had defined the program. But head coach Joe Goss and his players knew that a championship run could only happen if it stepped up on the other side of the ball.

So it was rather fitting that, to achieve this new milestone in Marcellus football, the defense would have to take charge – and it did, gladly.

Solvay, fresh off its shocking win over Chittenango in the Class B opening round, showed every intention of reversing its 32-6 loss to Marcellus from Oct. 9 and reaching its first sectional final since 2003.

Even when Marcellus struck on the game’s first possession, Fiacchi seeing a short pass to Dan Rudy turn into a 44-yard touchdown play just 2:41 into the game, the Bearcats did not get discouraged.

Mostly on the power running of Taylor Delperuto, Solvay pieced together a 65-yard march that consumed seven minutes of the first-quarter flock. Backed up on its five-yard line, the Mustangs made a key stand, as Josh Turner sacked Brian Wright on third down, and Wright’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

When the Bearcats drove to the Mustangs’ 18 early in the second quarter, Marcellus again stood up, as Turner made another key sack and another fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

Despite these great stops, the Mustangs could not turn them into points. In fact, just before halftime, Fiacchi threw a bad pass that John Savo picked off at the Bearcats’ five-yard line, keeping it 7-0 as the two teams went into the break.

Gradually, the Mustangs’ defense took charge, as it didn’t allow a single first down in the third quarter. Turner, with nine tackles two sacks, and Joe Felicia, with 11 tackles and one sack, led the way on the front line, while Jason Howard came up with a team-best 14 tackles.

Key runs by Ricky Alfreds and Kevin Daily, plus a 15-yard pass to Chaz Hayes, set up Brendan Carey’s 20-yard field goal in the third quarter that made it 10-0.

But the real break came near the end of that third period, when a bad punt snap led to Alfreds tackling Delperuto at the Solvay 10-yard line. On the first play of the final period, Fiacchi found Zach Amidon for a five-yard TD pass to make it 17-0.

Down the stretch, the Mustangs kept making stops, preserving the shutout while trying to keep pool amid a series of near-skirmishes with Solvay.

And though Carey’s attempt at a 56-yard field goal fell just short, Fiacchi offered a proper exclamation point with a 66-yard TD pass to Derek Belvito with 2:27 to play.

For the game, Fiacchi was nine-for-20 for 236 yards, giving him 2,404 passing yards for the season. Alfreds, by rushing for 102 yards on 19 carries, surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the year.

All of this – the passing game of Fiacchi, the running of Alfreds, and the imposing defense – is what the Mustangs bring to bear against Westhill in next Saturday’s final in the Carrier Dome. Game time is 5 p.m.

In their first meeting on Sept. 18, Marcellus saw a late lead get away in a 13-10 defeat, but learned at that moment that it could hang with the very best Class B had to offer.

Since then, the Mustangs have won six in a row, and it has no intentions of stopping with Westhill.

“They want to play four more games,” Goss said, which would mean Marcellus would have reached the state finals.

For now, a berth against Westhill in what is, arguably, the biggest game in Marcellus football history is exciting enough.