Even with all the questions about its depth, its size and its relative inexperience in many parts of the game, the Christian Brothers Academy football team has reeled off two straight wins to open the 2010 season.
A week after holding Cicero-North Syracuse to just three points to give head coach Joe Casamento his 100th win at the school, the Brothers entertained Liverpool at Alibrandi Stadium Friday night and needed a strong running game, plus some well-timed trickery in the late stages, to beat the Warriors 31-21.
Going in, CBA knew Liverpool, who had lost its opener to Rome Free Academy 26-9, would play with some urgency as the Warriors attempted to avoid an 0-2 start.
So the Brothers went back to what had worked against CNS – namely, an option running attack that mixed speed and power with impressive results.
The speed came from quarterback Tyler Hamblin, who darted 34 yards for a touchdown for the only points of the opening period and finished with 75 yards on the night.
And the power came from Cirro Nicoletti-Watson, whose 27-yard dash to the end zone (he had 71 yards on 10 carries) up the gut gave CBA a 14-0 edge in the second quarter.
Liverpool climbed back through an effective passing game that produced some big plays, starting with Luigi Barletta’s 25-yard TD strike to Bobby Broddus that cut the lead to 14-7 as the teams went to halftime.
Riley Dixon made it 17-7 with a 29-yard field goal in the third quarter, but Barletta returned to find track star Zavon Watkins deep for a 57-yard scoring connection, and the Brothers only led by a field goal, 17-14.
Again, CBA stretched out the lead, with Nicoletti-Watson’s running mate, Mike Vavonese, scoring from 16 yards out early in the fourth quarter. Again, Liverpool cut it to a field goal, at 24-21, when Barletta threw deep and hit Ethan VanMarter, the TD covering 66 yards.
With less than five minutes left, the Brothers moved the ball to Liverpool’s 17-yard line, knowing that a field goal wasn’t enough to put the Warriors away.
Liverpool’s defenders moved in to play the run. Seeing this, Hamblin handed off to Vavonese, who stopped and threw – and found Evan Adamo in the end zone for the clinching score.
With this two-game win streak, CBA has a road game – though not much of one, as it goes less than a mile to Nottingham for next Friday’s 6:30 kickoff against the Bulldogs. Nottingham, who returned to Class AA this year after a stint in Class A, is 1-1, having beat Central Square before losing to CNS 35-13.
