Though it was not a league contest, the Cicero-North Syracuse football team still wanted to make its home opener a successful one.
However, Corcoran would not cooperate in that venture, marching into Bragman Stadium Friday night and moving to 3-0 on the season, beating the Northstars 43-21.
Fresh off beating Nottingham 35-13 a week earlier, CNS had gained some confidence, and would need every bit of it against a Corcoran side that earned the no. 13 spot in the first state Class AA rankings of the season.
For a half, it remained competitive. The Northstars trailed 6-0 after one period, the only points arising from Chao Porch’s one-yard touchdown run. Porch would later leave the game with an injury.
Corcoran made it 14-0 early in the second quarter, thanks to Shakem Buckmon’s 29-yard scoring pass to Anthony Heard and a two-point conversion. But CNS countered with a solid march of its own, capped by Brendan Lacey’s two-yard TD run and Stephen Messur’s extra point.
So the Northstars only trailed 14-7 at the break, but it started to get away in the third period thanks to Jeremy Derby, the running back who replaced Porch.
Derby twice found the end zone, on runs of five and 18 yards, and both times he added two-point conversion runs, and suddenly CNS found itself behind 30-7.
Battling to the end, the Northstars twice got TDs in the fourth quarter as Lacey found the end zone from 10 yards out and Corey Scanlon threw a 22-yard scoring pass to Andrew Johnson. Corcoran countered with Buckmon going 52 yards for one TD and Derby finding the end zone a third time on an 11-yard run.
The Northstars are 1-2, but 1-1 in league play as it goes east to play Rome Free Academy next Friday night. RFA is 2-1 following Friday’s 34-0 shutout of Central Square.