For the area’s pair of Class C high school football teams, it proved a fun and festive Friday to open the 2011 season.
Jordan-Elbridge turned what was supposed to be a home date with Hannibal into a rude return for the Warriors to the Class C West ranks, the Eagles winning in a 35-0 shutout.
And Bishop Ludden, one of C West’s annual top contenders, got the best of its one-time head coach, John Cosgrove, and Institute of Technology Central in a 46-12 romp.
In J-E’s case, the triumph was sweet on many levels. Hannibal had just returned from the Class B ranks, supposedly tougher competition, and was at home because the Eagles’ home field was not quite ready.
None of that mattered, though. J-E was inspired right from the opening kickoff, sprinting out to a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Leland Holmes put the Eagles ahead for good, scoring on an eight-yard run. Colby Trexler made it 14-0 by going 31 yards for a touchdown as Holmes returned to convert again from 14 yards out. Each time, Anthony DiSanto proved successful on the extra point.
Fueled by what its offense was doing, the Eagles’ defense took over from there, keeping Hannibal off the board as J-E added single touchdowns in the second and third periods to add to the margin.
Trexler’s second TD came on a one-yard plunge, and Holmes scored for the third time on a 15-yard run as Cody Lewis threw a two-point pass to Sean Ryan to finish things off.
For the game, Trexler amassed 132 yards on just eight carries, an average of 16.5 yards per carry. Holmes added 86 yards.
Over at Clary Middle School, Ludden was renewing acquaintances with Cosgrove, who led the Gaelic Knights to the 2007 state Class C championship. Now Cosgrove was in charge at ITC, who was entering its second season at the varsity level.
Just like J-E, Ludden quickly took command, as Mike Works scored on runs of four and 24 yards in the first quarter. That plus, Matt Rogers’ two-point pass to Antoin Montgomery, made it 14-0.
Rogers and Montgomery connected again on a 51-yard TD pass in the second period to counter ITC’s Michael Waldron scoring on a 59-yard run. At the break, Ludden held a 21-6 edge.
They again exchanged scoring drives in the third quarter, Rogers running 14 yards for his TD, and it was 27-12 going to the final period, where the Gaelic Knights really got away.
Works, who finished with 132 yards on 16 carries, notched his third TD on a three-yard run, and Corey Wilkinson recovered an ITC fumble in the end zone for another score. John Mahar’s nine-yard TD run completed the surge.
All this leads to a huge showdown next Friday as Ludden hosts Skaneateles. The Lakers, like Hannibal a Class C newcomer, announced its presence with a 54-31 win over defending sectional champion General Brown, a game where quarterbacks Troy Green and Conor Herr combined to throw for 469 yards and five touchdowns.
J-E, meanwhile, hits the road once more, this time for a trip to Tully, before having that long-awaited home opener Sept. 16 against ITC.
