Going into October, the Bishop Ludden and Jordan-Elbridge football teams are both in the mix for Section III Class C playoff berths – but the Gaelic Knights appear to be in a stronger position.
When the Gaelic Knights topped LaFayette/Fabius-Pompey 48-21 Friday night in Geddes, it moved to 4-1 on the season, 3-1 in Class C West. That’s tied for second with Tully and J-E, who lost a non-league game at home to Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 35-27.
However, it’s Ludden that controls its own post-season fate, because it hosts Tully next Friday, and J-E already owns a 14-7 loss to the Black Knights on Sept. 9. What’s more, the Eagles have to visit undefeated, state no. 4-ranked Skaneateles next Friday before closing the regular season against the Gaelic Knights on Oct. 15.
The task for Ludden, against LaFayette/F-P, was to avoid looking ahead to that big finish, and it did so, racing out to a 28-6 lead by the second quarter.
Antoine Montgomery, normally a defensive star for the Gaelic Knights, got points on the other side by returning an interception 35 yards for a touchdown. Mike Works added a two-yard scoring run later in the first quarter.
After LaFayette/F-P closed it to 14-6, Ludden responded with Works’ second TD, on a six-yard run, in the second quarter, followed by Matt Rogers lofting a 25-yard scoring pass to Ben Rath.
The Lancers closed the gap again, within 28-14, just before halftime, and neither side scored in the third quarter before Ludden offered a 20-point eruption in the final period.
Rogers, who was 12-for-18 for 178 yards and ran for 66 yards on the ground, scored on a six-yard run, in between Corey Wilkinson finding the end zone on a two-yard plunge and Jon Maher getting a 23-yard TD run.
As this went on, J-E engaged in a back-and-forth battle with APW, who was up 7-0 in the first quarter before Leland Holmes put the Eagles on the board with a two-yard scoring run.
Anthony DiSanto’s extra point tied it, 7-7, and J-E went in front early in the second period, moving to the Rebels’ one-yard line before Colby Trexler took it home.
Now it was APW’s turn to surge as Joe Carusone scored on back-to-back TD runs of 24 and 39 yards, his side moving ahead 21-12. Even though Cooper got a 35-yard scoring run just before the half, a missed conversion left the Eagles down 21-19 at the break.
Trexler put J-E in front in the third quarter as he scored from seven yards out, with Cody Lewis hitting Logan Smart on a two-point conversion to push it to 27-21. That didn’t last long, either, as Skyler Wheeler’s 22-yard TD run late in the period, plus a PAT, put the Rebels ahead for good.
All through the fourth quarter, the Eagles tried to answer, but its offense got stymied. APW tacked on another score on Eric Krand’s two-yard run, accounting for the final margin.
Holmes had 142 yards on 16 carries. Mitch Cooper added 80 yards and Trexler gained 76 yards as J-E, overall, produced 306 yards on the ground.
Cooper also had a team-best 12 tackles on the defensive side, while Trexler, Smart and Colin Ennulat each managed 10 tackles. Tom Albring managed eight tackles and Frank Bartkowiak added six tackles.
