They put the ‘Star Wars’ Cup on the line again next Friday night, when the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse football teams gather for their annual battle at Bragman Stadium. But these teams head there in wildly contrasting manners.
The Warriors, though 2-3 overall, are 2-2 in Class AA-1 division play and arrive at this game on a high note after smashing Rome Free Academy 42-14 Friday night at LHS Stadium.
As for the Northstars, it sits at 1-4, knowing a win over Liverpool is its only chance to re-enter the playoff picture following a 49-14 home defeat to Christian Brothers Academy.
Liverpool had just taken its own loss to CBA, but found RFA at the perfect time, the Black Knights spent after putting so much into a 24-21 win over archrival Utica Proctor the week before.
It was Zavon Watkins putting the Warriors in front, as the senior quarterback took off on a 22-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, the only points for either side in that frame.
RFA briefly tied it, 7-7, early in the second period on Rich Stapleton’s 10-yard scoring run, but Liverpool moved in front for good with a long drive that produced Tyland Thompson’s first TD of the season, on a one-yard plunge.
Watkins’ 9-yard TD pass to Elijah Johnson gave the Warriors a 20-7 halftime edge, and the pair connected again for a bigger play early in the third quarter, the 52-yard scoring strike commencing Liverpool’s getaway.
Before taking a late rest, Watkins, who was six-for-seven passing for 173 yards, had his second running TD, from 25 yards out. Backup Justin Capoto found Anthony Miller on an 18-yard scoring pass in the final period. Thompson, with 66 yards, and Jeff Edwards, with 69 yards, led Liverpool’s ground game.
CNS, looking for the same sort of production in meeting AA-1 division leader CBA, got a jolt at the start when Andrew Johnson returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for six points.
The Brothers quickly responded, using TD runs by Mike Vavonese and Joey Pascarella to seize a 14-6 lead early in the second period. Then Johnson struck again when, after Pascarella’s six-yard scoring run, he returned the ensuing kick 75 yards for yet another TD.
Corey Scanlon’s two-point run briefly tied matters, 14-14, but that would finish CNS’s production on the night as a fast, physical Brothers defense constantly halted any attempts by the Northstars to move the ball.
Meanwhile, CBA quarterback Cam MacPherson was playing catch with his favorite receiver, Evan Adamo. Of MacPherson’s 17 completions for 277 yards, 11 went to Adamo, for 176 yards, including a 36-yard TD connection in the third quarter that helped break the game open.
Vavonese added 90 yards on the ground, plus another TD, as CBA stayed ahead of the AA-1 field, and left the Northstars hoping that the energy generated by the rivalry with Liverpool will salvage something from a difficult campaign.
