If all goes to plan, by the end of October the Skaneateles football team will be on the brink of its first Section III title in nearly two decades.
That would mean five games of work, and on Saturday the Lakers started its October slate by ignoring the windy, cold and wet conditions at Hannibal and smashing the Warriors 67-7.
In improving to 5-0 and staying in sole possession of first place in the Class C West division, the state no. 4-ranked Lakers again unleashed an unstoppable pass attack.
Troy Green threw 14 passes, completing 10 of them for 229 yards and five touchdowns. Khiary Gayle caught four of those passes for a team-best 134 yards, scoring three times, while Korie Reed had three catches for 64 yards.
But the Lakers were even better on the ground, with 265 rushing yards, most of them from Malik Merritt, who had 143 yards and three TD’s on just eight carries.
It was Green finding Gayle on a 59-yard scoring pass that commenced a 27-point first-quarter blitz, and Green returned to Gayle for a 40-yard TD pass a few minutes later.
Skaneateles made it 20-0 with Green’s third scoring pass, 23 yards to Reed, and Merritt capped off that big start with a 23-yard TD run late in the period.
Thanks to Merritt’s 38-yard scoring run and Tyler Saunders’ fourth extra point, the Lakers had a comfortable 34-0 margin at halftime, but was far from finished.
To start the third quarter, Green moved the Lakers to Hannibal’s 18 and then found Gayle in the end zone. Shortly after, the Lakers’ defense joined in the fun as Luke Dransczak picked up a Warrior fumble and returned it 38 yards for six points.
After Green’s fifth TD pass, a one-yard toss to Steve Bright, the Lakers tacked on two more scores in the final period on runs – Merritt from 10 yards and Conor Herr from 24 yards out.
Skaneateles is back home on Friday night and can clinch first place in the C West division with a win over Jordan-Elbridge, who is 3-2 following a 35-27 loss to Altmar-Parish-Williamstown.
