True, it rained again on the Baldwinsville football team’s regular-season finale at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. But everything else was different.
Unlike the 2010 ‘Mud Bowl’ game where it suffered a 14-10 defeat to CBA, the Bees thoroughly enjoyed this slightly less muddy sequel on Friday night, pouring it on Cicero-North Syracuse in a 40-6 victory.
With that win, B’ville finished a 5-2 regular season, going 4-1 in the Class AA-1 division. That means it will be home again, weather and field conditions permitting, for next Friday’s Section III Class AA playoff game against Utica Proctor, as the Bees’ pursuit of a third straight sectional title begins in earnest.
B’ville sets off on this journey with junior tailback Tyler Rouse in prime form. All Rouse did against CNS was carry the ball 27 times for a season-best 302 yards, finding the end zone on three occasions.
The combination of rain and wind made conditions tricky, but it helped B’ville that it was facing a Northstars side mired at 1-5 and on its way out of the post-season.
Twice in the first half, the Bees found its way to the end zone, and both times Rouse finished it off, scoring on a three-yard plunge in the first quarter and breaking loose for a 55-yard TD run in the second period. Dean Tourtellott hit on both extra points, and B’ville led 14-0 at the break.
Rouse continued to amass yardage in the third quarter, B’ville nearly doubling its margin with two more scoring drives. Each time, Rouse’s backfield mate, Ben Paprocki, finished it off, his TD runs of one and eight yards, plus a Tourtellott PAT, making it 27-0.
Even after CNS got on the board with Cory Scanlon’s 15-yard TD pass to Xavier Brown, Rouse offered another trademark big play, breaking away from Northstars defenders on a 60-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter. Matt Paddock went 11 yards for his first TD of the season in the late going.
B’ville now draws Proctor, who went 4-3 in the regular season and tied Corcoran for third in the AA-2 division. For the Bees’ defense, all eyes will be on Raiders quarterback Jordan Treen, a threat to throw deep or take off on a long run any time he has the ball.
Should B’ville win, it will get West Genesee or Central Square (in the playoffs for the first time since 2002) in the AA semifinals. No doubt, Bees fans would love another shot at the Wildcats after the controversial 39-38 defeat on Sept. 30, but B’ville has to get past Proctor first.
