Skaneateles routed neighbor and long-time archrival Marcellus, 47-19, Thursday night in a non-league football game at Hyatt Stadium, staying undefeated while, at the same time, keeping the Mustangs winless.
The Lakers (4-0) racked up more than 450 yards of total offense, and limited the Mustangs (0-4) to only one offensive touchdown.
“We played very well,” Skaneateles coach Joe Sindoni said. “We made a few mistakes here and there, but our defense played amazing (and) our offensive line played great.
“We just played a very physical team, and we played physical and hung with them. That’s what I wanted to see coming out of this game.”
Sindoni’s only complaint was special teams play. Specifically kickoff return coverage. The Lakers allowed a pair of touchdown returns from 88 and 80 yards.
The flip side was that Skaneateles was kicking off a lot thanks to its offense. Quarterback Conor Herr was the statistical standout, completing 23 of 39 passes for 266 yards and six touchdowns while also rushing for a team-best 63 yards on eight carries.
The senior was glad to add his name to the lore surrounding the Skaneateles-Marcellus rivalry.
“It’s huge this is a very big win for us,” Herr said. “I don’t know the last time we beat them. They’ve been pounding on us for years. This is great.”
Herr hooked up with his favorite target, Jake Cooney, for a six-yard touchdown pass to give the hosts a 7-0 lead with 2:09 left in the first quarter.
Then the teams combined for five second quarter touchdowns. Marcellus got the first one, a 10-yard pitch-and-catch from quarterback Duncan Merritt to tight end Jamie Fiacchi.
Herr responded by tossing pair of touchdowns 54 seconds apart. One was to Colin Jones, for 13 yards. The other was to Steven Bright for four yards.
The Mustangs then got one of those aforementioned kickoff returns. Senior Nick Nye brought it back 88 yards to cut Marcellus’s deficit to 20-13 with 2:15 to go before halftime.
That turned out to be plenty of time for Herr. The senior drove the Lakers 54 yards and culminated the march with a nine-yard scoring strike to Cooney.
Skaneateles started pulling away in the third quarter. Herr found Bright for 44 yards out just before Jones took a reverse home from 17 yards away.
The Lakers led 40-13, but Marcellus sophomore Ian McGloon wasn’t giving up. McGloon took the resulting kickoff back 80 yards.
Fittingly Herr had a hand in the final Skaneateles score, a six-yard toss to Cooney.
“My offensive line was fantastic tonight. I can’t ask for anything more,” Herr said. “Following those big guys up front I know I’m safe.”
Mustangs coach Joe Fiacchi said his team was aware of Herr’s explosiveness, but said his team couldn’t do much about it.
“We know coming in their quarterback is something special and if we didn’t get pressure on him we knew we’d be in trouble,” Fiacchi said. “We didn’t get enough pressure and he played great tonight.”
Herr wasn’t the only Lakers to put up some big numbers. Jones caught five balls for 105 yards, an average of 21 yards per catch.
Max Weiss ran for 58 yards and caught six passes for 47 yards. Cooney caught six passes for 21 yards. Bright latched onto four passes for 55 yards. Max Dwyer had three catches for 25 yards.
Merritt hung tough despite being under pressure for much of the game. The senior threw for 86 yards.
Fiacchi said the game pretty much summed up the way his team’s season has gone.
“We have two of three good plays and then we have mistakes, fumbles,” he said. “We haven’t been able to put it together this year. (We’ve had) too many mistakes. Our defense is on the field too much of the time.”
Fiacchi and his Mustangs will look to break into the win column next Thursday when it travels to Solvay. The Lakers return to action the following night at Clary Middle School against Institute of Technology Central.
