Once again, the Marcellus football team has possession of the Tom Anthony Memorial Cup, the prize of the annual contest between the Mustangs and Solvay Bearcats.
Playing in front of the Time Warner Cable cameras Thursday night at Earl Hadley Stadium, the Mustangs broke its four-game skid and, at the same time, kept Solvay winless, cruising to a 43-14 victory.
For both sides, the consequences of this game were large. Any hope of staying in the hunt for a Class B playoff berth hinged on a win here in “The Pit”, and Marcellus would quickly take charge, leading 7-0 after one period.
But the real damage was done in the second period, when the Mustangs earned 17 unanswered points. Quarterback Duncan Merritt scored on a four-yard run and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brad Kermes.
When Nick Nye connected on a 30-yard field goal, the Mustangs took a 24-0 lead to the break. Solvay would not surrender, though, as early in the third quarter Josh Cometti drove his team down the field and got to the end zone with a 10-yard TD pass to Josh Marotti.
It was here that Ian McGloon would enter a starring role. McGloon, taking a handoff at midfield, found a seam and went 52 yards for six points after Marotti’s touchdown.
Then, after Cometti ran 20 yards for another score, the Mustangs used two more big plays to put the game away. First, Merritt went deep and found Wyatt Stehle for a 56-yard scoring reception.
McGloon capped it off in a big way late in the fourth quarter, taking a handoff on his own 18-yard line and going all the way to the other end zone 82 yards later for the longest run of his varsity career.
Marcellus returns home next Friday to face Cortland at 7 p.m. Solvay will take on LaFayette on Oct. 6.
