Skaneateles won the Class C West football league title with a 55-19 triumph over Tully Firday night at Hyatt Stadium, putting on another offensive showcase for the happy home fans.
Laker quarterback Connor Herr completed 17-of-23 passes for 257 yards. Herr’s highlight was a school-record 99 yard pitch-and-catch to receiver Jake Cooney early in the fourth quarter, and he also was effective on the ground, rushing for 126 yards on just 10 carries.
To offer further support, running back Max Weiss tacked on 149 yards on 15 carries helping the Lakers extend its winning streak to 15 games. The Lakers last lost in a Section III Class B first-round playoff game to Cazenovia in October 2010.
Skaneateles scored 21 unanswered second-half points after going into halftime leading 34-19.
“We didn’t play that well on defense in the first half,” Skaneateles coach Joe Sindoni said. “(But) we came out in the second half, made some adjustments and got it together.”
Sindoni had little complaints about his offense. Apart from two turnovers, every Laker drive until the substitutes entered the game in the fourth quarter ended in a touchdown.
“We had it going,” Sindoni said. “The turnovers hurt. We were able to overcome them. But we were certainly able to move the ball when we wanted to.”
The hosts scored on the game’s opening possession when Max Dwyer snared a four-yard pass from Herr. Tully responded when its fine running back, Mike Spain, ran 57 yards to score a little under four minutes later.
The Black Knights took a 13-7 lead early in the second quarter, but the lead didn’t last long. Skaneateles marched downfield quickly and scored 1:23 after the Tully touchdown. Again it was a Herr-to-Dwyer scoring strike, the play covering six yards.
Skaneateles added three more second quarter touchdowns on a 12 yard Herr run, a four-yard Weiss rumble and a seven-yard Herr scramble.
The third quarter featured a 15 yard scoring pass from Herr to Colin Bright, and a 27 yard Weiss touchdown dash.
Skaneateles (6-0 overall, 5-0 league) looks likely to host a Class C-1 quarterfinal game this Friday. Tully (4-2, 3-2) is a certainty to make the Class C-2 tournament.
“We’ll be in the bigger bracket with some very good teams,” Sindoni said.
The Lakers have an admirer in Tully coach Brad Keysor.
“They’re a very good team. We knew that coming in,” Keysor said. “The major difference with us is they have a lot of depth and a lot of skill players. And they’re a very physical team. I think they’ll do very well in the post-season.”
Seeded no. 2 in the Class C-1 bracket, Skaneateles hosts Sherburne-Earlville in Friday night’s opening round at 7 p.m. A win here would send the Lakers into the next round against General Brown or Utica-Notre Dame.
