From now on, there is no relaxation for the Cazenovia football team in its quest to regain the Section III Class B championship.
The Lakers had one more chance to tune up in Saturday’s regular-season finale against South Jefferson at Buckley-Volo Field, and jumped all over the winless Spartans for 39 first-half points on the way to a comfortable 59-22 victory.
This completed another undefeated (5-0) run for Cazenovia through the Class B East division, and its record improved to 6-1 overall, with the only blemish a Sept. 7 loss to undefeated Class A contender Jamesville-DeWitt.
Despite South Jefferson’s 0-6 mark, the Lakers did not take any part of its assignment, roaring out to a 20-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Jake Wilson, who had 10 carries for 149 yards, started the scoring parade with a 12-yard touchdown run. Then quarterback Kevin Hopsicker offered up a pair of TDs, throwing 20 yards to Nick Petroff for six points and sprinting 26 yards to the end zone a few minutes later.
The Lakers’ fun continued in the second quarter. Alex Sullivan, splitting time with Hopsicker under center, used his strong arm to deliver a 39-yard scoring pass to Ryan Cook, and then displayed his own running skills with a 32-yard TD dash. Sullivan also made four consecutive points.
Just before the half, Hopsicker threw his second TD pass of the afternoon, five yards to Ryman Seeley, so it was 39-0 heading into the break.
During an otherwise quiet third quarter, Hopsicker went back to the ground, going 39 yards for a TD. And even as the reserves played in the final period, Nick Bobbett ran two yards for one score and A.J. Davis returned a kickoff 80 yards for six more points.
In less than three quarters of action, Cazenovia’s first-string defense did not allow South Jefferson to get on the board. Matt Bonavita paced the Lakers with 12 tackles, with Kyle Brown and James Henry each getting 10 tackles. Cullen Franz picked up an interception.
Now the Lakers could prepare for Saturday’s opening round of the Class B playoffs, where it hosts Westhill, the fourth-place finisher in the B West division, who is coming off Saturday’s 66-22 victory over Phoenix. Game time is at 2 p.m. The winner will play Homer or Camden the semifinals.
