Though the Skaneateles football team carried the edge of post-season experience into Friday night’s Section III Class C first-round game at Watertown IHC, it didn’t make much of a difference.
The unbeaten, state Class C no. 13-ranked Cavaliers, playing on its home turf, jumped all over the visiting Lakers in the first quarter and never let up, eventually prevailing 49-7.
Skaneateles saw its reign as sectional champions come to an abrupt end at the expense of an IHC squad that didn’t fall victim to the same upset bug that bit two other 7-0 teams, Syracuse’s Institute of Technology Central and Sherburne-Earlville, both of whom lost in the opening round – the Eagles 32-28 to Utica-Notre Dame, the Marauders 23-12 to Thousand Islands.
What the Lakers had, perhaps, hoped for was that IHC had nothing left in the emotional tank after last week’s classic 28-26 win over General Brown in the Class C North division title game. But that soon proved to be a false hope.
Before the first quarter was over, Skaneateles trailed 20-0. The Cavaliers, no doubt remembering that the Lakers beat them 10-7 in this same round two seasons ago, quickly got on the board when Michael Marra scored on a 30-yard run.
In his first playoff start, Skaneateles sophomore quarterback Devin Callahan showed some jitters, throwing an interception that led to IHC’s second touchdown, a 22-yard pass from Cole Carpenter to Miles Sexton. Then Callahan got picked off again, and this time the Cavaliers’ Jude Whalen brought it back 42 yards for six points.
And the big plays continued for IHC in the second quarter, Carpenter going deep to find Nick Koelmel on a 65-yard scoring strike to make it 26-0. Only here did the Lakers break up the shutout, driving down to the Cavaliers’ eight before Callahan found Tommy Hagen in the end zone.
Yet that only stopped IHC for a short while. During the third quarter, Carpenter again went deep from his own 35, again found Koelmel – and again saw it turned into a 65-yard TD.
Austin Frechette added a 10-yard scoring run later in the period, and IHC’s stifling defense produced more points in the fourth quarter when Koelmel, like so many others a two-way starter for the Cavaliers, brought back an interception 57 yards to the end zone.
IHC advanced to face Thousand Islands in the Class C semifinals, while Skaneateles saw its mark sink to 5-3, three victories short of what it attained a season ago.
