Excitement at the outset, concern in the middle, and resilience in the end – those were the phases the Baldwinsville football team went through in the course of Friday night’s Section III Class AA opening-round game against defending champion Christian Brothers Academy.
And thanks to a defense that stepped up big – not to mention some heads-up hustle on the offensive end – the Bees defeated the Brothers 28-20, setting up a titanic sectional semifinal between B’ville and Liverpool this Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium.
“We got out of synch a bit,” said head coach Carl Sanfilippo. “We got down, but we stayed the course, and our defense did a great job in the second half.”
During those last two periods, the Bees forced two CBA fumbles and made several other big plays, culminating in a turnover on downs with a minute to play that locked up the victory.
Long before that, though, B’ville fans had a lot of reason to cheer, taking a 14-0 lead before the game was 90 seconds old and the offense had even taken a snap.
On the opening kickoff, CBA aimed away from Cameron Skipworth – which turned out to be a big mistake. Sam Mahar took the ball at his own 20 and, using his sprinter’s speed, tore down the right side and didn’t stop until he was in the end zone.
As if that wasn’t enough, on CBA’s third offensive play, quarterback Jake Brotzki rushed a throw over the middle, and Skipworth picked it off, dashing 57 yards for a touchdown.
None of that seemed to rattle the Brothers, though, for it quickly settled down and, on its next possession, rode the power running of freshman Stevie Scott to its first points, Scott scoring on a 26-yard run to make it 14-7.
Even more impressive was the Brothers’ next drive, a 92-yard mix of swing passes and runs that baffled the Bees’ defenders, culminating in Scott’s second TD, on a one-yard plunge just before the first quarter ended.
Having tied it, 14-14, CBA had two terrific chances to go in front during the second period. But a fumble on third down led to Andrew Kolceski’s missed 30-yard field goal, and minutes later Cole Burchill snuffed out another drive with an interception inside his own 10.
Still, the Bees had surrendered four long drives. Worse yet, Skipworth, fighting illness and a toe injury, was not at 100 percent, so he had to share running duties with Mahar and Josh Smith and missed the entire third quarter while getting some treatment.
Things began to turn in the third quarter, with B’ville’s defense making stops and the offense relying on Smith and Cameron Wolfanger’s rollout passes to set up the game’s most controversial play.
Facing fourth-and-goal at the Brothers’ one-yard line, Wolfanger tried a sneak. It looked like several CBA defenders had stopped him, but then the ball popped loose and Smith, staying alert, jumped on the ball and ran it in for the touchdown.
The Brothers thought a whistle should have blown once Wolfanger’s forward progress was stopped. But the touchdown stood, and Tom Scarfino’s extra point produced a 21-14 lead.
That PAT got even more important early in the fourth quarter, when CBA pulled within one, 21-20, on Brotzki’s 10-yard scoring pass to Noah Jordan-Williams. When Kolceski tried the tying conversion, he pulled it right.
Even with that miscue, the Bees still needed to make more stops, and did so. Sam Gosson pounced on one fumble late in the third quarter, and then, with 3:21 left and the Brothers moving into B’ville territory, Brotzki was stripped of the balll, and Josh Greer fell on it.
By now, Skipworth had returned to the backfield, and he broke loose on a 43-yard TD run with 2:07 to play, extending B’ville’s lead. CBA had one more possession, but a sack and intentional grounding penalty caused a decisive turnover on downs.
Despite his third-quarter absence, Skipworth still managed 136 yards on 18 carries. On the defensive side, senior captain Burchill was unstoppable, recording 14 tackles to go with hist timely interception.
And now B’ville faces Liverpool, who is seeking its first sectional final appearance since 1998.
These teams did not meet during the regular season, but after the Bees edged CBA and the Warriors handled Cicero-North Syracuse 46-13 in its opening-round game, they gather for an old-fashioned neighborhood classic – which just happens to have to the Carrier Dome for the Nov. 9 sectional final against Henninger or Auburn on the line.
