Just as promised, the Section III Class AA football semifinal between Baldwinsville and Liverpool, held Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium, was a tough, physical grind, two long-time rivals and full-time neighbors bent on keeping each other from getting to the Carrier Dome for next Sunday’s title game against Henninger.
In the end, for all the scoring chances that both sides would muster, just one came through – and it pushed the Warriors past the Bees 7-0, making it the first time since 1998 that Liverpool will play for a sectional championship.
But in the immediate aftermath, all of B’ville’s concerns had little to do with the game’s result.
With 7:17 left, after Jaydakis Scott had scored the game’s lone touchdown on a seven-yard run, Bees defenders Sam Mahar and Sam Gosson collided helmet-to-helmet on the ensuing extra point.
The collison left Mahar and Gosson sprawled on the turf, and both would require extensive medical attention. Taking no chances, both of them were sent to the hospital, where, to everyone’s relief on both sides, they were treated and released the same night.
It took more than 20 minutes to attend to Mahar and Gosson. Both teams went to their respective locker rooms to stay warm from the cold, blustery conditions and having to stand around in them.
When play resumed, the Bees still had a chance. Driving from its own 11-yard line, it moved steadiliy past midfield, using hard runs from Cameron Skipworth and Josh Smith to push toward a possible tying score.
As they had done all game, though, Liverpool’s defenders made the stop that it needed. Charles Green’s hard tackle on Smith pushed the Bees backward, and it led to fourth down with a minute to play. Madison Wolfanger’s rollout pass fell incomplete, and the Warriors were able to run out the clock.
Before the climax, this was a game full of frustration on both ends.
Twice in the first quarter, the Warriors had glorious opportunities to score. A bad punt snap placed Liverpool inside B’ville’s 10, but on fourth-and-goal Jaydakis Scott got stopped by Cole Burchill at the two.
Then, on the Warriors’ next possession, the Bees blew a defensive coverage, and Ricky Sisto had Matt Sala wide-open with no one within 10 yards of him for an easy touchdown pass, only to overthrow him.
At the same time, though, the Bees were making plenty of its own mistakes. Besides the botched punt snap, there were ill-timed penalties that halted possible drives throughout the afternoon.
Of course, Liverpool’s defense had much to do with those troubles. Up front, the Warriors kept winning battles at the line of scrimmage, giving the likes of Charles Green, Bobby King and Joe Scro the chance to make tackles to keep B’ville’s runners from breaking loose.
Skipworth did get 158 yards, but it took 37 carries, and Smith (58 yards on 12 carries) only provided sporadic relief, unable to make any big runs himself.
They were 0-0 going into halftime, the Bees thwarted again just before the break when Tom Scarfino’s 40-yard field-goal attempt fell short after Scott had fumbled and B’ville’s Josh Greer fell on it.
It stayed that way through the third quarter, too, as long drives on both ends led to no points on the board and a growing sense that whoever did get on the board first would likely finish on top.
Late in that period, the Warriors, taking over on its own 32 following yet another big defensive stand, began the game’s decisive march, one that ate up nearly six minutes of clock.
Scott, bottled up for most of the afternoon by the Bees’ quick and hard-hitting defense, started to find some space and break some tackles. When Scott didn’t run the ball, fellow back Audey Ashkar gained valuable yards up the middle.
The big play came on third-and-15 at the Bees’ 25. Following a holding penalty, Sisto sent a swing pass to Scott, who broke tackles on the right sideline and made it all the way to the seven for first-and-goal.
Two plays later, Scott, from the seven, powered in for the go-ahead touchdown – all that it would need to get its shot at Henninger, a clash of two 9-0 teams whose one common bond this fall are tough wins over B’ville.
Those two defeats were the only ones the Bees would take as a 7-2 season comes to an end. Replacing the likes of Skipworth, Burchill, Scarfino, Smith, Marcel Penfield, Calvin Tanguay and Ethan Plouffe won’t be easy, but B’ville has shown, throughout head coach Carl Sanfilippo’s three-decade tenure, an inherent ability to find new stars all over the field, and remain a title contender.
