What had seemed, in August, like a crazy dream nearly came true for the Westhill football team.
Late in the third quarter of Saturday’s Section III Class B semifinal at Chittenango High School, the Warriors led two-time defending champion Cazenovia, having erased a 14-point deficit, and were poised to perhaps pull off a shocker and reach this Sunday’s sectional final at the Carrier Dome.
Just when it mattered, though, the Lakers, with a pair of big plays, turned the entire momentum of the game around, and Westhill never got it back, taking a 34-17 defeat that was not as lopsided as the final score would indicate.
In so many ways, the Warriors had exceeded expectations in head coach Jamie Casullo’s first season, going 7-1 and reaching the state Class B rankings. As such, there wasn’t much pressure going into its clash with Cazenovia, a team that has grown to expect seasons to end in November.
Still, the early returns suggested a rout. Kevin Frega intercepted quarterback Richie Easterly on the first play from scrimmage, and while the Lakers were stopped inside Westhill’s 10-yard line, it did break through on its second possession, T.J. Connellan’s 34-yard run setting up his own one-yard scoring plunge.
Later in the first quarter, from his own 27, Ackermann went long and found Sam Langan on a slant pattern, and Langan got behind the Warriors’ secondary on a 73-yard sprint to the end zone.
Down 14-0, the Warriors looked outclassed. Right before the period ended, though, Westhill’s Ja’Shai’ Jamison beat a Cazenovia blitz and raced 56 yards for a touchdown, getting his team on the board and helping it settle down, too.
Throughout the second period, Casey Rogers, Chase Gedney and the rest of the Warriors’ defensive line made things uncomfortable for the Lakers’ front, and Cazenovia could not run outside.
Meanwhile, Easterly atoned for his earlier interception with a 30-yard TD run late in the half, a spectacular play where he broke several tackles, and Mike Burton’s extra point tied it, 14-14, a score that held up until the break.
Things got better when the Lakers’ Jake Wozniak fumbled the second-half kickoff, but he atoned for the muff with an interception of Easterly’s pass near the goal line. Then, when the Warriors drove again deep into Lakers territory, the defense held again, forcing Westhill to settle for Burton’s 25-yard field goal.
Despite the missed chances, that field goal gave the Warriors a 17-14 lead, one it was looking to add to as Ackerman faced a key third down on his own 30 late in the third quarter.
What happened next was the game’s turning point. Ackerman threw left, and Jake Shaffner made a diving, juggling catch for a 29-yard gain. On the very next play, Ackermann went to the slant again, and this time it was Connellan going the distance, 41 yards for the go-ahead TD.
Just like that, Cazenovia led, 21-17. Fired up by that quick strike, the Lakers’ defense took away running lanes from Jamison and Easterly, and made another big stop after Ackermann fumbled on a scramble early in the fourth quarter.
Getting another chance, Ackermann drove his Lakers 84 yards, mixing up runs with another long pass to Shaffner before Connellan ran in from four yards out with 5:19 to play, making it 27-17. Just to put things away, Ackermann took off on a 41-yard sprint to the end zone with 1:28 left, inflating the margin well beyond the tension felt for most of the afternoon.
In a strange way, this season ended in an ideal manner for Westhill, with a sense of accomplishment for how far it had risen, but also a hunger to take it a step or two further.
Though a terrific senior class, including Burton, Jamison, Easterly, Donovan Whipple, Joe Rainone, Jesse Chseter and Greg Newton departs, the return of Gedney, Rogers, Galen Hayes, Cody Badman, Ramy Guindy, John Schermerhorn, Will Swartwood and Jim Kernan creates a lot of excitement for the Warriors in 2015.
