Yes, the Cazenovia boys lacrosse team had rallied before against Westhill. It had gone to overtime before against the Warriors – twice, in fact – and won both times. But the third time, and the third victory, was the biggest and sweetest of all, as Cole Willard’s goal in the first minute of OT completed the Lakers’ comeback from a six-goal deficit to win, 9-8, in Wednesday night’s Section III Class C final at the Carrier Dome. While it was Cazenovia’s fourth sectional Class C title in five years, head coach Jim Longo said this one may have been the sweetest of all because of the superb opponent it had to overcome. Those regular-season battles with Westhill made Cazenovia quite aware of what was in store at the Dome, but even in its worst scenario it could not have imagined how the Warriors would nearly bury them in the game’s first 15 minutes. Ryan Zimmerman’s goal got it started. Casey Rogers added back-to-back tallies, and Richie Easterly converted in the last seconds of the first quarter. Then Easterly and Zimmerman struck again early in the second period, creating a 6-0 Lakers deficit. Of course, Cazenovia was down five goals to Westhill in their last encounter earlier this month and pulled it out in OT, so it wasn’t going to panic. “The character of our kids is such that they kept their wits about them,” said Longo. Derek White’s goal 4:16 into the second period finally got the Lakers on the board. Then Alex Hunt and P.J. Brown both converted, cutting the deficit to 6-3 by halftime. Just as importantly, the Lakers’ defense had settled down. Longo said the switch to a zone got rid of his team’s early problems, and the Warriors would go nearly 20 minutes without a goal, a drought that stretched deep into the third quarter. By then, Willard was starting to take over. His back-to-back goals cut the deficit to one, 6-5, before Mark Purcell ended the Westhill drought and sent the game to an epochal fourth quarter. All was quiet until Joe Rainone, picking up a Cazenovia turnover, charged from midfield and didn’t stop until he had flung it past Brenden Whalen with 6:32 left, which gave Westhill an 8-5 lead – but would also be the Warriors’ last goal of the night. It was Willard who ignited the Lakers’ ultimate rally, forcing a turnover, charging in and scoring with 3:02 to play. Just 39 seconds later, Brown converted, making it 8-7, and when the Warriors committed a penalty and gave Cazenovia a man-up situation, Lewis sneaked in from the right side to put in the tying goal with 1:22 left. In the last minute of regulation, the Lakers held for a shot, but turned it over. Taking its last time-out, Westhill gave the ball to Zimmerman, who charged up the middle, only to have T.J. Connellan strip him of the ball before Matt McAnaney picked it up and fired a shot wide as time expired. The crucial overtime face-off saw Peter Burr cleanly beat Franco Tangredi for the ball. Instantly, Cazenovia called time-out, and then, when play resumed, the Lakers worked the ball around the Warriors’ net. Willard said that he planned to clear out and have Brown take the shot. But when space opened up at his favorite spot, right at the point, Willard fired away and beat Westhill goalie Dan O’Connell for the game-winner just 56 seconds into the extra period. That was Willard’s fourth goal of the night. Longo said that, of all the skill players he possesses, Willard is one that can step up to an even higher level, which he certainly did here. All of this leads Cazenovia back into the state Class C tournament. Again, the Lakers will face Section X power Salmon River in the Class C regional final Saturday at 1 p.m. at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium. Remembering how his team lost to Bronxville in last year’s state Class C final, Willard said the Lakers’ goal is quite clear. “Hopefully, we’ll finish the job this time,” he said.