Two weeks, two wins for the Cazenovia football team – and two different ways to get there.
Unlike its season-opening romp over Amsterdam in the Carrier Dome, the Lakers waited until the second half of Saturday’s game against Mexico at Buckley-Volo Field to take charge – but it did so, and maintained a shutout streak until the fourth quarter of a 33-14 victory over the Tigers.
When Cazenovia blanked Amsterdam 47-0 in the Kickoff Classic on Sept. 4, it put up 27 unanswered points in the first half, erasing any suspense about the outcome before intermission.
Mexico proved far tougher. Like the Lakers, the Tigers started in the Dome, bashing South Jefferson 50-14. But that had come on Sunday, so Mexico had less than a full week to try and prepare for everything Cazenovia could throw at them.
Even with that time crunch, though, the Tigers made Cazenovia work hard throughout the first two periods. Only once did the Lakers manage a scoring drive, and it did so off a first-quarter turnover.
Kevin Frega was responsbile for all of it, from the interception on a Mexico pass to the eight-yard touchdown run that capped off the march. The extra point made it 7-0, but from there the Tigers’ defense kept Cazenovia from immediately adding to that margin.
To some degree, the Lakers did it to themselves, twice committing costly penalties on long plays from scrimmage, and also giving up a fumble near Mexico’s goal line.
So it was still 7-0 going to the third quarter, which started with another Laker drive inside the Mexico 10 that, again, was wasted when Cazenovia fumbled and the Tigers recovered.
Through all this, the Lakers stayed patient, and when it got the ball back, Jake Shaffner made sure there wouldn’t be any goal-line foibles, taking off on a 33-yard TD sprint midway through the period.
A blocked extra point, and third Cazenovia turnover kept it 13-0 going into the fourth quarter, but from the Tigers’ 33, Shaffner dumped a short pass to Paul McLaughlin and watched McLaughlin weave through Mexico defenders to the end zone, and the two-point conversion made it 21-0.
Now the Lakers’ defense, maintaining a seven-plus-quarter shutout streak, got into the act, T.J. Connellan getting an interception and then taking off on a 36-yard run to set up Shaffner’s latest big play, a scramble and throw to Tony Vecchiarelli in the end zone from 39 yards out.
As if that wasn’t enough, Connellan brought back another Mexico interception 78 yards to set up one more TD, from Vecchiarelli, who was now under center.
The only negative part was that Mexico broke up the shutout streak in the waning minutes with a pair of touchdowns, but Cazenovia’s 2-0 start was secure.
Connellan had a team-high 127 yards on 14 carries. Shaffner, who ran for 86 yards on 13 carries, completed seven of 14 passes for 140 yards. Cole Willard averaged more than 46 yards on his three punts and also had an interception.
The Lakers head back on the road to face South Jefferson on Saturday night at 6 p.m., the game moved from Friday due to an officials’ shortage in the Watertown area.
