In the wake of the Chittenango football team’s controversial 3-0 defeat to Westhill on Oct. 9, many wondered if the Bears, even with a 4-2 record, were tough enough to get through disappointment and adversity.
They don’t wonder about that now.
After a short week of preparation, the Bears went to Solvay last Thursday night and erased all doubts about its playoff status, controlling matters from start to finish in a 32-8 victory over the Bearcats.
What made it more impressive was that Chittenango did this short-handed. Justin Gondeck was out at quarterback, replaced by Cooper Young, who had started the season-opener against Skaneateles on Sept. 4.
It didn’t take long for Solvay, 1-5 going into the game, to find out that Young’s presence opened up Chittenango’s attack. Less than four minutes into the first quarter, Young found big tight end Hunter Hendrix on a 29-yard scoring pass to put the Bears on the board.
By the end of the first quarter, it was 12-0, thanks to Connor Frederick’s one-yard TD plunge, and what was more, Chittenango’s defense remained the same stingy group that stymied Westhill so much, stopping all of Solvay’s chances in the first three periods and holding them to just 110 total yards.
Antonio Cutrie scored from nine yards out with 25 seconds left in the half, extending the Bears’ margin to 18-0, and it added second-half TD’s on runs of three yards from Fredericks and 39 yards from Duncan Smith. Solvay, who fell to 1-6, only got on the board with 1:55 to play on Alex Britton’s 17-yard run.
Now the Bears had to wait and see whether it would get to be at home for the opening round of the Section III Class B playoffs.
And it got more complicated when Westhill went to Homer and stunned the unbeaten, state Class B no. 7-ranked Trojans 21-6. That result, combined with Skaneateles defeating Cortland 34-8, created a three-way tie for second place in Class B West among the Bears, Warriors and Trojans.
Due to first-half points, though, Chittenango held the tie-breaker, and as a result is back at home in Bear Country this Friday to face Mexico, the third-place finisher in the Class B East division, at 7 p.m. A win could mean a semifinal against Cazenovia, should the Lakers get past Westhill in its playoff opener.
