Long after the final whistle had blown and the Christian Brothers Academy football team had put away Central Square 49-0 Friday night, the players fulfilled a long-time Senior Night tradition and ran off the Alibrandi Stadium turf with their uniform pants and cleats on – but with their jerseys and shoulder pads off.

They did so knowing that the state Class AA no. 17-ranked Brothers would be back on this same field next Friday for the opening round of the Section III playoffs, yet were still uncertain over who it would face.

That didn’t get revealed until a day later, when Fayetteville-Manlius met Utica Proctor and lost a wild 43-35 decision to the Raiders. Due to that result, the Hornets must go to Alibrandi this Friday and confront CBA, with the winner getting Proctor or Nottingham in the sectional semifinals next weekend.

F-M knows quite well just what kind of challenge it would face. Since that season-opening defeat to Rochester Aquinas, the Brothers have won six in a row, outscoring those foes by a combined 305-73 margin.

What’s more, every part of CBA’s game is in high gear, from an offense capable of big plays anywhere on the field to a defense rapidly gaining in confidence that hadn’t put together a shutout until Central Square showed up.

Stevie Scott got things going against the Redhawks, sprinting 51 yards to the end zone in the first quarter. Before the period was done, it was 14-0, Jack Brotzki having thrown a 13-yard scoring pass to Sir Dennis.

The second quarter belonged to DeAndre Dowdell, arguably the Brothers’ best all-around player. Dowdell broke loose for a 40-yard TD run and then, taking a Central Square punt at his own 16, picked up blocks and didn’t stop until he was in the end zone 84 yards later.

It only figured that CBA’s defense would join in the fun in the third quarter, with Dennis intercepting a Redhawks pass and returning it 30 yards for six points.

Scott tacked on a second long TD run from 53 yards out and finished with 123 rushing yards on the night. Nick Aversa scored from three yards out in the final period and Andrew Kolceski was a perfect seven-for-seven on extra points despite the windy, wet conditions.

And it was still cold on Saturday, only with snow flying through the air, when F-M ventured to Proctor and, for a long while, traded blows with the Raiders, who were attempting to both secure a home game and earn a share of the Class AA-2 division regular-season title, a scenario made possible by Cicero-North Syracuse’s 33-14 win over Baldwinsville the night before.

F-M trailed Proctor 14-0 through one quarter, but started to fight back when Henry Josephson found David Stegemann for a five-yard scoring pass in the second period. That, along with Connor Shaw’s one-yard TD plunge, helped the Hornets pull within range, 21-14, by halftime.

Josephson again found Stegemann, this time for 48-yard TD reception, early in the third quarter to tie it, 21-21, and after Proctor went back in front 27-21 early in the final period, the pair connected again, this time from 40 yards out, and the extra point allowed F-M to inch in front, 28-27 – but not for long.

Again, Proctor seized the lead with Dejae Johnson’s 14-yard scoring run, plus a two-point conversion. Again, the Hornets pulled even, this time at 35-35 with Matt Truman finding the end zone on a 36-yard run.

With 3:27 left, Proctor’s Jamarious Morgan, who ran for 183 yards on 18 carries, sprinted 16 yards to the end zone, and also ran in for two points. Trailing by eight, F-M put together one more drive, only to see Josephson intercepted with 1:44 to play.