Though it has ventured into the state football playoffs many times before, the Cazenovia football team has to feel that its best chance at a first-ever state championship was right in front of them.

Thanks to the combined efforts of young men like Cole Willard and Paul McLaughlin, that dream remains alive – at least for another week.

Without a massive powerhouse like Maine-Endwell or Chenango Forks to worry about, the state no. 1-ranked Lakers instead had Waverly as the Section IV representative to get past in Saturday’s Class B regional final at Binghamton Alumni Stadium.

Yet the dream nearly ended here. Cazenovia, short-handed, squandered a lead in the last seconds of regulation, but recovered enough to turn back the Wolverines 17-14 in overtime as Willard’s 22-yard field goal and McLaughlin’s interception in the extra period helped the Lakers escape Waverly’s upset bid.

At several critical moments in the game, either Willard or McLaughlin found themselves the centers of attention, charged with more duty than ever since the Lakers were without top running back T.J. Connellan, who injured his knee in the third quarter of Cazenovia’s Section III final win over Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Nov. 7 at the Carrier Dome.

With less than a minute left in the second quarter, Cazenovia held a 7-6 lead, having just gone in front thanks to Jake Shaffner’s one-yard touchdown plunge at the conclusion of an 18-play, eight-minute scoring march.

By then, the Lakers’ defense had settled down following Waverly’s five-play opening drive that, with long runs of 41 and 22 yards, led to the end zone as Brendyn Stillman scored from four yards out, but Cazenovia blocked the extra point.

Situated on its own 33, and with that one-point advantage, the Lakers weren’t trying to get too greedy. Instead, Shaffner dumped a screen pass to Willard, and then watched as the senior picked up blocks, ran to the sideline, and took off 67 yards for a touchdown with just nine seconds to play in

Long drives by both sides led to no points in the third quarter, but just as Waverly, still down 14-6, was trying to catch up, McLaughlin stepped in front of a Peyton Miller pass and picked it off on the second play of the final period.

With a chance to put the game away, Cazenovia instead committed its own turnover, Josh Mastrantuono intercepting Shaffner minutes after McLaughlin’s pick. That didn’t directly lead to points, but it meant that, when the Wolverines got the ball again with 5:15 left on its own 20, it still could pull even.

Miller now had finest moment. Passes of 11 and 23 yards to Stillman got the drive moving, and Miller himself sneaked for a first down on fourth-and-one to keep his team alive.

With 22.4 seconds to play, Miller, from the Lakers’ nine, threw to the end zone – and Carpenter got it for the TD. Needing a two-point conversion, Miller again went back to pass, and this time found D.J. Meyers, and it was 14-14.

Having never really faced any fourth-quarter pressure all season, Cazenovia now found itself in overtime, where each team gets one possession from the opponent’s 20-yard-line.

Going first, the Lakers converted one first down, but stalled at the Wolverines’ five on fourth down. Needing points, Cazenovia turned to Willard, and the one-time soccer player converted an even more important kick now, from 22 yards out.

Now it was the Wolverines’ turn. Pushed back by a holding penalty, Waverly still made it to Cazenovia’s 12. but the Lakers’ defense forced a fourth-and-two and a field-goal attempt to push it to a second OT.

It never got that far, though. The snap was high, and kicker Hunter Bodine scrambled before throwing a pass to the end zone – where McLaughlin grabbed it for his second interception that sent the Lakers to the state semifinals.

Kevin Frega led Cazenovia with 68 rushing yards on 14 carries, with Anthony Vecchiarelli adding 58 yards on 13 carries. Shaffner completed six of 15 passes for 142 yards. Defensively, Brenden Whalen managed seven tackles as Frega and Cody Thorp had five tackles apiece.

In Saturday’s state Class B semifinal at 3 p.m. at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium, Cazenovia meets Section VI champion Cheektowaga, from the Buffalo suburbs, who won a wild 43-36 regional game over Section V champion Batavia to reach this round for the second year in a row.

The Warriors fell to Maine-Endwell in last November’s state semifinal. Now the Lakers stand in the way, with the winner bound for the Nov. 29 state final back at the Carrier Dome.