Cicero — Many important games, and many glorious moments, dot the history of the Cazenovia football program.
But none might prove as important or glorious as what takes place next Sunday at the Carrier Dome, when the Lakers meet Schuylerville and play for the first state championship in its history.
Cazenovia asserted its will during Saturday’s state Class B semifinal against Cheektowaga at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium, pulling away to wipe out the Warriors 55-18 behind an offense that, anchored by quarterback Jake Shaffner, found its rhythm once again.
“It’s not anything new that we did,” said Shaffner. “We were just waiting for a play here or there to get things going, and we got them.”
Cole Willard, who scored a touchdown and converted seven of eight extra points, said that everyone on the offensive unit took it upon themselves to do more in the absence of top running back T.J. Connellan.
“Everyone has to step up a bit and work a bit harder,” he said.
Cheektowaga, like Cazenovia, arrived at this game 11-0. The Section VI champions from the Buffalo suburbs lost in this same round a year ago to Maine-Endwell, and the hurt of that defeat offered plenty of motivation to the Warriors.
Meanwhile, the Lakers, without Connellan, had struggled in a 17-14 overtime win over Waverly in the regional round a week earlier, and in the Warriors, it faced the most potent and diverse attack it had dealt with all season, Cheektowaga featuring a 2,000-yard passer (Eric Bartnik) and 1,000-yard running back in Tyree Billingslea.
But all season long, the Lakers had thrived by forcing turnovers, and did so again four times in this game, starting on Cheektowaga’s second possession, Brenden Whalen pouncing on a fumble and setting up the Lakers at the Warriors’ 20.
Shaffner took it from there, hitting a key 21-yard pass to Anthony Vecchiarelli to set up his own four-yard touchdown sneak.
continued — Less than two minutes later, the Warriors were on the board, having gone 80 yards in less than two minutes. A 39-yard pass from Eric Bartnik to De’marion McGinnis set up Bartnik’s scoring pass to Stephan Parker that covered 16 yards.
A missed extra point kept Cazenovia in front 7-6, and Cheektowaga hurt itself again with a roughing-the-kicker penalty late in the period. Taking full advantage, the Lakers made it 14-6 on the first play of the second quarter, Shaffner going 19 yards to Paul McLaughlin for the TD.
Again, the Warriors answered with a quick scoring drive, Bartnik throwing 17 yards to Keith Weekley for the TD to cap a 70-yard march, though the missed two-point attempt preserved a slim 14-12 edge.
Shaffner did most of the work on the Lakers’ ensuing drive, escaping a blitz to throw a 17-yard pass to Cole Willard on third down and scoring on a 10-yard run two plays later.
McLaughlin, whose long kick return set up that TD, intercepted Bartnik at midfield. Willard got stripped of the ball by Ryan Carpenter one play later, but Cheektowaga could not pull off a fake punt at the Lakers’ 40 late in the half.
Again, Shaffner and McLaughlin produced big plays, with a pass over the middle that covered 50 yards and a 13-yard TD strike to the back of the end zone with 53.9 seconds left in the half.
Up 28-12 at the break, Cazenovia had no intention of seeing Cheektowaga rally the way it had done in its two previous post-season games.
“We had to come out in the second half and match their intensity,” said McLaughlin.
Cazenovia did that, and then some, dominating the last two periods in a manner quite familiar to Section III opponents throughout the years.
Matt Regan’s interception early in the third quarter was the Warriors’ third turnover of the game. Two plays later, Shaffner dashed left and went 24 yards to the end zone.
continued — Before the period was done, the margin was 41-12, Willard diving to make a catch in the corner of the end zone, near the pylon, on Shaffner’s 22-yard strike.
Then Kevin Frega, always a leader of the defensive unit, scored twice in the fourth quarter on a three-yard plunge and a 41-yard dash. Head coach Jay Steinhorst said that unleashing Frega gave the Lakers yet another offensive weapon it could utilize.
On both sides of the ball, Frega was unstoppable. He had 140 rushing yards on 14 carries and contributed 11 tackles to lead the defensive unit.
Shaffner, who rushed for 58 yards on 11 carries, completed eight of 15 passes for 164 yards, most of it to McLaughlin, who had five catches for 117 yards.
It all leads to the Dome, and to a state final against Section II champion Schuyerville that kicks off next Sunday at noon. The Black Horses blanked Westlake 35-0 in the other state semifinal at Kingston.
What Cazenovia brings to this ultimate game is the experience of several of its players reaching back-to-back state finals in lacrosse. Shaffner said the defeats in those games left an impression.
“We’ve learned that getting there isn’t the ultimate destination,” said Shaffner. “We’ve got to finish it.”
