Two wins in two road games had pushed the Skanetaeles football team to the top of the Class B West division and to no. 20 in the first state rankings of the fall.
But if the Lakers had any notion of security, it dissipated during Friday night’s home opener at Hyatt Stadium, when Homer, the defending league champions, jumped out to a double-digit lead and never got caught, Skaneateles taking a 22-15 defeat.
These teams entered the game in contrasting moods. Skaneateles had won big, 35-7, at Westhill, while Homer had taken a 37-29 loss to Marcellus.
Yet it was the Trojans marching out in front, 15-0, with a pair of first-quarter scoring drives. Matt Guerrera capped the first of these possessions with an eight-yard touchdown runs, and Homer struck again when Kevin Bush scored on a 13-yard run and Zach Barber added a two-point pass to Dante Yacavone.
With the Trojans threatening to get away, Skaneateles came to life with Tyler Schneider’s interception. Moments later, Pat Hackler found Ben Delasin on a 53-yard pass, and the pair connected again on a five-yard scoring reception before Hackler added a two-point run.
Despite this surge, the Lakers still trailed, 15-8, at halftime, and it remained that way through a scoreless third quarter, Skaneateles getting plenty of chances to catch up, but not taking full advantage.
During the final period, Homer got the cushion it needed with a scoring drive highlighted by Jacob Rivers’ long scramble and capped by Kevin Bush’s one-yard TD plunge. Though Hackler threw a second TD pass to Frankie Schmeling from 17 yards out on a play set up by a long pass to Matt Goetzmann, the Lakers could not quite catch up.
Hackler attempted 30 passes, completing 14 of them for 222 yards, also rushing for a team-high 47 yards, though the rest of the Skaneateles ground game got stifled by Homer’s defense. Goetzmann had 74 receiving yards on just three completions as Delasin had four catches for 66 yards.
Skaneateles will welcome the Class B West division leaders, Chittenango, to Hyatt Stadium next Friday at 7 p.m. The Bears roared to a 3-0 start with home wins over Solvay, Syracuse ITC and Westhill where it has only allowed nine total points in 12 quarters of play.
