Combine a big occasion – the first Friday night home game in more than half a century – with an energized and angry home side lined up against an overmatched visiting side – and the result is close to inevitable.
Cazenovia’s football team did not waste any time running over Camden, and didn’t let up until it had produced a 67-6 victory and restored some order in the Class B East division, with some outside help.
Weeks of hype and excitement had ensued when it was announced that Cazenovia, long accustomed to leisurely Saturday afternoon home outings at Buckley-Volo Field, would bring in temporary lights for this game against Camden.
Yet no one could have anticipated the circumstances leading into the game.
Six days earlier, the Lakers had seen its 52-game home win streak snapped in a stunning manner when it gave up two fourth-quarter touchdowns and three blocked punts that led to a 28-27 defeat to Utica-Notre Dame.
It had dropped the reigning state Class B champions from no. 3 to no. 23 in the state rankings, but more importantly, it shook Cazenovia out of whatever complacency a state title may have created.
So the Lakers had a spirited week of practice, determined to not just make this home night game an event, but also a statement to the rest of the Section III ranks that all was fine with the Cazenovia football machine.
Camden, outscored by a 100-25 margin on the way to an 0-3 start, did not offer much resistance, and it led to a first quarter where Lakers fans basked in the lights and watched their team find the end zone five times, amounting to a 35-0 lead.
Though that pace couldn’t get maintained, Cazenovia added two more touchdowns in the second quarter for a 47-0 halftime margin, and scored three more times in the third quarter even after the starters had departed.
Meanwhile, the Class B East division race changed again when first-place Central Valley Academy lost at home to Mexico 31-0. This left the Thunder and Tigers tied with Cazenovia atop the league standings at 3-1.
Cazenovia gets another winless opponent, South Jefferson, next week as it goes back to its usual Saturday-afternoon time slot, with road games at Central Valley and Oneida to follow that will determine whether the Lakers hang on to its long-held league crown.
