When the Baldwinsville football team welcomes Cicero-North Syracuse to Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium next Friday, the stakes for the Bees will go far beyond a desire to prevail on Senior Night.
Since both B’ville and C-NS have 3-0 records in the Class AA-2 division, their showdown will likely determine the league championship and prime position for the Section III playoffs, something both sides desperately want.
In order to set up this secnario, the Bees and Northstars both had to win on Friday against opponents with 3-1 overall records – and did so with room to spare, B’ville putting away Auburn 47-22 as C-NS was prevailing 38-6 at Nottingham.
Much of the Bees’ challenge with Auburn involved dealing with tailback Nasir Smith and the rest of a potent offense that was determined to bounce back after C-NS held them to a single touchdown the week before.
The Maroons did scored in the first quarter – but that came amid a 19-point B’ville surge that gave the hosts a lead it would not relinquish.
On the game’s opening drive, the Bees faced fourth-down-and-eight at Auburn’s 32-yard line. Going for it, the ball went to Jack Buis, who tore through a hole and went all the way to the end zone, where he would return three more times by night’s end.
Auburn appeared to have grabbed momentum back when Tyrese Walker burned the Bees’ secondary with a 69-yard scoring pass to Dejour Morris that made it 7-6, but less than two minutes later Buis answered, this time taking off on a 65-yard touchdown run.
So B’ville took a 19-6 lead to the second quarter, where Nate Jaquint, who already had one interception on the night, picked off Walker again to set up another scoring drive. This time, Gabe Horan finished it off with a six-yard TD pass from Ben Dwyer.
If the Bees started to get content, Auburn changed that equation just before halftime after Khalil Martin’s interception of Dwyer set up a short field and Smith’s two-yard scoring plunge in the waning seconds. Adding the two points, the Maroons were still within range, trailing 26-14 at the break.
Buis made sure Auburn didn’t catch up, though, breaking loose for a 39-yard TD run midway through the third quarter and, after a Bees punt block, scoring again from six yards out to make it 40-14.
Aquari Warner added a seven-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter for his first varsity points. By then, Buis could rest, having carried the ball 20 times for 271 yards to outrun Smith, who needed 34 carries to get 210 yards. Mike Spicer, in addition to his fine work on B’ville’s offensive line, led the defense with 14 tackles, five of them solo.
And now the Bees could get ready for C-NS, who at 5-0 has moved into the state AA rankings at the no. 17 spot and feature a defense that has allowed just 27 points all season, shutting out Corcoran and Liverpool along the way. The game starts at 7 p.m. and will be telecast on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel.
