For the second week in a row, the Skaneateles football team waited until the second half to get on the scoreboard. Only this time, it proved too late.
The renewal of the Skaneateles-Marcellus rivalry Friday night included high stakes in the Class B West division race, but the Lakers could not do much, or stop much, until it got out of reach in a 35-24 defeat to the host Mustangs.
Entering the game, Skaneateles was 3-1, tied with Chittenango for first place in B West after its stunning last-minute comeback to beat the Bears 19-16 on Sept. 23.
Marcellus, meanwhile, was 2-2 overall, but 2-1 in league play (one of the losses was to Waverly), tied with Homer. So the league race was wide-open, and this game would have major influence on where it would go.
Yet the Lakers’ problem remained the same as it was against Chittenango – it could not get much going, and unlike the Bears, the Mustangs would flourish, building a 21-0 halftime lead.
Tom Fiacchi put Marcellus on the board by finding Nate Garlow in the end zone from 37 yards out in the first quarter, and the Lakers could not answer despite forcing a turnover later in the period.
That deficit grew when Rob Seeley bolted 27 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Then, with 3:15 left in the half, Fiacchi moved the Mustangs to the Lakers’ 41, and then threw deep, finding Matt Reich in the end zone.
As if a 21-point halftime deficit wasn’t daunting enough, Fiacchi again connected with Reich early in the third quarter on a deep pass to set up the Marcellus quarterback’s five-yard scoring run that made it 28-0.
Only now did Skaneateles start to solve a much-improved Mustangs defense, with Pat Hackler scoring on an 18-yard run and, after recovering an onside kick, Areh Boni finding the end zone from 23 yards out.
Each time, the Lakers missed possible two-point conversions, which left the score at 28-12, and Fiacchi secured the Marcellus win with his second TD from five yards out with 3:45 left. Boni did add late TD runs of 24 and three yards.
Homer beat Westhill 21-0, so the Trojans moved to 3-1 in league play, tied with Marcellus and Chittenango, with Skaneateles half a game back at 3-2 and finishing league play next Friday when it hosts Solvay at Hyatt Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
