Twice in a three-week span, the Skaneateles football team found itself trailing at home in the final minute, about to see its season spin in a bad direction.
Both times, the Lakers pulled it out, the latest example Friday night’s wild 47-46 victory over Solvay at Hyatt Stadium where, just as it did against Chittenango on Sept. 23, it trailed by double digits and still won.
Here, though, the impact of the win was greater, for it clinched a Section III Class B playoff berth, though the seed, and opponent, won’t be determined until the regular season ends next weekend.
This late comeback didn’t involve an onside kick, but it did feature, once more, the poise of sophomore quarterback Pat Hackler, who took the ball on his own 20-yard line with 1:39 to play and his team trailing the Bearcats 46-41.
Spending all of its time-outs, the Lakers drove to Solvay’s 10. Then, with 13 seconds left, Hackler threw to the end zone, and Jake Nesbit caught the ball for the winning touchdown.
It was the first time all night that Skaneateles held the lead, and it was the only lead that counted.
Before that, the Lakers spent the evening chasing a Solvay side that sported a 1-4 record and had not yet beaten a Class B West division foe this fall.
Despite Hackler’s early TD pass to Matt Goetzmann, Skaneateles trailed, 16-7, after one period, and the deficit grew to 22-7 before it erupted for 21 points in the second quarter.
Hackler capped this big surge by going 36 yards to Goetzmann for a TD that made it 30-28, but Solvay kept running through the Skaneateles defense and scored again right before halftime, making it 38-28 at the break.
Having already shown what he could do with his arm, Hackler showed his speed on a 48-yard dash to the end zone in the third period. Again, the Bearcats answered it, and the Lakers trailed, 46-34.
But Skaneateles still had time to rally once more, which it did with Hackler’s TD pass to Seth Lincoln and, more importantly, some key defensive stands that gave the Lakers one more chance.
To conclude its regular season, Skaneateles will face Section IV Susquehanna Valley next Saturday at 1:30, finding out a day later when and where it will start the sectional playoffs.
