At least for now, the Liverpool football team is back from the brink.
The Warriors were staring at possible post-season elimination in Friday night’s game against Nottingham at LHS Stadium, but Tavon Bates’ quartet of touchdowns helped earn a 27-23 victory over the Bulldogs.
Liverpool entered the game 0-3 in the Class AA-2 division after three consecutive defeats, and could not afford another one, especially with Nottingham, 1-2 in league play (3-2 overall), right in front of them.
A large crowd gathered for Homecoming and Senior Night, but looked on as the Bulldogs scored the only points of the first quarter on Jevon Jones’ 27-yard scoring pass to Abdulmalik Abdi.
Having surrendered its own 10-point lead at Utica Proctor six days earlier, the Warriors staged a rally of its own in the second quarter, centered around Bates, who caught a 13-yard TD pass from Zach Neufang and ran three yards for another score.
Ahead 14-7 at halftime, Liverpool added to its total with Bates scoring for the third time on a 16-yard run, only to have Jones answer with a three-yard TD run.
It would ultimately require the Warriors to put together a fourth-quarter scoring drive that Bates finished off with a one-yard scoring plunge, since Nottingham would find the end zone again on Jones’ 14-yard TD pass to Jakev Jackson.
For the game, Bates gained 131 yards on 26 carries, and more of him will be needed when the Warriors go to Holland Stadium next Friday to face Auburn (2-2 league, 4-2 overall) for a 6:30 kickoff.
Liverpool is 1-3 in the AA-2 division, tied for fourth with Nottingham and Proctor. The only guaranteed way for the Warriors to reach the sectional playoffs is a win at Auburn plus losses by Nottingham to second-place Baldwinsville and by Proctor to first-place Cicero-North Syracuse.
