Even though the Baldwinsville football team knew it would host a Section III Class AA playoff game regardless of the result of Friday night’s game at Nottingham, it was in no mood to absorb back-to-back defeats.
So a week after dropping its first-place showdown to Cicero-North Syracuse, the Bees used a patient, physical approach to fight past the Bulldogs 23-7 and close its regular season with a 5-2 record.
In sharp contrast to B’ville’s relative security, Nottingham, with a 1-3 record in the Class AA-2 division, went into the night unsure of its fate, battling with Liverpool and Utica Proctor to see who would get a playoff berth. Only a win over the Bees would guarantee the Bulldogs a post-season ticket.
The first half mostly involved great work from the defenses on both sides. Only once did a drive end with points, B’ville marching in the first quarter to the three-yard line before Jack Buis scored the touchdown and Ben Dwyer added the extra point.
It was still 7-0 going into the third quarter, where Buis scored again from three yards out, but Notttingham got on the board, too, with a scoring drive ended by Carthell Flowers scoring on a one-yard run.
To put things away, the Bees relied on both sides of the ball, restoring its lead with Buis getting his third TD on a one-yard run and the defense recording a safety.
Buis finished with 199 yards on 36 carries, while E.J. Edmonds paced the Bees’ defense, earning seven tackles. Mike Spicer added five tackles, with Nick Cacciola contributing four tackles.
As it turned out, because Liverpool lost to Auburn and Utica Proctor fell to Cicero-North Syracuse, Nottingham, due to a first-half points tie-breaker, made it to the sectional playoffs anyway, and will face CBA in the opening round.
B’ville, situated in the same half of that Class AA sectional bracket, will, as the second-place finisher in AA-2, host Fayetteville-Manlius, the third-place finisher in the Class AA-1 division, next Friday night. The winner gets CBA or Nottingham in the semifinals.
