True, it was a different year, with different lineups. But it was the same semifinal round of the Section III Class B playoffs, the same stakes of a trip to the Carrier Dome and the same venue at Fayetteville-Manlius.
And it was the same lopsided result, much to the delight of Cazenovia and the despair of Chittenango.
The Lakers took charge early on both sides of the ball, and didn’t let up until it had put away the Bears 37-14 Friday night, earning a spot in the sectional final next Sunday at 3 p.m. against Homer, who rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Mexico 31-22 in the other semifinal.
Every Chittenango partisan remembered how Cazenovia had flattened them one year ago in this same sectional semifinal round on the way to a first-ever state championship, and were hoping that the gap between the Madison County neighbors had closed in the ensuing 12 months.
Those hopes began to take a downturn when the Lakers’ Austin Enders rumbled 36 yards on the Lakers’ first offensive play from scrimmage. From there, it didn’t take too long for Cazenovia to reach the Bears’ two-yard line, and for Cody Thorp to find the end zone.
Minutes later, Cazenovia quickly got the ball back and, from his own 28, Matt Regan faked a handoff and threw over the middle to Anthony Vecchiarelli, who caught it and outran the Chittenango defenders to a 72-yard touchdown that, with Regan’s extra point, made it 14-0.
A third Lakers drive didn’t result in a TD, but Regan’s 20-yard field goal early in the second quarter further extended the lead, and Cazenovia struck again when, from the Bears’ 27, Vecchiarelli repeated the earlier scoring play, only this time he was the quarterback and finding a wide-open Thorp, who dashed to the goal line.
Cazenovia’s defense made its most important stop late in the half at its own three-yard line, breaking up a Cooper Young pass on fourth down. Though Tyrrell Downer’s interception prevented any further damage, the Bears still found itself staring at a 24-0 deficit at the break.
Needing something good to happen, Chittenango tried an onside kick at the start of the third quarter and recovered it, only to have the Lakers’ Joey Gates intercept Young on the very next play from scrimmage. With the short field, Cazenovia moved to Chittenango’s five, where Vecchiarelli found Will Huftalen for the TD.
Not until the final period did the Bears, trailing 30-0, get on the board, thanks to Connor Frederick’s one-yard scoring plunge. But Matt McLaughlin answered for Cazenovia, scoring from 14 yards out before Young threw his lone TD pass of the night to Hunter Hendrix on a seven-yard strike in the waning seconds.
And so, as the Bears complete a 6-3 campaign, Cazenovia draws Homer in the sectional title game. The Lakers and Trojans both sport 8-1 records and won their respective divisions – the Lakers Class B East, the Trojans Class B West.
They last met in the 2014 sectional final at the Dome, where seven Cazenovia turnovers allowed Homer to prevail 38-24 in what turned out to be the last game for Lakers coaching legend Tom Neidl. Two years later, the Lakers and Trojans get to reunite.
