All through the lead-up to the 2017 season, the Liverpool football team insisted that it was a unified front, ready to roar back to the top of the standings after things went astray a season ago.
At least judging by the initial result, an emphatic 31-7 victory over Binghamton (Section IV) Friday night at LHS Stadium, those confident pre-season forecasts were quite accurate.
This more resembled Liverpool’s 2015 championship outfit, one that combined a quick-strike capability with a defense capable of shutting down the opposition. That will be needed as the competition gets tougher, particularly that Sept. 15 showdown with archrival (and pre-season Section III favorite) Cicero-North Syracuse.
Still, the initial impression was necessary, and the Warriors started making it while gaining a 10-0 first-quarter lead on Binghamton. Jacob Vacco capped off a scoring drive with a 15-yard touchdown run and Max Falkner tacked on a 24-yard field goal when another drive stalled inside the Patriots’ 10.
Starting again under center, Zach Neufang struck in the second quarter on a 38-yard TD pass to Nate Keys, and though the Warriors led 17-0 at halftime, Neufang and Keys weren’t done.
A penalty in the third quarter threatened to foil another Liverpool scoring drive. Facing third-and-goal at Binghamton’s 21, Neufang took as shotgun snap, rolled right and fired to the end zone, where Keys, ignoring the coverage from at least three Patriots defenders, made a sliding catch.
All the while, Liverpool’s defense kept making stops, and Binghamton did not score until the fourth quarter, with the game well out of reach. Kaleb Ohlemacher was credited with an interception.
Joe Fontanella added a one-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors could look ahead to next Friday’s game at another Section IV opponent, Union-Endicott, who claimed the Class A title in that section one season ago. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
