True, it was a Class B side playing a Class C side when Marcellus and Jordan-Elbridge met up on the new Field Turf at Howes Stadium Friday night.
But it was anything but lopsided as the Eagles hung close throughout the night before the Mustangs, paced by tailback Rob Seeley, fought to a 20-13 victory to improve to 2-1 on the season.
J-E had newfound confidence after going to Hannibal and producing a 48-7 victory the week before, a game where Hunter Brunelle and Nate Melfi each scored twice and Dominic Walborn threw a pair of touchdown passes.
Now, back at home, the Eagles’ defense worked hard and kept Marcellus off the board in the first half, surrendering yards but not points. In fact, the lone points of the half came on Aidan Carpenter’s touchdown run and John Lakota’s extra point.
Trailing 7-0 at the break, the Mustangs turned to Seeley, who in the third quarter put his team on the board by breaking loose on a 56-yard dash to the end zone.
That, along with quarterback Nick Patterson’s 18-yard TD sprint, put Marcellus in front, 14-13, for after Carpenter’s second scoring run J-E could not make the conversion.
Seeley, who finished the night with 159 yards on 16 carries, tacked on a five-yard TD run in the fourth quarter, and the Mustangs’ defense contained J-E in the final minutes with several clutch stops. Patterson completed seven of 17 passes for 115 yards and ran for 86 yards on 14 carries.
Back in Class B West division play, Westhill rebounded from its first loss of the season, though it took overtime for the Warriors to get past Institute of Technology Central 20-14.
Westhill was shut out in the first half and trailed, 6-0, until Zavion Barrott put his team on the board in the third quarter with a 30-yard scoring pass to Tom Howard. Marcus Welch added a three-yard TD run a few minutes later.
Despite this, ITC hung close, as Jujuan Cousins’ second one-yard scoring plunge made it 14-12 going to the fourth quarter, and the Eagles’ defense, led by Devin Williams, forced Westhill to surrender its second safety in as many weeks to tie the game.
That put it in overtime, where each team would get a possession at the opponent’s 20-yard line. Big plays by Luke McAnaney and Corey Frassica helped the Warriors’ defense stop the Eagles.
And Westhill won it when Riley McNitt, who had 79 yards on 14 carries, sprinted 10 yards into the end zone, the Warriors improving to 2-1 as it would await next Friday’s trip to unbeaten, state Class B no. 4-ranked Homer.
Through three games, Homer has outscored its opponents by a combined 146-20 margin, including Friday night’s game at Solvay, where the Trojans proved too much and beat the Bearcats 52-8.
The home crowd at Al Merola Field could only watch as Homer notched 35 unanswered points in the first half. Tucker O’Donnell got it going through the air with a 41-yard TD pass to Dante Yacavone in the opening period.
Then the Trojans’ ground game took over. Zach Barber scored twice, on runs of 12 and 44 yards, with Lars Roos finding the end zone from 24 yards out in between those plays and Dominick Natale adding a three-yard TD run.
Roos set the pace for Homer, gaining 189 yards on 13 carries. O’Donnell, in addition to his quarterback duties, made a 25-yard field goal, converted five extra points and threw a two-point pass to Stephen Walter.
Not until the fourth quarter, when Nate Gardner threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Tryon, did Solvay get on the board, Jamie Bliss adding a two-point run. The Bearcats take on ITC next Friday as Marcellus, returning to league play, visits 0-3 Cortland.
