As it tore through the entire Class C West division in September and October, the Skaneateles football team had to wonder how it would have fared were it still among the Class B ranks.
If the effort put out in Friday night’s 28-21 defeat to Homer was any indication, the Lakers could safely say that it would not just skate by, but perhaps contend for a championship there, too.
Homer, after all, arrived at this spot as the no. 3-ranked Class B team in the state, having already locked up the regular-season title in the B West division where Skaneateles played the last few years. The Trojans had outscored its six opponents by a combined 238-40 margin.
None of this seemed to impress the state Class C no. 6-ranked Lakers, though, for it jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the second quarter. Pat Hackler put Skaneateles on the board with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Cross Bianchi, and the margin doubled when Hackler hit Nick Wamp on a 15-yard scoring pass.
Attempting to maintain that edge through halftime, the Lakers’ defense put out an inspired effort, but Homer got to them just before the break with a drive that John Horner finished off with a three-yard scoring run.
The 14-7 halftime lead of Skaneateles didn’t last long, either, as the Trojans notched the only points of the third quarter, driving to the Lakers’ 16 before Horner put in his second TD.
It set up an exciting fourth quarter. Homer moved in front, 21-14, with a drive capped by Tucker O’Donnell’s one-yard TD plunge, but Hackler stunned the Trojans’ defense by breaking loose down the sideline with a 67-yard dash to the end zone that, with Wamp’s extra point, tied it again, 21-21.
Facing its first close contest of the season, Homer calmly answered. It moved to the Lakers’ 21 where, with three minutes left, O’Donnell found Dante Yacavone in the end zone for the go-ahead score. The Trojans then stopped a last Skaneateles attempt to catch up.
Hackler attempted 36 passes, completing 16 of them for 142 yards while gaining 118 yards on the ground. Horner tore up the Skaneateles defense, gaining 191 yards on 27 carries as, defensively, Dominick Natale had 14 tackles, nine of them solo.
What the Lakers hoped for was to win the coin toss and gain the top seed for the Section III Class C playoffs, which provided an easier path to the Nov. 4 title game in the Carrier Dome.
But it was General Brown earning the top seed and Skaneateles settling for the no. 2 seed. Thus, if the Lakers beat Little Falls in Friday night’s opening-round game at Hyatt Stadium, it could face unbeaten Canastota in the semifinals, though the Raiders first have to get past Thousand Islands.
