When the Baldwinsville football team left Bragman Stadium on Oct. 6 following its lone defeat of the season to Cicero-North Syracuse, it wanted nothing more than a second chance at the Northstars with a Section III Class AA championship on the line.
Now the Bees have that opportunity, thanks to its 56-14 romp over Liverpool in Friday night’s sectional AA semifinal played on that same Bragman Stadium turf.
Earlier that night, C-NS had defeated Corcoran 41-7, so it’s B’ville trying to deny the Northstars its first-ever sectional title when they kick off next Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Dome.
In order to get there, B’ville had to make sure it brought the same effort and intensity to its rematch with a Liverpool side that it beat 35-7 in late September, but had stunned Central Square in the opening round of the playoffs as the Bees were fighting past Fayetteville-Manlius.
Several key players, including Gabe Horan and John Hernandez, returned to B’ville’s lineup, and it got on the board in the first quarter with a steady drive that E.J. Edmonds capped off with a seven-yard touchdown run.
Yet that just served as the appetizer for a second period where the Bees would run over the Warriors with 35 points.
It began modestly enough, with Edmonds scoring his second TD on a 15-yard run in the opening seconds of the period, and six minutes passed before things began to pick up with a drive that Aquari Warner finished off with a five-yard scoring run.
Less than 90 seconds after Warner found the end zone, Liverpool punted deep in its own territory, and Chase Brown brought it back 44 yards for the TD, the second straight week an opponent’s punt had turned into points after Cameron Majchrzak’s blocked kick that he returned for a TD against F-M.
Though Liverpool did get on the board with Alex Ruston’s 24-yard scoring pass to Kaleb Ohlemacher, the Bees quickly answered, moving the ball to the one before Ben Dwyer’s one-yard TD plunge.
There was still enough time (1:14 left in the half) to get the ball again, which the Bees did, quickly driving to the Warriors’ eight before Dwyer scrambled across the goal line a second time.
Just like that, it was 42-7 at intermission, and Bees fans could relax, though the team did put together a pair of second-half scoring drives, Warner converting on a two-yard TD run and Braden McCard scoring from five yards out.
Warner finished with 160 yards on 17 carries, with Edmonds getting 105 yards on 12 carries. Everyone on defense contributed, with Troy Anthony earning eight tackles and Alex Hiltbrand adding six tackles. Warner and Donovan Smith each got an interception as Garrett Selover made all eight of his extra-point attempts.
And now it’s the rematch with C-NS. That first meeting saw B’ville notch 31 first-half points, yet still trail at halftime before the Northstars blanked the Bees in the second half and won 67-31.
Since then, the Northstars have moved to 9-0 and risen to no. 6 in the state AA rankings, handling CBA and Corcoran in the sectional playoffs, though the win over the Cougars was marred by a post-game brawl that brought into question whether some C-NS players would face suspensions for the title game.
