Day after day, each practice and game for the Bishop Ludden football team this fall has ended the same – with a huddle and a yell of “Dome in November!”
Well, the Gaelic Knights no longer need to say it, because the results have met their high expectations.
Ludden’s 33-21 victory over Sauquoit Valley in Friday night’s Section III Class D semifinal at Fayetteville-Manlius High School earned, for the Gaelic Knights, that coveted trip to the Carrier Dome to face Dolgeville in next Friday’s sectional title game.
For that, Ludden could thank a defense that, at the most critical time possible, stepped up to make the season’s most dramatic play, one that could have meant as much as a 16-point turnaround.
The Gaelic Knights and Indians were tied, 14-14, early in the third quarter. Sauquoit had erased Ludden’s 14-6 lead right before halftime with Liam Evans throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Delmedico and Ben Vanderpool, who had earlier scored on a 13-yard run, running in for two points.
To get on the board in the first quarter, Ludden had seen Tamir Rowser go 23 yards for a TD as Sh’ikem Lee threw a two-point pass to Ze’Vion Derby and then threw a seven-yard scoring pass to Se’vaughn Williams.
Still, Sauquoit had the momentum and was putting together another impressive drive, moving to the Gaelic Knights’ 10 and earning a first-down-and-goal.
Then it all changed.
The Indians fumbled, and Joe Connor, kept mostly quiet to this point, picked up the loose ball at the 15, turned on his speed and was gone, 85 yards to the other end zone. Ludden had a lead it would not relinquish.
Even when the Indians got the ball back and mounted another long drive, the Gaelic Knights stopped it on fourth down at its own 22 just as the period ended.
Remarkably, Ludden’s offense had not possessed the ball once in the entire third quarter, yet led 21-14. But it didn’t take long for the offense to settle matters.
Lee’s 36-yard pass to Connor was the key play in a drive that Lee himself finished off thanks to a four-yard TD scramble. With 3:12 left, Connor sealed it when he took a screen pass from Lee and outran the Sauquoit defenders 72 yards to the end zone.
And this sets up the sectional final between Ludden and Dolgeville, a rematch of last year’s epic, contentious 40-34 Gaelic Knights defeat in the opening round. The Blue Devils claimed a 32-28 thriller over defending champion Onondaga in the other semifinal game.
Marcellus had its own dreams of reaching the Dome, and for a half in Friday’s sectional Class B semifinal at Chittenango was in front of defending champion Cazenovia, only to get caught in a 14-3 loss to the Lakers.
Marcellus entered this game riding a seven-game win streak, and over the course of the first two periods the Mustangs’ defensive unit kept finding ways past Cazenovia’s front line to bother Matt Regan and throw him and the rest of the Lakers off their rhythm.
Rob Lobello’s interception in the first quarter set up Mike Kazor’s 32-yard field goal that hit the right upright, but bounced through, giving Marcellus a 3-0 lead.
Only once in the half did Cazenovia make a serious push, reaching the Mustangs’ 24 before missing a tying field goal. Thus, Marcellus, remained in front, 3-0, heading into the break.
By now, though, the Lakers’ defense was shutting Marcellus down, which meant that the Mustangs had to maintain its remarkable effort, something that could not quite happen,
Jake Macheda’s 47-yard run midway through the third quarter put the Lakers deep into Mustangs territory, and moments later Macheda scored the game’s first TD on a 10-yard run.
Happy to protect a 7-3 lead, the Lakers turned to defensive back Matt McLaughlin. Already with seven tackles, McLaughlin stepped in front of a Nick Patterson Jr. pass at his own 25 with nine minutes left.
McLaughlin got a second interception with 2:34 to play, returning it to the Marcellus 34. Seconds later, the Lakers were on the Mustangs’ 10, and Macheda found the end zone from there for the clinching TD.
