In the third week of the 2018 regular season, the Marcellus and Solvay football teams will gather again at Al Merola Field, their Sept. 14 encounter deciding who gets to keep the Tom Anthony Silver Cup.

It also might play a big role in each team’s ultimate fate, with the Mustangs determined to improve upon last year’s 7-2 side and the Bearcats bent on ending a long post-season drought.

There’s confidence in Marcellus that this year’s squad might have more quality than the 2017 side that put a scare into Cazenovia in the Section III Class B semifinals before taking a 14-3 defeat.

Head coach Nick Patterson saw his son, Nick Jr., graduate, and Brayton Johnson takes over at quarterback, aided in no small part by the return of the Mustangs’ top two running backs, Rob Seeley and Chris Hiatt, with Nick Kermes around to add further depth.

Even though most of the Marcellus offensive line is new, there’s greater depth than before. Tackle Joe Martin is the lone returning starter, helped by guards Kyle Brown and Mike Kaczor, plus center Tom Kinsella. Jake Taylor, Vincent Byrne and Onondaga High School transfer John Hall could all help the rotation, too.

Johnson will likely throw to the brother tandem of Liam and Sean Tierney, who are joined by Connor Rogalia, a fine all-around talent who can line up at tight end or flanker.

Defensively, Marcellus will, again, lean a lot on its linebackers, especially Connor Widrick, a senior and three-year starter. Patterson said that Widrick is “relentless” and that it’s difficult to harness his energy in practice because he causes so much havoc.

Brian Suarez, at defensive end, is part of a five-man front that employs Tierney, Brown, Kermes and Taylor, while Seeley and Wilvon McKee flank Widrick at linebacker. Each of the Tierney brothers are cornerbacks, with Hiatt manning the safety slot.

Important as the Solvay game will be, it’s the opener that’s drawn the most attention because Marcellus welcomes its neighbor and rival, Skaneateles, fresh off winning the state Class C championship last fall before getting moved up again.

Patterson said it’s not a matter of whether his team is talented or physical enough, but rather its ability to execute and make plays that will determine whether modest success turns into something bigger for the Mustangs.

Solvay only needed a few more points in two different 2017 games – two against Westhill, four against Institute of Technology Central – to turn yet another losing campaign into one that ended in the playoffs.

Entering his third year as the Bearcats’ head coach, Todd Lisi is totally changing the offense. In his first two years, said Lisi, Solvay ran the ball 70 percent of the time, rarely passing.

Now, though, those numbers might reverse because Solvay has settled on a quarterback – Brock Bagozzi. More importantly, Bagozzi has three big targets to find, whether it’s receivers Eljiah Wright (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) and Connor Lee (6-foot-2, 190 pounds), or tight end Austin Martin, helped at both positions by Blaine Franklin.

Jaimen Bliss, just a junior, is projected as one of Class B’s top running backs, and could produce even more if a big, imposing offensive line creates holes for Bliss to run through.

Center Davin Campbell and tackle Noah McLean both check in at 290 pounds, with guard Matt Reale and Center Brad Lando close to those benchmarks. An open battle remains to see who else starts at guard.

At the heart of Solvay’s defense is the linebacker trio of Bliss, Franklin and Tyriq Block. Each of them started as sophomores, and now, as juniors, push each other to get better.

“It’s an extremely competitive group,” said Lisi.

With Lando, Wright, Reale and Martin up front flanking nose guard Jason Armstrong, and Brendon Carolina poised for a breakout at cornerback next to Lee and Javen Green, Solvay believes it can contain high-octane opponent.

Also, the success in 2017 by kicker Lars Seeger created a buzz so great that Ethan Bigelow, who played soccer at Solvay a season ago, has moved to the gridiron. Lisi said that Bigelow hasn’t missed in practice inside the 30-yard line.

As to its schedule, Solvay opens next Friday with defending sectional champion Homer, perhaps at the best time to do so. Not until the Marcellus game does the Bearcats have a chance to play in “The Pit”, another instance of a tough opponent testing Solvay’s resolve.

“We want to grind it out and want every game to be competitive,” said Lisi.