A season ago, the Fayetteville-Manlius football team’s season was halted in the opening round of the Section III Class AA playoffs at Baldwinsville.
Now in the same Class AA-2 division with the Bees, a similar scenario threatened to play out Friday night in the Hornets’ regular-season finale, but just in time F-M took charge, using a 21-point third quarter to subdue B’ville and prevail 21-7.
As that went on, at Alibrandi Stadium Christian Brothers Academy was on the brink of securing its own post-season berth, only to get overtaken in the fourth quarter by its neighbors from Nottingham in an 18-16 defeat to the Bulldogs.
Even though entered the week at 4-2 overall, F-M was 2-2 in league play following its Oct. 5 loss to West Genesee. Thus, the Hornets had to win at B’ville, who with a 1-3 league mark could catch up and force a three-way tie-breaker with Utica Proctor that left F-M out.
The tension did not ease during the first half, either. Poor play, including a trio of fumbles, kept the Hornets from adding to its early 7-0 lead gained when Tim Shaw scored from two yards out.
When B’ville put together its own scoring drive that quarterback Braden McCard finished with a one-yard touchdown plunge, it was 7-7, where it stayed going into halftime.
Only then did the urgency of the moment spur the Hornets into a higher level as it tore down the field at the start of the third quarter and converted on Mitchell Seabury’s seven-yard TD run.
All game long, F-M’s ground attack wore on the Bees’ defenses, and Seabury benefited most, gaining 145 yards on 27 carries, the workload a sign that he had finally recovered from the hamstring injury that sidelined him for several weeks.
Seabury’s second TD, on a two-yard run, made it 21-7, and before the third period ended Ethan Page tacked on a 27-yard dash to the end zone. John Egnaczyk made all four of his extra-point attempts.
F-M was now safely in the playoffs, something CBA could not say after it was unable to capitalize on a great start against Nottingham.
Twice in the first quarter, the Brothers found its way to the end zone, with Travis Ward throwing a nine-yard TD pass to Ty’mier Moody and Tim Denham, in the biggest play of CBA’s season, made an 85-yard dash to the end zone.
Trailing 14-0, the Bulldogs would adjust on defense, contain Denham (who still had 160 yards on 11 carries) and not allow anything the rest of the way. The Brothers’ lone points came on a botched Nottingham punt in the end zone that led to a safety.
Jason Howard’s 17-yard scoring pass to Naquan Bradshaw got the Bulldogs on the board, yet it still trailed 16-6 going to the fourth quarter, where for CBA it all fell apart.
Jamell Nellons sparked Nottingham’s comeback with a 39-yard TD run. Minutes later, the Bulldogs got the ball back and moved to the Brothers’ seven, where Jadda Brown netted the go-ahead score.
Despite all this, when Corcoran beat Henninger on Saturday, a three-way tie was created in the AA-1 division, with CBA and Henninger gaining post-season berths and Nottigham locked out.
As such, the Brothers ended up third in AA-1 and will visit West Genesee, the second-place finisher in AA-2, Friday at 6 p.m.,while at that same time F-M is at Corcoran, the second-place finisher in AA-1, in its sectional Class AA playoff opener.
