Back and forth the Marcellus and Westhill football teams went on Friday night, with much more than an edge in the neighborhood rivalry at stake.
Whoever won would stay at home for the opening round of the Section III Class B playoffs and, more importantly, would not need to face unbeaten Skaneateles until the finals, if it got that far.
As time ran low, it was the Mustangs putting together a clutch scoring drive that resulted in a late touchdown and a 19-14 victory over the Warriors.
What made this so impressive on Marcellus’ part was that, with less than two minutes left, Westhill, trailing 13-6, had gone in front with a big drive of its own that Marcus Welch finished with a touchdown run and then added a go-ahead two-point conversion.
But Marcellus quarterback Brayton Johnson, who had scored earlier in the period on a fourth-down scramble, pushed his team down the field and converted once more on a TD pass to Liam Tierney.
Johnson threw 13 passes, completing six of them for 121 yards, with Tierney catching two of those passes for 56 yards. It was complemented by a solid ground attack as Rob Seeley carried the ball 33 times for 178 yards.
Defenses ruled early, Westhill leading 6-0 at halftime. The only points of the half came on a scoring pass from Garvin Kinney to Riley McNitt.
For the most part, though, the Mustangs did a solid job containing the Warriors’ offense. Welch only had 71 yards on 18 carries, with Kinney able to complete just eight of his 26 passes for 62 yards.
So now Westhill, who finished third in Class B West at 5-2, will visit Class B East’s second-place finisher, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, in next week’s sectional playoffs, with Marcellus, winners of six in a row, at home to face Oneida.
Were it not for close defeats to Westhill and Marcellus in September, Solvay may have ended its long playoff drought.
Instead, the Bearcats had a 3-4 record following Friday’s 36-16 victory over Institute of Technology Central at Henninger High School’s Sunnycrest Field, which featured an impressive offensive display.
Jaimen Bliss led Solvay by rushing for a career-best 219 yards on 33 carries. He also scored the only TD of the first quarter on a seven-yard run.
Bliss scored again in the second period on a one-yard plunge, this after ITC had stayed close thanks to a pair of scores, one of them a fumble return.
What helped Solvay pull away was a combination of Bliss on the ground and Brock Bagozzi going through the air as the Bearcats quarterback completed 16 of 25 passes for 208 yards.
Blaine Franklin and Elijah Wright each caught short TD passes during the Bearcats’ 20-point second quarter, while Connor Lee had four receptions for 93 yards.
Only in front 27-16 at halftime, Solvay secured the win by blanking ITC in the last two periods, while Bliss scored a third time on a seven-yard run and Ethan Bigelow added a 25-yard field goal.
Bishop Ludden still had post-season hopes as it went to Homer on Friday, but by the time it got going in the fourth quarter, it proved too late as the Trojans clinched a playoff berth, beating the Gaelic Knights 42-32.
To a degree, that score was deceptive since most of Ludden’s points came in a late surge after Homer had steadily build a 42-8 lead, the lone interruption Tamir Rowser’s TD run and a Terrance Blatche-to-Antwon McMullen two-point conversion in the second quarter.
Dylan Yacavone ran for one TD and threw for another, with Andrew VanPatten scoring twice, Homer seemingly ending the suspense before the Gaelic Knights got going in the fourth quarter.
McMullen twice threw TD passes to Ze’vion Derby in those final minutes, covering 18 and 21 yards, and ran seven yards for another score as Blatche twice caught two-point passes and Rowser had another.
Ludden will play a crossover game next Friday against Camden after Solvay hosts Central Valley Academy Thursday night.
