For the second week in a row, the Cazenovia football team ventured on the road and kept a Class B East division opponent off the scoreboard.
Only this time, the Lakers actually paired that defensive dominance with a few trips to the end zone.
Cazenovia’s 24-0 shutout over Camden Saturday night was the team’s third win in a row following an 0-2 start and second consecutive shutout, and far more conventional than what had taken place eight days earlier.
Football fans around Central New York were still talking about the one-of-a-kind result Sept. 27 at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, the Lakers not getting a touchdown or field goal, yet winning 4-0 because it earned a pair of safeties in the fourth quarter.
All that mattered to the Lakers, though was that it got a much-needed victory and that, in order to build on it, needed to at least produce a few more points on its visit to Camden.
When the Blue Devils kept Cazenovia scoreless in the first quarter, there was a brief concern that this was yet another game the Lakers would have to tough out through unconventional means.
All of that changed, though, when in the second period Cazenovia moved it to Camden’s 24-yard line and Ryan Romagnoli broke his team’s touchdown drought, following good blocks all the way to the end zone.
Even more important was Evan Murray’s 32-yard field goal that extended the Lakers’ margin to 10-0 by halftime, a shot of momentum that carried over into the third quarter.
Twice, the Lakers moved it on Camden’s defense, and each time Romagnoli finished it off, scoring on runs of five and 11 yards.
But just one TD was needed here as, once again, the Lakers’ defense dominated from start to finish, never letting the Blue Devils put together any kind of consistent production.
Now Cazenovia returns to the portable lights at Buckley-Volo Field this Friday to welcome Central Valley Academy for a 6:30 kickoff, both teams sitting at 3-2 and tied for third in B West behind undefeated Oneida and New Hartford.
The Thunder arrive in Cazenovia fresh off its own shutout, having blanked Chittenango 21-0 a night before the Lakers’ win at Camden.
A 14-point second quarter put CVA in charge, with Cole Brewer catching TD passes of two and 66 yards from Michael Dihrberg and then scoring again in the third period on a 14-yard pass from Dihrberg.
It won’t get easier for the Bears this Friday as 5-0 New Hartford visits, the Spartans determined not to look ahead to a potential league-championship showdown with Oneida in the Oct. 18 regular-season finale.
