Even though it took being on the right end of a tie-breaker to get itself into the Section III Class AA playoffs, the Baldwinsville football team did not waste the opportunity given to them.
In fact, when the 2-5 Bees traveled to 5-2 Corcoran for Friday night’s opening-round game, it put together its finest all-around effort of the season, smothering the Cougars on defense and producing points, too, on the way to a 28-3 victory.
Not only had B’ville lost three consecutive games entering the sectional playoffs, its defense, still trying to adjust following the season-ending injury to linebacker Mike Letizia, had allowed 111 points to Utica Proctor, Cicero-North Syracuse and Fayetteville-Manlius.
But the defense didn’t have to be on the field right away. The Bees’ ground game worked well in its opening drive against Corcoran’s defense, moving to the Cougars’ five before Willie Strong found the end zone.
Just as important was Braden McCard intercepting Corcoran quarterback Aidan Murphy at midfield seconds after Strong’s touchdown. With a short field, B’ville moved to the Cougars’ 10 and strong scored again, followed by a two-point conversion.
It was easier for the Bees’ defense to operate with a 15-0 lead. Though it fumbled near the goal line early in the second quarter and didn’t score the rest of the half, B’ville’s defense continued to contain the Cougars, only allowing a field goal.
The third quarter was scoreless, too, Corcoran’s best opportunity thwarted when Pat May intercepted Murphy at the Bees’ 20, and with all of the empty possessions the Cougars were piling up, B’ville could afford to keep the ball on the ground.
Strong got his third touchdown of the night from 15 yards out with 7:53 to play, and when the Cougars crowded the line of scrimmage on the Bees’ next possession, McCard threw deep and found May for a 50-yard scoring pass to seal it.
Of the Bees’ 266 yards on the ground, Strong had 137 of them, on 27 carries. Balancing that out, McCard completed 10 of the 12 passes he threw for 152 yards, with May catching five of those passes for 88 yards.
To lead that B’ville defense, May made eight solo tackles and got a pair of interceptions. Sophomore Dan Ewald got seven tackles, while Colton Lacey had four tackles and Strong recovered a fumble.
A day later, Utica Proctor rolled past Christian Brothers Academy 39-12, setting up next Saturday’s sectional semifinal at 5 p.m. at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill between the Raiders and B’ville, a rematch of the Oct. 4 game that Proctor won 34-17.
Now, the Bees and Raiders would determine who would get Liverpool or Cicero-North Syracuse in the Nov. 9 sectional title game at the Dome. Ironically, the showdown between the Warriors and Northstars will take place Saturday at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.
