Some games, and some results from those games, linger far longer than others in the collective memory of its participants, on both sides.
The Section III Class AA football semifinal between Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool Saturday night at Baldwinsville’s Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium might prove one of those seminal moments, given the stakes and the stunning turn of events.
Down by 21 points at halftime, the Northstars roared back to defeat the Warriors 35-28, earning both a berth in next Saturday’s sectional final against Utica Proctor at the Dome and a guaranteed spot in the state tournament, too.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” said C-NS head coach Dave Kline. “No one expected us to win, but we stayed together as a family. The 55 (players) believed, and that’s all that matters.”
“We just got our heads in the game,” said Northstars defensive back Enzo Lattanzio, who was part of two key turnovers in the second-half comeback. “We had to show that we were not pushovers.”
Though C-NS won back-to-back sectional and regional titles in 2017 and ’18, those were not surprising, given how much the Northstars dominated both of those years. By contrast, everything about this rally was unexpected.
Going into the game, C-NS knew that it was an underdog facing a Liverpool side that had shut them out 10-0 on Sept. 13 at Bragman Stadium. And what happened early in the rematch only seemed to widen the gap between the two rivals.
Jacob Vacco’s fumble recovery on the second play from scrimmage led to a quick 7-0 Liverpool advantage as Vacco also scored on a one-yard run. Then, late in the first quarter, Brendan Mancuso threw deep and found Noah Silfer on a 78-yard scoring strike.
C-NS did cut the margin to 14-7 as quarterback J.J. Razmovski scored on a four-yard run in the opening minute of the second period, but the Warriors struck back when Mancuso’s 50-yard bootleg set up his own one-yard TD plunge.
Causing more damage, Vacco intercepted Razmovski and, 10 seconds before halftime, Malachi Upshur took a direct snap six yards to the end zone, and the Warriors carried a 28-7 lead to intermission.
Even here, the Northstars were not surrendering. “The coaches told us to forget about the scoreboard and just put up points,” said Razmovski.
As it turned out, the seeds of the turnaround were planted as the C-NS players and coaches walked out for the second half. Kline and his assistants decided to surprise Liverpool with an onside kick. It worked to perfection, and once the Northstars got the ball, everything changed.
“It just takes something to get emotion on your side,” said Kline.
Razmovski, superb throughout the second half, found Adron Padford for 24 yards to set up Mike Washington’s one-yard TD run less than three minutes into the third quarter.
C-NS’s defense forced a punt, and Razmovski struck again, 46 yards to Matt Klamm before finding Mason Ellis in the end zone from seven yards out, the extra point paring Liverpool’s lead to seven.
“We attacked them through the air because they couldn’t stop us,” said Razmovski.
As important as the Northstars’ own proficiency was the Warriors suddenly turning the ball over. a fumble in the waning seconds of the third quarter set up a short field and C-NS mostly gave it to Washington, whose series of runs included a nine-yard scoring dash with 9:20 left that, with the PAT, evened the game 28-28.
Another Liverpool possession led to another fumble, this one recovered by Lattanzio at midfield. Following a key fourth-down conversion pass to Ellis, Razmovski, facing third down at the Warriors’ 28 with 4:02 to play, threw down the right sideline and found Klamm, who tumbled into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
Even with all this, the Warriors had plenty of time to respond, but Lattanzio delivered a decisive blow when he intercepted Mancuso, allowing the Northstars to run out the remaining clock, again with Washington on the ground.
Amid all the celebration, the Northstars knew that it has another chance at avenging a regular-season shutout as it faces, in the sectional final at the Dome, a Utica Proctor side that, blanked them 32-0 in October.
No matter what happens there, though, what C-NS did to rally against Liverpool will serve as a landmark, the unbridled joy of the Northstars contrasted by the agony on the Warriors’ sidelines at the end.
It marked the third consecutive year that Liverpool had reached the sectional semifinals, only to get stopped one step short of the Dome, which was difficult enough. To have it happen the way it all transpired, against this particular opponent, only made it more painful to endure.
