Two vastly different takeaways could be made from the Solvay footbal team’s 48-15 loss to Section IV’s Chenango Forks in Saturday’s Class B regional final at Vestal High School.
On one hand, the Bearcats met with disappointment against the state no. 1-ranked Blue Devils, unable to overcome a first half where Forks put up 34 unanswered points.
But the other conclusion was far more persuasive, that no result in the state playoffs would alter what Solvay accomplished to get this far, claiming 10 consecutive victories and breaking a 17-year Section III championship drought.
So much of the challenge that Solvay faced against Forks had little to do with the Bearcats’ own immense quality. This was a Blue Devils side that still remembered how it lost in this same regional round to Skaneateles one year earlier, and badly wanted redemption.
In all phases of the game, Forks controlled matters, using its ground attack to move to Solvay’s three-yard line late in the first quarter before Lucas Scott found the end zone.
Another drive soon followed, which Scott finished off by scoring on a two-yard plunge in the opening minute of the second period. Barely three minutes later, the margin grew to 20-0 thanks to another Forks drive and a third Scott TD from two yards out.
Though it had mostly relied on its running attack, the Blue Devils struck again from the air when Ray Austin threw to Matt Paske on a 28-yard scoring pass, but still Forks wasn’t done in the half.
When defensive end Matt Paske intercepted a Brock Bagozzi pass at the Blue Devils’ 25 and returned it 65 yards deep into Solvay territory, it set up Scott’s six-yard scoring run 53 seconds before intermission.
All told, Bagozzi threw three interceptions, including a third-quarter pick by Victor Arciolla that the Blue Devils turned into more points when Dubbs Haqq went six yards for the TD.
Only in the final period did Bagozzi, who threw for 276 yards, get the Bearcats on the board, connecting with Justin Scott twice on long scoring passes of 60 and 51 yards, but Forks had long secured another trip to the state semifinals, where it will face Buffalo’s Maritime Charter Health Services.
Solvay, meanwhile, will see a special senior class that includes Bagozzi, Jaimen Bliss, Elijah Wright, Blaine Franklin, Brendon Carolina, Tyriq Block, Brad Lando, Prince Smith, Xzavier Morris and Ethan Bigelow depart, their legacy a revival of a proud program and a long-awaited sectional title.
