CICERO – Maybe it all got to be too much.
Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool already had a fierce football rivalry, big enough to inspire a trophy – the “Star Wars Cup” – and important enough to sway the balance of power in the area Class AA ranks.
But the events of 2019 – the Warriors blanking the Northstars in the regular season, C-NS avenging it by rallying from a 21-point deficit to win 35-28 in the sectional semifinals – sent the rivalry to a new level.
Then COVID-19 hit, which meant that the usual year-long wait for the next chapter in this saga stretched out to nearly 18 months, only ending when the two sides finally gathered Friday night at Bragman Stadium.
All which had happened before created an edge to this game, one that resulted in hard hits, injuries, a constant flow of penalty flags and, ultimately, a stoppage less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.
C-NS prevailed 21-0, maintaining its season-long streak of its defense not allowing a single point in any of its four games and seeing running back Jamar Ballard Jr. score a trio of touchdowns.
Absent a post-season in this abbreviated spring campaign, the C-NS-Liverpool game provided as close to a playoff atmosphere as was possible, but even here the Northstars had a decided advantage.
Liverpool had paused for 10 days due to a single positive COVID-19 test, costing it a game with Baldwinsville, and while it returned to action on Monday and beat Corcoran 41-12, it still had less than a week of preparation time for C-NS once the pause ended.
The Warriors were able to stop the Northstars on its first possession, something three previous teams had not, only to have C-NS convert the second time it had the ball.
Driving from its own 43, a mix of Ballard runs and a 29-yard pass from J.J. Razmovski to Mason Ellis set up Ballard scoring on a three-yard plunge midway through the first quarter.
Constantly in a defensive mode, Liverpool was able to twice stop C-NS inside its own 10-yard line in the second quarter, including a goal-line stand which, seconds later, was followed by the fumble of a toss in its own end zone for a C-NS safety.
Late in the half, the Northstars made its own fourth-down stop near midfield. Razmovski then found Matt Klamm on a 44-yard strike over the middle, and Ballard scored one play later, making it 16-0 going to the break.
It was in the third period that the tempers started to flare up, many of the incidents happening after Liverpool quarterback Brendan Mancuso was injured and carted off the field.
Penalties piled up on both teams, with C-NS able to score a third time on Ballard’s four-yard run just before the quarter ended and a Warriors turnover inside its own 20 threatening to expand that margin.
Even though Liverpool made another defensive stand, the penalties, injuries and frustration threatened to boil over into something much larger.
So with 10:20 left, the two athletic directors, C-NS’s Tim Bednarski and Liverpool’s Ari Liberman, went on the field and consulted with the game officials, who soon after ordered the game stopped.
One more game remains for each team, the Warriors hosting Henninger as the Northstars are scheduled to travel to Corcoran.
