LIVERPOOL –
All kinds of events, long-term and short-term, led to the conflicts that cut short the April 9 football showdown between Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool at Bragman Stadium.
More was to follow, as the 4-0 Northstars would soon find its season concluded, a result of having its last two scheduled games against Corcoran and Corning canceled.
Meanwhile, the 2-1 Warriors would have to move on without one of its leaders, senior quarterback Brendan Mancuso, who broke his ankle in the third quarter of the C-NS game.
As Mancuso began to recover, Liverpool pressed ahead, knowing that it would not only play its scheduled game against Henninger on Friday, but also make up the game with Baldwinsville originally set for March 26 but postponed when the Warriors went into a COVID-19 quarantine.
Henninger came first, and while it took a while, the Warriors, led by senior tailback Malachi Upshur, would seize control and ultimately produce a 30-14 victory over the Black Knights.
Already possessing a ground-oriented offense, Liverpool took that concept even further as Mark Matott, who replaced Mancuso at quarterback, threw just two passes all night, completing one.
More often, the Warriors just directly snapped it to Upshur, who ultimately carried the ball 24 times and burned the Black Knights for 215 yards as Jeremy Valerio added 40 yards on eight carries.
Henninger got the game’s first touchdown, only to have Liverpool convert twice before halftime, each time with Upshur finding the end zone.
This continued into the second half, the Warriors pulling away as Upshur ultimately scored four touchdowns and Liverpool improved to 3-1 before it faces Baldwinsville on Thursday.
