CENTRAL NEW YORK – Over the course of a single week, the Marcellus football team would have two opportunities to take the field and show that it had learned from its narrow April 8 defeat to Chittenango.
Just four days later, the Mustangs would reach the win column, handling Westhill 31-12 and, by doing so, giving head coach Nick Patterson his 50th win counting his tenures at Marcellus, Tully and Nottingham.
The Warriors got off to an ideal start when Myshawn Thomas fielded the opening kickoff at his own 11-yard line, sped past all the Marcellus tacklers and went 89 yards for a touchdown.
However, that was Westhill’s lone points until the fourth quarter. The Mustangs’ defense, while allowing Thomas to gain 201 total yards, constantly made the stops it needed.
Meanwhile, Marcellus took charge in the second quarter, getting on the board with Wilvon McKee’s 12-yard scoring run and taking the lead for good when Sean Tierney scrambled 11 yards for a TD and found Cameron Cerul for two points.
Leading 14-8 at the break, the Mustangs produced points on defense thanks to a third quarter, then added to its lead when McKee dove one yard for his second TD of the night.
McKee added a third score in the final period after the Warriors netted its lone points on offense, again with a big play from Thomas, who tore 70 yards to the end zone.
Marcellus played once more, on Saturday against Instiute of Technology Central, and for the second time this season the Mustangs dropped a one-point decision, falling to the Eagles 31-30.
A pair of scores in the first period got Marcellus in front 13-0, and though ITC scored in the second quarter, 10 more points had the Mustangs taking a 23-7 advantage to the final period.
But three times in those last 12 minutes, the Eagles burned the Mustangs, Prince Perry throwing TD passes of 48 and 51 yards to Greg O’Selmo and then a 12-yard scoring strike to Tre’Jeur Sledge, with Sledge’s two-point conversion proving to be the winning points.
Solvay was 0-2 going into last Wednesday’s game at Cazenovia and played quite well for a half, only to have it all turn around in a 24-13 loss to the Lakers.
Two big plays got the Bearcats in front, starting in the first quarter when its defense forced a fumble at the Lakers’ own 35-yard line, whichSam Washington picked up and returned for a TD.
A period later, Zach Bowen threw a 54-yard scoring pass to Jordan Dippold, extending the margin to 13-0, where it stood at halftime. But those would prove to be Solvay’s last points of the game.
It all turned early in the third quarter when the Lakers’ defense recorded a safety. On the ensuing possession, Cazenovia reached Solvay’s nine, from where Peter McCole ran in for the TD.
Minutes later, McCole struck again, this time gathering a pass from A.J. Rothfeld and going 30 yards for the go-ahead score Cazenovia clinched it when McCole netted his third TD on a three-yard run in the fourth quarter.
