ONONDAGA COUNTY – When the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse and football teams entered the Carrier Dome on Sept. 3 to begin their respective 2021 seasons, they both understood that the result was not as important as the experience gained from facing high-caliber opposition.
Going first, the Warriors were humbled against St. Francis, from Buffalo, who took advantage of every Liverpool mistake, built a big early margin and cruised to a 44-13 win.
Then, when it was the Northstars’ turn against Clifton (New Jersey), it hung close for a while, but ultimately also absorbed a defeat, this one by a 32-13 margin.
St. Francis put on pressure against Liverpool from the outset, turning a high punt snap into a touchdown, adding a safety and then scoring twice more early in the second quarter.
So it was 26-0 before the Warriors got on the board – with its defense, thanks to a Red Raiders fumble that Bruce Wingate returned 20 yards to the end zone.
That didn’t deter St. Francis, who extended its margin to 37-6 by halftime. To its credit, Liverpool played better in the second half and got yet another defensive TD on a fumble return in the fourth quarter, Aaron Clouthier going 41 yards.
C-NS took its turn against one of New Jersey’s top programs and kept the game scoreless in the first quarter, but the parity would not last.
Clifton converted twice and built a 14-0 lead in the second period. The Northstars countered with Jamar Ballard’s eight-yard TD run, but the Mustangs extended the margin to 20-6 by halftime.
All through the second half, C-NS found itself unable to move much against Clifton’s defense. It made just one big play, Jaxon Razmovski’s 75-yard scoring strike to Mason Ellis in the fourth quarter.
Now into Class AA competition, C-NS would go to Nottingham on Friday and beat the Bulldogs 37-8, a day after Liverpool met Henninger and rolled past the Black Knights 45-18.
Continuing to employ a pair of quarterbacks, the Northstars saw both of them flourish against Nottingham as Anthony Testa scored on a pair of short runs in the first half.
Razmovski, meanwhile, threw TD passes to Ellis and Vinny Latanzio as part of a 23-point second-quarter outburst. C-NS’s defense got in the fun with a safety as the margin grew to 30-0 by halftime.
Jason Bartlett added a third-quarter touchdown and the Northstars were able to preserve the shutout until the fourth quarter, when the reserves were in. C-NS hosts Utica Proctor this Friday at Bragman Stadium.
All of this followed Liverpool’s successful home opener. Even with a short week to work with, the fact that it had game experience put the Warriors ahead of Henninger even before the scoreboard offered further proof.
Three times in the first half, Liverpool made its way near the Black Knights’ goal line, and every time Dakari Mack finished off the drives with short TD runs of eight, one and two yards, in that order.
This, along with a trio of two-point conversions, left the Warriors in front 24-0 going to halftime, and it scored twice more in the third period. Jahmir Boutwell converted on a 14-yard run and Jah’Deuir Reese went 41 yards to the end zone.
Reese, all told, gained 136 yards on 15 carries as Boutwell had 70 yards on nine carries, Liverpool gaining more than300 yards on the ground overall. Jalen Graham completed just two passes all night, but one of them was a 29-yard TD pass to Tai Sholtz in the fourth quarter.
Boutwell and Mack each picked up interceptions on a defense where Aaron Clouthier led with eight tackles and Urijah Matthews added seven tackles. Sincere Williams had six tackles and Gianpaul Cooper got five tackles.
As C-NS battles Proctor, Liverpool has a key early-season showdown next Friday against visiting Baldwinsville, who has started 2-0 with wins over West Genesee and Rome Free Academy.
