CENTRAL NEW YORK – October will bring the sort of stout challenges the Cazenovia football team know it will have to navigate if it wants a full return to glory.
For now, the Lakers can just revel in what it’s done so far – three games, three lopsided victories, including Saturday’s 42-6 romp over the Clinton Warriors.
Any concerns that Cazenovia might take 0-2 Clinton lightly were quickly dashed as it scored 21 points in the first quarter, starting with quarterback J.P. Hoak finding Andrew Kent on a 45-yard touchdown pass in the opening minutes.
Then it got to 14-0 when A.J. Rothfeld scored on a nine-yard run. Before the period ended, Rothfeld returned to the end zone, having caught a short pass from Hoak at the nine.
Showing that he has much more than a strong arm, Hoak took off from his own 41 early in the second quarter and didn’t stop until he had nabbed the longest TD run of his varsity career.
Peter McCole then scored from six yards out and, late in the half, intercepted a Warriors pass and took it back 25 yards for six more points to make it 42-0, Tanner Ackerman going six-for-six on extra points.
Mainaining the shutout until the fourth quarter, the Lakers held Clinton to 77 total yards. Of Rothfeld’s 11 tackles, three were for losses as Kent tacked on a fumble recovery.
Hoak threw 21 passes, completing 14 of them for 242 yards while also rushing for a team-best 81 yards on 12 carries. Rothfeld caught nine of those passes for 128 yards.
Friday’s non-league game at Herkimer proves the last hurdle for Cazenovia before state no. 2-ranked Skaneateles visits Buckley-Volo Field on Oct. 8.
As for Chittenango, it followed up its first win of the season Sept. 17 over Westhill with a trip to New Hartford where it all went in the other direction.
The Bears lost, 54-6, to the Spatans, who ended the suspense early by putting up 41 unanswered points in the first half.
Alex Colliver led the way for New Hartford, scoring on runs of five, 39 and six yards as he would hurt Chittenango’s defense all night, eventually gaining 208 yards on 17 carries.
Not until the fourth quarter, with the score 54-0 and the Spartans’ starters on the bench, did the Bears finally score when Jack Lamphere threw an 18-yard TD pass to Hunter Taylor. Chittenango will host Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (2-1) Friday night at 7 p.m.
