CAZENOVIA – Much of the football showdown between Cazenovia and Skaneateles Saturday at Buckley-Volo Field involved two talented, hard-nosed sets of Lakers each trying to impose its will, and each side succeeding to some degree.
Yet it was in the game’s first 10 minutes that things were decided as Skaneateles bolted to a 21-0 edge and never got caught, ultimately handing Cazenovia a 50-21 defeat.
Each of these Laker sides had equaled each other with 4-0 starts, all gained through lopsided victories. Cazenovia had rolled to four wins by a total margin of 172-25 while Skaneateles, the state’s no. 2-ranked Class C team, had outscored its first four foes a combined 209-18, while
Part of what that meant was that neither side had required their starters to play in the fourth quarter. That changed here, but by then Skaneateles had long proven its superiority, at least on this day.
In fact, it took a mere 35 seconds for the visitors to go in front. Gerald Morrissey’s long kick return put Skaneateles in Cazenovia territory and, after James Musso threw 43 yards to Nico Decker, Grayson Brunelle scored from the one.
A second possession led to a second Skaneateles touchdown when Musso, from the Cazenovia 19, rolled out and, under pressure, threw to Cody Nesbitt in the corner of the end zone.
Minutes later, a bad snap was pounced on by Decker at the Cazenovia 31, and another short field produced another seven points, Brunelle covering most of the territory until Musso scrambled in from two yards out.
Only here did Cazenovia begin to settle down, getting on the board early in the second quarter on Peter McCole’s 35-yard TD run. McCole scored again from seven yards out late in the half.
Each time, though, Skaneateles had an answer. Mixing runs and passes, the visitors made it 28-7 when Musso threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Patrick Herr.
Even bigger was what happened when Cazenovia, having cut the margin to 28-14, was stopped on fourth down in Skaneateles territory in the last minute of the half.
Again demonstrating its firepower, Sknaeateles turned to Musso, whose pass over the middle to Herr covered 43 yards and set up a 22-yard TD strike to Decker 13.2 seconds before halftime.
Brunelle’s two-point run made it 36-14 at the break, and Skaneateles would spend the second half mostly keeping it to the ground and adding to the margin when Brunelle barreled 18 yards for one TD and Musso went 10 yards for another early in the fourth quarter.
Cazenovia finished with 253 total yards, with J.P. Hoak completing just five of 11 passes for 58 yards before A.J. Rothfeld replaced him late in the game and scored a TD and two-point conversion in the final minute.
Also excelling on defense, Rothfeld recorded 16 tackles and an interception, with Jed Olkowski adding 10 tackles.
Skaneateles had nice offensive balance, running for 191 yards to complement Musso going 11-for-22 for 179 yards through the air.
Where Cazenovia ends up positioned for the Section III Class C playoffs might largely hinge on its Oct. 23 regular-season finale against Bishop Ludden (4-1), which follows this Saturday’s visit from Southern Hills.
