HORSEHEADS – Far from home, and far from the vast attention it will no doubt draw the rest of this fall as it goes after a fifth consecutive Section III Class AA championship, the Cicero-North Syracuse football team got the start it wanted.

The Northstars got all of its points in the first three quarters of Friday night’s season opener at Section IV’s Horseheads, ultimately producing a 35-14 victory over the Blue Raiders.

New starters were on the field on both sides of the ball, yet C-NS still quickly assumed control, grabbing a 14-0 lead before the first quarter was done.

La’Quan Lemon capped the first scoring drive with a five-yard touchdown run. A few minutes later, Farook Ibrahim’s long run set up the Northstars deep in Horseheads territory, and from the one Jaxon Razmovski scored.

The Blue Raiders did get on the board in the second quarter, but C-NS matched it, driving to the Horseheads four before Leonzo Zimmerman converted, leaving the Northstars in front 21-7 going to halftime.

Making sure Horseheads did not get too close, C-NS added two more touchdowns in the third quarter, Zimmerman capping one drive with a two-yard plunge and Razmovski going 10 yards for another after a fourth-down stop.

C-NS returns to Bragman Stadium next Friday for its home opener against Section IX power Monroe-Woodbury. Kickoff is at 6:30.