CICERO – A quick scan of the score – Cicero-North Syracuse 41, Baldwinsville 19 – would suggest that again the Northstars had its way with a main challenger for area Class AA football supremacy Friday night at Bragman Stadium.
Yet it was nowhere near that lopsided, with C-NS only putting the game away when it scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes against a Bees squad that worked hard to avenge last year’s defeat in the sectional title game.
And there was a moment, late in the second quarter, where the Northstars had reason to worry.
Despite four possessions in B’ville territory in the first half, the Northstars had only scored once, on Jaxon Razmovski’s three-yard run, having turned it over twice and got stopped on fourth down.
Energized by this, the Bees had seen Greg Marinelli throw two deep passes to Griffin Killian – one that set up an eight-yard touchdown run by Marinelli, the other a long scramble that led to a 69-yard scoring completion
The latter of those plays came with 46 seconds to play in the half and gave B’ville a 12-7 lead, but it still was enough time to turn the game permanently in C-NS’s favor.
Razmovski, from his own 24, threw over the middle, and Tristan Johnson caught it, dashing 58 yards deep into B’ville territory. A 13-yard pass to Zuriel Dickerson put it on the one and Razmovski scored from there just 31 seconds after Killian’s go-ahead TD.
As if that wasn’t enough momentum, more came when B’ville fumbled on the first play of the third quarter. Again with a short field, the Northstars turned to Jayceon McGrew, whose 29-yard run on a sweep set up Razmovski’s three-yard TD pass to Johnson.
McGrew made an even bigger play when, after a 47-yard completion rom Marinelli to Kaleb Paul set up another B’ville scoring chance, he forced a Nico Wellman fumble at the Northstars’ six that Roemellow Robinson recovered.
A 94-yard drive followed where Razmovski missed a couple of plays, but returned and netted his third TD run from four yards out early in the final period, stretching C-NS’s lead to 27-12.
Again B’ville fought back, Marinelli’s 49-yard scramble leading to a four-yard scoring run with 7:57 left, but the Northstars put it away with a 77-yard march with key gains by Farouk Ibrahim, Nate Williams and Andrew Vinette before Razmovski found Johnson in the end zone from 17 yards out with 4:45 left. Ibrahim added a last-minute TD.
C-NS travels next Friday to Henninger, a prelude to the Oct.7 home clash with Liverpool, who lost 39-7 to Rochester’s University Prep to fall to 1-2 on the season.
