ONONDAGA COUNTY – From the moment the Christian Brothers Academy football team moved back into the Class AA ranks, opponents eagerly awaited facing the reigning state Class A champions.
Baldwinsville, in particular, was excited about facing the Brothers on its home turf at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, and would turn it into a special occasion Friday night complete with black uniforms and pants instead of the traditional red-and-white the Bees usually wear.
CBA absorbed all this and, overcoming plenty of its own mistakes, made the plays it needed on both ends to secure a 29-8 victory to improve to 5-0 on the season.
Helped in no small part by its epic 42-41 win over Cicero-North Syracuse two weeks earlier, CBA had climbed to no. 6 in the state Class AA rankings, providing a bigger target for a Bees squad bent on bouncing back after its own defeat to C-NS on Sept. 23.
Quickly, B’ville found that it could move the ball on the Brothers’ defense, and one early drive paid off when the Bees reached CBA’s two-yard line before Nick Foster scored and added his own two-point conversion.
They were still tied, 8-8, when in the second quarter the Brothers moved in front for good when it drove to B’ville’s 21 before Jordan Rae fired a pass to Jason Brunson in the end zone.
That marked the second time Rae had burned the Bees’ secondary, having done so early when he threw 36 yards to Syair Torrence to get the Brothers on the board.
Overall, the Bees’ defense did a solid job containing the Brothers’ explosive attack, holding it to a season-low total in points. Greg Marinelli and Kaleb Paul each intercepted Rae as Foster produced seven tackles and Toby McIntyre added four tackles.
Meanwhile, the Bees’ offense continued to produce opportunities through its ground game. Brandon Levin gained yards on 26 carries, with Marinelli getting 47 yards on the ground to go with six-for-14 passes for 67 yards.
However, when it was needed, CBA’s defense was able to make stops, forcing Marinelli and Nico Wellman into three interceptions.
Rae gave CBA a cushion in the third quarter, firing a 52-yard TD pass to Torrence, and later added a seven-yard scoring pass to Amarri Pitts, his fourth of the night.
On the other end of things, East Syracuse Minoa still found itself searching for its first win of 2022, kept off the board in a 27-0 loss to West Genesee.
Both sides started slowly, but in the second quarter the Wildcats took over, one drive concluding with Francisco Cross scoring on a five-yard run and the other with Vincent Firenze throwing a 40-yard touchdown pass to Alex Malone.
All the while, WG’s defense stifled anything ESM tried to establish, allowing the offense time to put together drives even when things were not clicking. Second-half scores from Cross on an 11-yard run and Firenze on a 15-yard run settled matters.
Bishop Grimes met up with Morrisville-Eaton in eight-man football on Saturday and took a 52-12 defeat to the Warriors, who got four touchdowns from James Dapson, including a 51-yard punt return that sparked his side to a28-6 halftime advantage.
