MARCY – Many different times through the last half-century or so, teams from West Genesee and Fayetteville-Manlius have collided with championships at stake on the lacrosse field.
That was never the case in football – until next weekend, when inside the JMA Wireless Dome the Wildcats and Hornets will collide in their biggest-ever gridiron showdown.
All this was made possible by the events of Friday’s Section III Class A semifinals, where WG rallied from behind to defeat Whitesboro 35-28 as F-M pulled away in the second half to top New Hartford 40-21.
In traveling to Whitesboro, the Wildcats looked to avenge what happened two months earlier in the season opener, when the Warriors stopped a late two-point conversion to claim a 27-26 thriller.
From the outset, both teams struck for big plays, the Warriors scoring first on Kyle Meier’s 52-yard run, WG countering seconds later when quarterback Vincent Firenze broke loose on a 70-yard touchdown run.
When Meier converted again on a 44-yard scoring dash and threw a 12-yard TD pass to Tony Dorozynski, the Wildcats found itself trailing 21-6 in the second quarter.
What happened late in the period turned the game around. WG cut it to 21-13 on a four-yard TD run by Francisco Cross and the defense, which had struggled early, made a key stop that led to a missed Whitesboro field goal.
Back within range, the Wildcats again displayed its knack for big plays when, less than two minutes into the third quarter, Cross broke free at midfield and ran 48 yards to the end zone, with Firenze hitting Christian Pagan on a game-tying two-point pass.
On WG’s next possession, it again crossed midfield and again burned Whitesboro with a big play, this time Firenze dashing 39 yards for his second rushing TD of the night to give the Wildcats its first lead.
Even when the Warriors regained the lead, 28-27, on Meier’s 43-yard TD run, the Wildcats had a quick answer.
Working from his own 14, Firenze threw a screen pass to Cross who, picking up great blocks from the offensive line and receivers, took off on an 86-yard scoring dash. A two-point pass from Firenze to Alex Maione followed.
More than a quarter remained, but it was here that the Wildcats’ defense stepped up, especially on a goal-line stand where it would halt Whitesboro at the two-yard line, allowing it to run out the remaining clock.
Now WG (8-2), who has won seven in a row but is seeking its first sectional title since 2007, can focus on Friday night’s sectional final at 6 p.m. and try to avenge its other defeat against F-M, whom it lost to 29-20 in September.
