DEXTER – Anyone back for the Cazenovia football team in 2023 still carried the disappointment of last November’s defeat to General Brown in the Section III Class C semifinals with them.
So when the 2023 schedule had the Lakers opening with the Lions in Dexter, all energies and time were devoted to trying to get some atonement.
At last, the moment arrived Friday night, and after a slow start everything clicked for Cazenovia in a superb second-half effort that led to a satisfying 30-20 victory.
With so many new faces on offense, including sophomore quarterback Bobby Livingston, not to mention getting a rhythm after a long bus ride and weeks of practice, the Lakers were unable to put together any scoring drives in the first half.
At the same time, though, Cazenovia’s defense was solid, only allowing a first-quarter touchdown and then recording the team’s first points of the night when Christian Schug recorded a safety.
So, only facing a 6-2 deficit at halftime, the Lakers pieced everything together and then, in the third quarter, seized control.
The key blow came from midfield when Brayden Weismore, on an option play, threw deep and found Alex Kuper, who turned it into a 49-yard go-ahead TD as Connor Frisbie added the extra point.
Minutes later, the Lakers got the ball back and drove to GB’s five-yard line, from where Livingston scrambled in for the score that, with Frisbie’s conversion, made it 16-6.
Yet another drive led to yet another TD early in the final period, Livingston throwing four yards to Schug, and when the Lions cut it to 23-14, Weismore offered a clinching play by running 46 yards to the end zone.
Overall, Livingston was 12-for-21 for 126 yards, one TD and one interception through the air, but he added a team-best 114 yards on the ground, displaying the same kind of dual threat his predecessor, J.P. Hoak, often displayed.
Weismore, aside from his big plays on offense, also recovered a fumble as Taven Reilley had a team-best seven tackles. Jonathan Macro’s five tackles included a sack as Evan Rice added four tackles.
Now the Lakers get their three “home games” away from Buckley-Volo Field, starting Saturday at 5 p.m. when, as part of the Kickoff Classic at the JMA Dome, Cazenovia faces Little Falls, who is 0-2 after defeats to Skaneateles and Solvay.