ONONDAGA COUNTY – Three football games, involving three teams, in three locations over the span of 14 days would shift the area Class AA football picture for good.
And it all would start last Saturday when Liverpool took its 3-0 record to Alibrandi Stadium to test 4-0, state no. 12-ranked Christian Brothers Academy.
For a brief moment, the Warriors contained things – but as the warm afternoon wore on, the Brothers overwhelmed the visitors in every phase of the game, nearly scoring at will and also playing strong, consistent defense.
It all resulted in a 62-0 defeat that, while dropping the Warriors to 3-1, only added to the hype and anticipation for this Friday’s battle at Bragman Stadium between CBA and Cicero-North Syracuse.
Liverpool only gave up a single first-quarter touchdown. Then CBA picked things up, getting a safety and TD and then, right before halftime, extending the margin to 21-0 when Jamier Handford, normally a running back, threw deep – and found Syair Torrence at midfield, who broke tackles and went the rest of the way 85 yards for six points.
CBA then put up 28 unanswered points in the third period before its starters rested. Brothers quarterback Porter Matt was 16-for-33 for 266 yards and five touchdowns. Torrence caught six passes for 156 yards and two scores as Handford, aside from his big play through the air, had 10 carries for 66 yards
Two days before the Warriors got humbled at CBA, the Northstars capped off a 5-0 September with a comfortable 40-7 home victory over Fayetteville-Manlius.
This proved a more gradual effort than some of C-NS’s earlier victories, as it scored at least once in each quarter. It went up 13-0 through one period as Jaxon Razmovski threw a 23-yard TD pass to Davine Bennett and Leonzo Zimmerman scored on a one-yard plunge.
The only points of the second quarter came when Razmovski scrambled nine yards for a TD, the missed conversion making it 19-0 going into the break as, in the third quarter, Razmovski threw his second scoring pass of the night, 49 yards to Tristan Johnson.
During the fourth quarter, Mason Mingle took a punt at his own 32, picked up blocks and tore 68 yards to the other end zone, with Razmovski going five yards to Davine Bennett for another TD a few minutes later.
All told, Razmovski was 10-for-13 for 174 yards through the air, while Zimmerman gained 72 yards on eight carries and Miy’jon McDowell Reid got 70 yards on eight carries. Nate Williams caught four passes for 65 yards.
Leading another stellar defensive effort for C-NS, Alex D’Arrivio had 7.5 tackles, with McDowell Reid and Cody Heller each getting six tackles. Terrell Wright and Darren Pettford both finished with 5.5 tackles.
