BALDWINSVILLE – Determined to avoid the 0-4 start it had to overcome a season ago to reach the Section III Class AA semifinals, the Baldwinsville football team did so and got the momentum it needed for a key early test against Liverpool.
The Bees netted both of its touchdowns early in Saturday night’s game against Section IX champion Middletown at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, then leaned heavily on its defense the rest of the way to power past the Bears by a score of 14-7.
Middletown was a sectional champion in 2023, providing just the type of strong opposition B’ville desired, but the hosts were ready for it, getting on the board twice in the first half.
As expected, two quarterbacks, Luke Primrose and Cameron Morealle, took snaps on this night, but it was Primrose finding the end zone on a 25-yard scoring pass to Chris Zellar while also completing three passes for 63 yards to Aaron Holcomb.
Still, most of the Bees’ production again came on the ground, with 162 total rushing yards. TeiShawn Wade gained 87 of those yards on 10 carries, while Brady Garcia would go six yards for a TD among his 13 carries for 38 yards.
Middletown also scored before halftime, but in the second half both defenses took over.
Unable to add to its seven-point lead, B’ville had to lean on stopping Middletown – which it did on a regular basis, ultimately forcing three turnovers as Anthony Valentine got an interception, with Dylan Garcia and Kallen Kennedy each recovering fumbles.
Garcia also led the way with 10 tackles, with Maxie Capers close behind earning eight tackles. Jordan White picked up six tackles and Mitch Burlingame contributed five tackles, Ayo Olayisade adding four tackles.
This strong B’ville defense will face quite the challenge from visiting Liverpool this Friday at 6:30. The Warriors netted 56 points in its season-opening win over Rome Free Academy as John Sindoni threw for 321 yards and five TD’s and Alejandro Rivera added 149 yards on the ground.
