CENTRAL NEW YORK – Three different area high school football teams had opportunities to go 2-0 last weekend, and two of them did so on consecutive nights.
Going first, Marcellus met up with Phoenix and, with an unstoppable ground attack, pulling away in the second half to beat the Firebirds by a score of 41-16.
Given the way it was running the ball, the Mustangs stuck to it and amassed more than 500 yards against the Phoenix defense, nearly half of it from Chris Doshna, who gained 241 yards and scored three touchdowns.
Even with its domination up front, Marcellus only had a 14-8 advantage going into halftime before putting together four different scoring drives that led to 27 consecutive points.
And it wasn’t just Doshna finding holes behind a strong Mustang offensive line. Mitch Donegan, Riley Sullivan and Henry Lawrence each produced a touchdown amid the getaway.
As the Mustangs started to gear up to face Little Falls this Friday, it was the turn of Skaneateles and Solvay to play Friday night and see if they could join Marcellus at 2-0.
The Lakers had the tougher task, going all the way to Boonville to meet reigning sectional Class C champion Adirondack, but it managed to come back late and, in overtime, defeat the Wildcats 20-14.
Though it trailed most of the first half, Skaneateles did get on the board in the second quarter when Hugh Carroll threw a 39-yard TD pass to Landen Brunelle, answered by John Hennesseey, who had already run for a score, throwing 11 yards to Ryan McGrath for another.
A scoreless third quarter added to the tension, but early in the final period the Lakers drove to the Adirondack four and Carroll scrambled in, followed by a two-point conversion.
Skaneateles played superb defense throughout the second half, led by Brady Ellis, who recorded 11 tackles as Frank Ambrosie added nine tackles and a fumble recovery. Jackson Bone got 7 ½ tackles and Luke Bruna had six tackles.
All of it was rewarded in OT when the Lakers, moving to the 11-yard line, got the winning points when Carroll again ran in for his second TD of the night and Adirondack could not get on the board.
As the Lakers thought of another tough game this Friday at Holland Patent, Solvay can give them plenty of material to work with, having almost knocked off the Golden Knights at Al Merola Field before taking a 28-22 defeat.
Twice Solvay led in the second half and twice HP answered. Down 13-10 at halftime, Jason Davis ran 35 yards to set up his own one-yard TD plunge, but HP got it right back with a quick drive and score.
Helped by a penalty deep in Golden Knights territory early in the fourth quarter, Davis found the end zone again on a 10-yard run and the Bearcats were back in front 22-20, but it only lasted a few seconds.
Nick Doyle received the kickoff at his own 22, picked up blocks from his special teams and ran 78 yards for what proved to be the wining TD as, with a two-point conversion, HP went up by six and the Bearcats could not answer.
Davis did all he could to carry Solvay’s offense, rushing for 190 yards on 22 carries, his three TD’s including a 17-yard dash in the first quarter. Xavier Hardy added 81 yards on 10 carries as Giovanni Cilani and Davin Kaszubinski led the defense, each with 7 ½ tackles, while Dylan Mumford had 6 ½ tackles.
Bishop Ludden/SAS fell to 0-2 on the season Friday with a 34-18 defeat to Lowville, the Gaelic Knights having to go north to face powerful General Brown this Friday night.
Each side traded scores in the first three quarters, with Lowville only getting away when, leading 20-18, it put together back-to-back TD drives in the fourth quarter.
Ludden’s X’Zavion Streiff went nine-for-22 for 162 yards through the air, running for 35 yards and another TD as Jahbari Clarke added 55 yards and a score and led the defense, too, amassing 10 ½ tackles.
