CICERO – Having amassed 111 points in its first two games of the season the Liverpool football team got fully contained by Cicero-North Syracuse Friday night, managing just six points.
And the Warriors still won, making those six points as satisfactory as any in the Liverpool program’s recent memory.
The 6-0 victory at Bragman Stadium was a reflection of two superb defenses at full capacity quieting the opposition, making every possession and every play important all the way to the moment Braylon Otis recovered a Northstars fumble with 1:20 left, sealing it for Liverpool.
“They (C-NS) have a great defense and did a lot of stuff to disrupt us,” said Warriors head coach Joe Sindoni. “But our defense was great today. We bent, but did not break.”
It didn’t take too long for both teams to understand just how valuable any points would be, with Liverpool quarterback John Sindoni twice getting intercepted in the early stages- once by Miy’Jon McDowell Reid, then again by Owen Ellis near the goal line on the first play of the second quarter.
Yet it was the Warriors who, from the outset, did just as much disruption of what the Northstars planned, taking full advantage of C-NS missing its top lineman, left tackle and Syracuse University recruit Kardiear Shephed.
From where Shepherd would usually block on a fourth-down attempt with 7:33 left in the first half, Ade Adefashola broke through and sacked quarterback Braydon Dems, forcing a fumble that Josh Hester recovered near midfield.
Two runs up the middle by Owen Brown got the Warriors to the C-NS 25, from where Sindoni threw over the middle and found Jayden Deveraux for the touchdown – and the game’s only points, as it turned out.
Liverpool wasn’t done making clutch defensive stops. The Northstars drove inside the Warriors’ five less than two minutes before halftime, only to get penalized for a false start on fourth-and-goal and then, from the eight, see a pass to the end zone broken up.
Adding to C-NS’s woes was Dems leaving the game with an injury, forcing Marcus Reed to take snaps as the Northstars mostly turned to its ground game for the entire second half, hoping to break a big play somewhere.
Joe Sindoni said that he got cautious as the game wore on, punting more than usual, but that Liverpool could do so because its defense wasn’t letting C-NS accomplish much, which proved true all the way to the end.
With 1:50 left, the Northstars stopped Liverpool’s Isaiah Morris inches short of a first down at the C-NS 43, giving the hosts one more chance. After picking up a first down with an Anthony Johnson sweep, though, Liverpool forced a fourth down and, out of time-outs and hurrying, the snap was fumbled, with Otis falling on it to allow the Warriors to run out the clock.
Dom Carroll piled up 19 tackles to pace Liverpool’s defense. Isaiah Morris added 10 tackles, while on the Northstars’ side Reed recorded 12 tackles and Carson Kimmel added seven tackles.
Brown led the Warriors’ ground attack with 59 yards on nine carries, but C-NS held Allie Rivera to 20 yards on eight carries after he went for 208 yards against Baldwinsville the week before. John Sindoni, despite the two interceptions, went 13-for-22 for 125 yards.
C-NS, 1-2 and shut out in back-to-back games, gets another test next Friday when West Genesee visits, the Wildcats at 2-1 following back-to-back wins over Henninger and Baldwinsvlle.
Liverpool, meanwhile, hosts Fayetteville-Manlius, the last test before a highly-anticipated Oct. 4 clash with reigning state Class AA champion Christian Brothers Academy.
