ONONDAGA COUNTY – Four lopsided victories had pushed the Marcellus football team to no. 15 in the state Class C rankings and a tie for first in the Class C West division with its neighbors from Skaneateles.

However, another important goal was the Mustangs’ target Thursday night when it went to Al Merola Field and faced Solvay with the Tom Anthony Silver Cup at stake.

Despite the fact that Marcellus was undefeated and Solvay was 1-3, the game turned into a tense thriller and the Mustangs, in a tight spot for the first time all season, did enough to fight past the Bearcats 29-28.

All game it went back and forth, one touchdown answered by another. Each side found the end zone and got a two-point conversion in the opening period for an 8-8 tie.

Where it began to turn was in the second period, with Marcellus again able to back up its TD with two points and Solvay not doing so, the Mustangs taking a 16-14 advantage to the break.

It continued into the third quarter, only now the Mustangs did get a successful extra point that proved pivotal because the Bearcats notched a third TD and added two points.

Clinging to a 23-22 edge now, Marcellus would score once more in the final period, and though it didn’t get an extra point, neither did the Bearcats, whose valiant bid fell just short.

Once more the Mustangs did most of its work on the ground, Chris Doshna gaining 196 yards on 25 carries and scoring once. Mitch Donegan added 76 yards on just five carries with a TD as Dakota Wilson completed five of six passes for 86 yards, including a scoring pass to Donegan. Beau Lawrence got the other TD on a one-yard plunge.

Solvay had plenty of standouts on the defensive side, from Chris Cappetta earning 14 ½ tackles to Jeremiah Benjamin getting 11 ½ tackles. Jason Davis added 10 ½ tackles ahead of Davin Kaszubinski’s 8 ½ tackles and Xavier Hardy’s 7 ½ tackles.

Two nights later, it was Skaneteles’ turn facing Bishop Ludden/SAS, and despite scoring more points than Marcellus did, the Lakers were still stunned 41-37 by the Gaelic Knights.

Even though Ludden/SAS came into the game with a 1-3 record, two of those losses (to Chittenango and General Brown) were by a combined four points, and the Gaelic Knights had scored 74 points in those two games.

This time, though, the close game went in Ludden/SAS’s favor and Skaneateles, who entered the game no. 6 in last week’s state Class C rankings, would likely take a tumble.