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 Skaneateles’ 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.
And what made it more remarkable was that the Lakers jumped out to a 22-7 lead with some big plays, capped by Hugh Carroll going 80 yards to Reid Danforth for a TD after he had already thrown a 17-yard scoring pass to Luke Bruna.
Fighting back, Ludden/SAS closed the gap to 22-19 by halftime on TD runs from Darius Mitchell and X’Zavion Streiff and then dominated the third quarter, too, Jahbari Clarke putting his team in front with a 48-yard scoring dash and Streiff recovering a Skaneateles fumble near the goal line for another score.
Now trailing 33-22, the Lakers staged its own rally early in the fourth quarter. Carroll scored on a five-yard run and then dashed3 40 yards for the go-ahead TD to put Skaneateles in front 37-33.
Ludden/SAS answered once more, driving to the Lakers’ four before Clarke found the end zone for what proved to the winning TD on a night where he gained 164 yards on 22 carries. Mitchell added 106 yards on just six carries.
Also starring on defense, Clarke led the Gaelic Knights with 7 ½ tackles. Tom Cervantes and Tiziere Sheard had five tackles apiece as Streiff completed seven of 10 passes for 77 yards.
