CENTRAL NEW YORK – Just one more win apiece will allow the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse football teams to truly settle matters among themselves in the Section III Class AA semifinal round.

It all hinges on this Friday night’s opening-round games, where the 7-1 Warriors meet Baldwinsville and the 6-2 Northstars take on Fayetteville-Manlius. They’re lined up to meet this way because Liverpool finished second and C-NS third in the Class AA-1 division standings behind reigning state champion Christian Brothers Academy.

Both have win streaks on the line, too, C-NS having claimed its fifth win in a row last Friday at Bragman Stadium pulling away from Baldwinsville 50-28 before Liverpool, on Saturday, handled Utica Proctor by a score of 41-16.

When C-NS faced B’ville, again its ground game was the story. Three times in the first quarter the Northstars scored on touchdown runs, Anthony Johnson getting it going with a 59-yard dash and also finding the end zone from six yards out as Miy’Jon McDowell added a 20-yard touchdown run.

Down 21-0, the Bees would score twice in the second quarter, including a 35-yard Luke Primrose TD pass to Aaron Holcomb, but another Johnson 12-yard score in between as the margin was 28-13 at the break.

Primrose’s second scoring pass to Holcomb, a 25-yard strike, early in the third quarter and a two-point conversion briefly brought B’ville within a score, 28-21, yet C-NS would twice find the end zone to get away again.

C-NS ultimately gained 444 yards on the ground, Johnson amassing 232 yards on 18 carries and McDowell adding 129 yards on 11 carries as the pair combined for six touchdowns.

Though there was some inconsistency on defense, the Northstars still managed interceptions by Owen Ellis and Donovan Chaney, along with Marcus Reed amassing 11 tackles. Tai’Veyon Jones, Connor Bednarski and
Carson Kimmel had six tackles apiece, with Johnson and Adrian Tangretti each contributing five tackles.

Then it was Liverpool’s turn to take the field Saturday at Proctor, where its third straight win was largely secured by the 22 unanswered points it scored in the second quarter, all through the air.

Trailing 8-6 despite John Sindoni’s eight-yard TD pass to Oakley Keegan in the opening period, the Warriors went in front for good early in the second when Sindoni, from near midfield, found a streaking Antonio Rivera on a 44-yard scoring strike.

Continuing to punish the Raiders’ defense, Liverpool got an even bigger play when, from its own 17, Sindoni found Christian Washington and the wideout went the rest of the way 83 yards for a TD.
Sindoni found Washington again from 17 yards out right before halftime, stretching his team’s lead to 28-8, and the passing attack still wasn’t done.

During the third quarter Sindoni connected a third time with Washington and also threw 13 yards to Jayden Devereaux for his sixth TD pass of the afternoon as he finished 18-for-25 for 315 yards. Washington had four catches for 128 yards as Rivera’s six catches went for 86 yards.