LOWVILLE – Just the idea of the Cazenovia football team undertaking a revenge tour is something alien to most of its history.
Yet that is exactly what it would take for the 2024 edition of the Lakers to get to the JMA Dome and play for the Section III Class C championship.
Simply put, Cazenovia had to avenge two earlier regular-season defeats – and got the first part of it accomplished Friday night when it went to Lowville in the opening round of the sectional playoffs and beat the Red Raiders 34-21.
Back in those dark days of September on that same Lowville turf, the Lakers lost 46-24, before everything turned around in October with a three-game win streak that produced another sectional playoff berth.
The rematch would see these two sides trade early touchdowns. Bobby Livingston threw 17 yards to Paul Mitchell for a score and Carter Bowden added the extra points, while the Red Raiders countered with a big play as Cole Zubrzycki went 67 yards for a touchdown and Devin Swiernik had a go-ahead two-point conversion.
Swiernik scored from three yards out early in the second period, but now it was Cazenovia on the front foot as, from near midfield, Livingston went deep and again found Mitchell, the TD covering 45 yards.
Though it trailed 15-13 at the break, Cazenovia was gaining confidence, and its offense would take charge in the second half, again going through the air to deliver the go-ahead score.
Seeing that he could throw deep on Lowville’s secondary, Livingston did so again and found Danny Bliss for what turned out to be a 53-yard TD.
Now 19-15, a cushion was established when the Lakers moved to the Lowville seven-yard line and, with 10:22 left, Bobby Livingston found Paul Mitchell in the end zone for his fourth TD pass of the night.
The Red Raiders immediately answered with Swiernik dashing 84 yards for a TD to cut it to 27-21, but Cazenovia countered with a long march and sealed the victory when Livingston scored on a 17-yard scramble with 2:22 to play.
For the night, Livingston went 16-for-22 for 232 yards through the air and gained 60 yards on the ground. Mitchell had six catches for 103 yards and Bowden seven catches for 67 yards.
Of Bowden’s seven tackles on defense, three were for losses, including a sack, and he recovered a pair of fumbles, too. Bliss and Jeff Streator each got four solo tackles, Streator adding three assists as Ed Moskovich also had a fumble recovery.
And now comes another chance at payback in the sectional semifinals to take place next Saturday at Fayetteville-Manlius Stadium at 2 p.m.
There, 4-4 Cazenovia faces Bishop Ludden/SAS, whom it lost to 28-15 in the regular-season finale, in this weekend’s sectional semifinals. The Lions got away in the second half to beat Marcellus 59-29 in its sectional opener, and the winner here gets Skaneateles or General Brown in the Nov. 15 sectional final.
