MANLIUS – When the Cazenovia football team took its exit from the Section III Class C playoffs in the semifinal round in 2023, it was the painful conclusion of a campaign which, to that point, had not featured a single defeat.
Having overcome an 0-3 start to get back to the sectional semifinals in 2024, the Lakers hoped that all the struggles it endured would lead to a special effort when it met Bishop Ludden/SAS last Saturday at nearby Fayetteville-Manlius Stadium.
What happened, instead, was that the Gaelic Knights would take command in the second quarter with 22 unanswered points and not let up until it had handed Cazenovia a 48-6 defeat.
Like the Lakers, Ludden/SAS had overcome an 0-3 start, claiming four wins in its last five games of the regular season, including going to Buckley-Volo Field and beating the Lakers 28-15 in the Oct. 26 regular-season finale.
Just 14 days later the two sides were together again, Cazenovia having avenged one defeat (to Lowville in the quarterfinals) and trying to do so again, though it proved futile.
Neither team scored in the first period, but the Ludden/SAS takeover began when, early in the second quarter, it moved to Cazenovia’s 19-yard line and then had X’Zavion Streiff find Micah Baker in the end zone.
In short order, the Gaelic Knights put together two more scoring drives before halftime. Streiff capped one off with a two-yard run and two-point pass to Jahbari Clarke and then threw 36 yards to J’Shon Goolsby for another score.
Any doubts about the outcome were wiped out in the third quarter.
Despite the Lakers finally getting on the board with Finn Smith’s 51-yard scoring pass to Paul Mitchell, Ludden/SAS added a 42-yard TD on a punt return by Tom Cervantes and Streiff found Goolsby on a 70-yard scoring strike, with Dewan Hunt returning a Cazenovia fumble for another score.
All that Cazenovia could manage was 52 total yards and had minus-22 rushing yards, compared to 355 total yards for Ludden/SAS. Defensively, Wyatt Scott had three tackles and four assists, with Bryce Odessa and Ed Moskovich each assisting on six tackles. Dylan Schug, Carter Bowden and Jacob Gentner assisted on five tackles apiece.
Finishing at 4-5 overall, the Lakers got the most out of a young roster with few seniors. Most of them return in 2025, determined to start better and then have its season go a bit longer, too.