MANLIUS – Quite a long time has passed since the Bishop Ludden/SAS football program got the special experience of playing a championship game in the JMA Wireless Dome.
But the Gaelic Knights are going there now in the wake of a dominant performance in last Saturday’s Section III Class C semifinal at Fayetteville-Manlius Stadium as it used its big-play ability to rip past Cazenovia 48-6.
These same two teams had met two weeks earlier at Buckley-Volo Field, with Ludden/SAS prevailing 28-15, but this one would not be nearly as close.
Neither team scored in the first quarter, but the Ludden/SAS takeover began when, early in the second period, 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.
Holding a 22-0 halftime lead, any doubts about the outcome were wiped out in the third quarter when, despite the Lakers finally getting on the board,
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 a TD.
Superb from start to finish, the Gaelic Knights’ defense limited Cazenovia to 52 total yards, including minus-22 yards on the ground. Hunt, aside from his fumble return, also had nine tackles, with Jayden Mackool adding five tackles as Nigel Permell and Premiere Phillips both earned interceptions.
Clarke ran for 78 yards on 12 carries, while Joevon Mitchell added 76 yards on nine carries. Streiff only completed five passes all game, but three of them were for touchdowns as Goolsby’s pair of catches went for 106 yards.
And now Ludden/SAS, who was once 0-3 but has now won six of seven games, will seek the sectional Class C title Friday at 2 p.m. at the Dome against General Brown, who snuffed out the championship dreams of Skaneateles in the first semifinal on the same F-M turf.
The Lakers lost, 47-19, to the Lions, who relied on its ground attack to wear down Skaneateles in a manner no other opponent had done this season, GB gaining more than 450 rushing yards with nine different backs led by Hayden Moody’s 116 yards on 18 carries.
Skaneateles had one TD in each of the first two quarters, yet still found itself trailing 26-12 at halftime. GB added to that margin and forced the Lakers into a pass-only attack down the stretch.
Hugh Carroll did complete 14 of 23 passes for 265 yards, most of it to Reid Danforth, who had seven catches for 179 yards and a score as Cole Krauter also had a TD reception. Brady Ellis stood out on defense with 14 tackles, with Colton McDonald adding eight tackles and Graham Bradley getting six tackles.
