ONONDAGA COUNTY – Having made history in 2024 by earning the first-ever Section III championship in flag football, Baldwinsville was hungry to have an encore.
Right away, though, the Bees would discover how tough this challenge would be as, in its opener last Tuesday night at Liverpool, it could not hold on to a double-digit advantage in a 14-14 tie with the Warriors.
B’ville went up 14-0 on scores from Gabby Awwad and Capri Hartman in the first half and nearly made it more just before intermission before a critical defensive stop kept the Warriors within range.
Then Gracie Sleeth and A’briyah Cunninmgham, fresh off leading Liverpool’s girls basketball team to its second straight state Class AAA championship game, connected on a 60-yard TD strike early in the second half.
Sleeth found Cunningham again minutes later, pulling the Warriors even, but the Bees were able to regroup on defense and get the stops it needed to keep the game tied.
Two days later in its home opener against Sherburne-Earlville, the Bees took the frustrations from what happened at Liverpool fully out on the Timberwolves, prevailing in a 45-0 shutout.
Yet even this wasn’t enough for B’ville, who on Friday hosted Syracuse OnTech and, adding one more touchdown to the ledger, emerged with a 53-0 victory to move its overall mark to 2-0-1.
B’ville would aim for another victory Monday night against Syracuse Academy of Science before meeting Oneida Saturday continuing a stretch where the Bees would have eight consecutive home games.
