Photos and Story by Kent Paisley
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| The third consecutive onside kick heads out of bounds for the Lakers |
Syracuse, NY— In a furious comeback bid that Homer couldn’t
have written better himself, the Homer Trojans (10-0) hold on for the rubber
match victory against the Cazenovia Lakers (9-1) in the Section III Class B Championship,
28-21 in the Carrier Dome.
Trojan First Half
Dominance
The result was four unanswered touchdowns for Homer, whose
lone blemish was a Tucker O’Donnell interception in Cazenovia red zone territory late
in the second quarter.
The Trojans opened the scoring floodgates with a 33 yard run
up the left side by Krillin Drake with 8:47 left in the first.
The Trojan offense churned out efficient drives,
converting the next two trips into the red zone for touchdowns. They held a 21-0
lead when the Laker offense piled on to Cazenovia’s issues.
Lakers struggling out
of the gate
In their semifinal playoff matchup, the Lakers failed to score
in the first half, then pitched a second half shutout for a 14-3 victory over
Marcellus.
The team followed that script, getting shut out in the
opening half.
Cazenovia fumbled a kickoff return, leading to a Trojan touchdown. The Lakers
recorded their opening first down with 7:32 to go in the second quarter.
The team settled down on the offensive end with consecutive
first down runs thereafter, and then the ground opened up beneath them.
Laker senior captain Matt Regan threw a sixty-yard pick six, with
Dante Yacavone evading 5 tacklers
on his way to the end zone.
The
Lakers did not give up a score the rest of the way. The third quarter and
first half of the fourth looked like the game would remain uneventful.
The
defending champion Lakers showed their experience at the end, with its seniors making the game interesting in the final minutes.
An Odyssey of a Comeback
Odysseus had to survive a multitude of hurdles on his way
home to Ithaca in Homer’s greek epic The
Odyssey.
Odysseus evaded Lotus Eaters, a trip to the underworld, the
sirens, the Charydbis, stuck on an island for 7 years with Kalypso, amongst
other struggles, until he finally returned home.
The Lakers faced a similarly tall task to claim its sixth
section III class B championship in eight years.
Ball at its own 46 yard line.
4:40 to go, trailing 28-0.
The handoff went to senior Jake Macheda, who busted up the right sideline for the 54 yard score. The extra point converted.
The lotus eaters were dealt with.
Kicker Ian Fostveit sent an onside kick up the right side,
which the Lakers collected.
The escape out of the underworld knocked off the list.
The Lakers dug deep into its playbook, with a five yard touchdown pass to
starting senior wide receiver Scott McLaughlin from Regan, to trail 28-14 with 1:43 left
in the game.
The Sirens were navigated.
Fostveit sent an onside kick up the middle. In the madness
of the dog pile, Cazenovia came up with the ball at the Trojan 42.
They survived the Charydbis.
Back to back 20 yard plays to McLaughlin and senior tight end Kevin
Stadler put the Lakers at the three yard line. A personal foul penalty would
inch them closer.
The Lakers crowd was on its feet as Regan punched his way
into the end zone on the QB sneak with 44 seconds on the clock.
The extra point was missed, but it remained a one score
game, 28-20.
They entered Kalypso’s island.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they did not have a lifetime
to complete the comeback. Fostveit’s third consecutive onside kick bid went out
of bounds.
The Trojans would kneel out the final seconds to claim the championship.
Other Notes
Jake Macheda and Tommy Britt were named MVPs of the game for Cazenovia and Homer, respectively.
The Trojans will play the Chenango Forks Blue Devils, winner of
the section IV class B championship, next Saturday.
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