SPOrTS

Phil Blackwell | Sports Editor | 434-8889 ext. 348 | pblackwell@eaglenewsonline.com

Caz football battles to 28-21 win over Solvay

BY PHIL BLACKWELL

Elevated to the no. 4 spot in the first state Class C rankings of the fall, the Cazenovia football team was now a clear target for any opponent - as it quickly found out.

Venturing to Solvay on Friday night, the Lakers had to go all the way to the wire before holding off the Bearcats 28-21, a game far closer than Cazenovia’s comfortable wins over Skaneateles and Bishop Ludden.

Solvay entered the game with a 2-1 record, having shown vast improvement from the side that went 1-6 a season ago, and in front of home fans at Al Merola Field it spent most of the first half keeping the Lakers’ potent offense quiet - with one exception.

Cazenovia drove to the Solvay 28-yard midway through the first quarter, from where J.P. Hoak threw deep and found Brayden Weismore, who got behind the Bearcats secondary for the touchdown.

For a while, that single play was enough since, for the third week in a row, Cazenovia’s defense recorded a first-half shutout, which allowed the Lakers to wait out its struggles on the other side of the ball and lead 7-0 at the break.

Not until the midway point of the third quarter did Cazenovia add to its margin, Hoak scoring on a one-yard plunge. But then Solvay, down 14-0, struck for the first time, driving to the Lakers’ seven before Jaysin Bliss found the end zone.

Again, the Cazenovia defense took charge in the fourth quarter, forcing a Solvay punt deep in its own territory. Taking it at midfield, Jack Byrnes picked up blocks and made his way 52 yards to the goal line for the Lakers’ first special-teams TD of the season.

When the Bearcats cut the margin to 21-14 when Bliss scored on a six-yard run, a patient Lakers drive restored the two-score cushion, Jack Donlin going the final four yards for the TD.

Even here, the visitors could not relax. Solvay cut the margin to seven when Bliss netted his third TD from one yard out with under a minute left. Only when an onside kick rolled out of bounds could the Lakers put the game away.

Hoak ran for 103 yards on 14 carries to go with his eight-for14 passing for 129 yards. Donlin gained 82 yards on just nine carries.

Solvay would have far more time on the field - 65 plays, to Cazenovia’s 42 - and got 300 total yards. Byrnes and Jed Olkowski each got six tackles, with Brad Gagnon getting 11 assists to go with his four solo tackles and Connor Adams adding 10 assists.

Cazenovia returns to Buckley-Volo Field next Saturday at 1:30 to host Clinton.

Chittenango remains in search of its first win of the season, but showed some spark last Friday late in a 49-35 defeat to Homer.

The state Class B no. 7-ranked Trojans jumped out to a 28-0 lead before the Bears got on the board late in the second quarter with Jack Lamphere’s eight-yard TD pass to Zailor Caras.

Then Chittenango, down 35-7 at the break, would net four touchdowns in the second half, even as Homer found the end zone twice to make sure the Bears didn’t catch up.

Lamphere, who was 18-for31 for 244 yards, threw three more scoring passes and added a TD run as Kyle Wherlin carried the ball 12 times for 65 yards.

Caz girls cross country remains undefeated

BY KURT WHEELER

The Cazenovia girls cross country team earned another pair of league victories last Wednedsay to remain unbeaten atop the OHSL Liberty-National Division with a 4-0 mark, then turned in a top-three performance at the massive Baldwinsville Invitational three days later.

First, the Lakers visited Hannibal in week three of league action, upending Skaneateles 25-33 in a rematch of their seasonopening victory, The girls also earned a forfeit 15-51 win over the host Warriors, who were unable to field a team.

Cazenovia had to rely on its exceptional depth to achieve the victory over those other Lakers with some of their usual top finishers out of the lineup for the day.

Olivia Ruddy was number one for the team again, running an exceptional 19 minutes, 53 seconds, on the slightly short Hannibal course, beating the rest of the field by more than a minute.

Skaneateles managed to grab three of the next four spots with Lucy Fleckenstein (20:59) leading the way, but Faith Wheeler broke them up by claiming the third position overall with a gutsy 21:07 race.

Cazenovia then slammed the door on the victory, claiming six of the next seven spots across the line.

Freshman Maeve McGreevy led the Laker pack, earning third place for the team and sixth overall in 22:53. Veteran Zoey Gagne was next 23:05 with Freshman Haylee Stearns earning her first top-five finish for the team with a 23:37 effort.

Bonnie Pittman (23:55) and Sedona Millard (25:30) contributed to the win by displacing Skaneateles’ final scorers from their number six-seven spots.

Cazenovia again found itself once again as it traveled to the Baldwinsville Invitational, but still managed to finish third in the 33-eam field in the Varsity Small School division. They were led by Ruddy’s exceptional fourth-place individual finish in 20:18.3 as the tenacious sophomore moved up through the pack from start to finish.

With several of their traditional top runners out for the day, the Lakers once again looked to their deep roster for help and the girls answered the call.

McGreevy ran her best race yet to finish second for the team (29th overall) in 22:20 flat. Gagne also had her fastest race of the season in 22:40.5 and Dinah Gifford was close behind at 23:02.0.

Pittman took fifth for the team in 23:56.8 to close out the Lakers’ total of 132, just two points behind Cato-Meridian’s second place score of 130. Defending sectional champ South Jefferson was first with 60 points.

Michaela Tobin ran her best race yet to earn sixth for the team at 25:12.4, with Mesi Stevens earning the number seven spot at 25:48.2. Ilsa Denton and Emma O’Shea also raced well for the Lakers.

Cazenovia will have Homecoming Week off to train and get healthy before returning to league action on Oct 5 and traveling to New York City for the Manhattan Invitational on Oct 8.

Cazenovia girls cross country freshman Maeve McGreevey had a breakout week for the Lakers, excelling in both her team’s win over Skaneateles and its fourth-place finish in the Baldwinsville Invitational.

Caz girls volleyball tops Solvay, Cato-Meridian

BY PHIL BLACKWELL

Every single time it looked for crucial points, the Cazenovia girls volleyball team would earn them.

That was what made the difference in last Wednesday night’s match at Buckley Gym, where the Lakers were able to defeat Solvay in four sets and improve to 5-1 on the season.

Having lost the opening set 25-22, Cazenovia handled the Bearcats 25-14 in the second, but then the real drama started.

Five different times in the third set, possible set points were turned back before the Lakers, at 27-27, claimed the serve and earned the point to win 29-27.

Even with this, Solvay nearly extended the match in the fourth, but by a 25-23 margin Cazenovia clinched a victory as Maren Smith led the way with nine kills, 11 digs and two aces.

Sophie Reger and Ashley Lordon had five kills apiece, while Zoe McLean earned four kills. Becca Ziemba, with 14 assists and 13 digs, led the back line as Lucy Bliss got seven assists, eight digs, three aces and two kills.

On Solvay’s side, Ashley Filicia had 17 assists and four aces. Nevaeh Baker and Tayler Kadlubowski also had four aces as Hannah Haase got six kills and four aces, with Carly Overend adding five kills. Defensively, Baker amassed 27 digs and Haase had four digs.

It wasn’t as dramatic in Friday’s match against CatoMeridian, where the Lakers needed just three sets to put away the Blue Devils, even if the scores were 25-19, 25-21 and 25-22.

Abby Falso’s four assists aided Bliss, who had three aces to go with her eight assists. Ziemba got five assists as, up front, Smith had five kills, Mya Skeele got four kills and Lordon notched three kills and three blocks. Anna Bjork finished with five assists and five digs.

A tough match awaited Monday night, Cazenovia visiting Sknaeateles, before it was home Friday to face JordanElbridge.

Cazenovia, Chittenango tennis teams earn victories

BY PHIL BLACKWELL

When all of the early-week rains tried out, there was time for girls tennis matches on a warm Wednesday afternoon, with Cazenovia and Chittenango both successful.

Even though the Lakers were able to shut out Mexico 7-0, the margin did not reflect the battle as four of the seven matches went to three sets.

Rachel Molloy, in first singles, claimed a close one over Juliana Smith 6-1, 3-6, 7-5, with Madden Cobb also playing a tight third set in her 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 win over Paige Masrouri.

Over in doubles, Erin Kuhn and Katie Williams needed a third-set tie-breaker to complete its rally and beat Anita Druce and Grace Schipper 6-7, 6-4, 7-6. Teagan Brown and Cady Webb came back, too, for their 4-6, 6-3, 8-6 win over Shealyn Burns and Olivia Bartel.

Having an easier time of it, Grace Probe routed Zoe Grzesik 6-0, 6-1, with Nora Bera and Leah Bell handling Avery Mack and Isabella Ponzi 6-2, 6-0 as Ava Dalton, paired with Kiana Vazquez, beat Morgan Benton and Nataleigh Smith 6-2, 6-1.

As for the Bears, it beat Bishop Grimes 6-1, claiming all of its points in straight sets except for Emily Gushea’s 6-2, 6-0 defeat to Sofia Ziankoski.

Sarah McKillid won 6-0, 6-3 over Riley Broton, with Maddy Douglas also wasting little time defeating Isabella Bonacci 6-0, 6-2.

Two of the doubles matches were forfeited, but Savannah Drake and Anna Spencer did play, blanking Ashlee Brisson and Kristina Kovar 6-0 6-0 as Evelyn Keville and Allison Bartoszek beat Francesca Smith and Lania Young 6-1, 6-1.

Caz boys soccer breaks out with pair of wins

BY PHIL BLACKWELL

With plenty of patience on hand, the Cazenovia boys soccer team is witnessing some growth, putting its early lopsided defeats long behind them.

And a month’s worth of frustrations was taken out by the Lakers last Thursday night as, led by Sully Clarke, it roared past the Solvay Bearcats by a 7-0 margin.

More than half of Cazenovia’s 13 shots found the net and Clarke was most responsible, his four goals setting a new career mark as Clarke also got an assist.

J.D. Dolly had a goal and two assists, with Jack Coburn and Dan Raymond also finding the net. Alex Dolly got two assists and Alex Coburn added an assist.

A day later, against Camden, it was another impressive effort by the Lakers, who bolted to a 3-1 lead on the Blue Devils by halftime and doubled that margin until it had prevailed 5-1.

Staying red-hot, Clarke had his second consecutive hat trick, converting three times as J.D. Dolly got a goal and two assists. Raymond had the other goal, while Connor Frisbie and Cole Frazee gained assists.

When Cazenovia challenged reigning state Class B champion Sknaeateles last Tuesday night, it did get on the board and stayed within sight most of the way during a 4-1 loss.

Utilizing its depth quite well in the first encounter between these teams since Skaneateles’ 2-0 win in last fall’s Section III title game, Sknaeateles had four different players - John Phillips, David Petercsak, Quinn Cheney and Heschel Eidel – pick up the team’s four goals.

After beating Solvay, Cazenovia took aim at Camden 24 hours later, its third game in four days.

Chittenango found itself challenged last Tuesday by 3-3 Phoenix, who stayed in it all the way to the end before the Bears were able to edge the Firebirds 1-0, its first-half goal proving enough.

Now at 6-1-1 at the midway point of its regular season, the Bears took its own shot at Skaneateles two nights later, and got a bit closer than Cazenovia did, but still was shut out 2-0.

A scoreless first half added to the suspense, but Sknaeateles remained patient and, after intermission, took over as Andrew Falkenburg and Wyatt Langford earned goals and Teague Foley got an assist.

Caz cross country tops Skaneateles, Hannibal

BY PHIL BLACKWELL

Continuing to solidify its place atop the OHSL Liberty National division, the Cazenovia boys cross country team swept a tight three-team meet with Skaneateles and Hannibal last Tuesday afternoon.

The Lakers edged the Warriors 27-30, and held off Skaneateles 24-34 in a race where Branden McColm went 18 minutes, 36 seconds, behind the Hannibal duo of Noah Meltia (17:23) and Gavin Griffin (17:37).

Will Austin fnished in 19:28 as he and Eddie Comeau (19:44) were ahead of Hannibal’s third runner, Sean Taylor (19:58). But it took Jake Woolbert finishing in 20:45 and Garret Lounsbury posting 20:58 ahead of the Warriors’ fourth and fifth runners to hang on to the top spot.

In the Varsity Small School division of Saturday’s 70th annual Baldwinsville Invitational, Cazenovia finished 10th in a 29-team field as McColm made his way to 19th place in 18:13.7. Austin got 39th place in 19:05.6 as Comeau was 55th in 19:24.8 and Woolbert finished in 19:45 flat.

As for Chittenango, the boys defeated Christian Brothers Academy 23-36 last Wednesday afternoon, led by Caleb LeBlanc, whose time of 18:20 beat out the 18:31 from the Brothers’ Joe McMahon.

Kaleb Toscano was fourth, in 19:37, with Manu Tipa taking fifth place in 19:45. Dan Mahle’s sixth-place 20:38 was followed by Logan Rogers (21:05) in seventh, Jacob Neupert (22:01) in ninth and Andrew Bielicki 10th in 22:22.

Chittenango’s 20-41 win over CBA in the girls meet featured the Bears claiming the next five spots after the Brothers’ Mary Sullivan won in 22:15.

Laura Powers led that group, second in 22:39, while Bailee Burton (23:30) held off Sophia DiGennaro (23:36) for third place. Natalie DiGennaro was fifth in 24:19 and Evelyn Wynkoop sixth in 24:34 as Mariah Stewart (24:47) and Emily Judd (25:07) also were in the top 10.

When it ran Saturday in the Baldwinsville Invitational, Chittenango’s girls finished fourth, led by Powers, who was 25th among team runners in 22:37.4. Burton was close behind in 22:43.4 as Sophia DiGennaro finished in 22:53.5 and Natalie DiGennaro went 23:10.3. Wynkoop finished in 23:29.2.

Cazenovia field hockey goes through 1-2 week

Caz girls soccer ties unbeaten Skaneateles, 2-2

BY PHIL BLACKWELL

For the entire last full week of September, the Cazenovia field hockey team would play on home grounds at Burton Street Elementary School, starting in summer warmth and ending with a fall chill.

In between all the rain that fell last Monday, the Lakers were able to squeeze in its game against Homer, making in three wins in a row by handling the Trojans 5-1.

Streaking to a 4-0 advantage by halftime, Cazenovia ultimately had five different goalscorers.

Grace Kingsley, Hannah Adams, Reid McMurtrie, Maya Gilmore and Margaret Huftalen each took turns pouring shots into the net.

They were helped by assists from Bella Fazio and Meghan Mehlbaum, with Homer managing just two shots against a vastly improving Cazenovia defense.

Two days later, the Lakers had a chance to climb back to the top of the OHSL standings, meeting the same Port Byron/Union Springs side it lost to 4-0 two weeks earlier.

The rematch proved closer, but again the Panthers kept Cazenovia off the board, this time claiming a 2-0 decision.

Cazenovia actually took more shots and applied relatively constant pressure, yet none of its nine shots got by Port Byron/Union Springs goalie Colleen Jump.

Rothfeld picked up five saves and the defense continued to show its constant improvement. Still, the Panthers got in front and stayed there as MacKenzie McDowell and Kylee Cordway put in goals, with Abby McKay adding an assist.

In a non-league game Friday against Fayetteville-Manlius, Cazenovia was not quite able to escape a two-goal deficit in a 2-1 defeat to the Hornets.

Single goals in the second and third periods - one by Sarah Porter, the other by Carine Smith – gave F-M a 2-0 advantage, yet it could not pull away thanks to Rothfeld’s eight saves.

Trying to come back, the Lakers inched within one on Adams’ goal, assisted by Fazio, in the fourth quarter, yet could not complete the comeback.

Having fallen to 3-5 overall, Cazenovia would go to Little Falls and Cato-Meridian early this week prior to a Friday visit from Weedsport.

BY PHIL BLACKWELL

Here was the chance for the Cazenovia girls soccer team to really put itself to the test – and it found out that it is more than ready to perhaps do something special later this fall.

Skaneteles, undefeated and defending the Section III Class B championship, brought a no. 2 state ranking to the Sean Googin Sports Complex last Wednesday night, but it could not earn a victory as the host Lakers matched the efforts of the visitors and pulled off a 2-2 draw.

Not only was Skaneateles 7-0 going into the game, it had shut out six of those seven opponents and outscored them by a combined 23-1 margin.

Yet Cazenovia needed less than the 80 minutes of regulation to double what all the previous combined foes had done against Skaneateles. Hannah Ruddy and Ella Baker picked up goals, with Dinah Gifford adding an assist.

Cazenovia, Chittenango boys golf take defeats

BY PHIL BLACKWELL

In matches against top Onondaga High School League Liberty division foes, the Cazenovia and Chittenango boys golf teams found themselves humbled.

Cazenovia met its fellow Lakers from Skaneateles last Wednesday afternoon and, amid one more blast of summer heat, could not keep up in a 208-245 defeat.

Chris Kelly shot a nine-hole 42, trailing the 37 from Skaneateles’ Tyson DiRubbo and 41 from Drew Mancini. And three other Skaneateles golfers shot 44 or lower ahead of Liam Colligan’s 45 as Nick Guider had a 48 and Will Guider finished with 49.

Rebounding on a cold, chilly Friday afternoon, Cazenovia moved back to the .500 mark (4-4) when it defeated LaFayette 220-233 at Orchard Valley.

Will Guider had a brilliant 36 in the tough conditions, while Golf l Page 18

Though Julia O’Connor and Paige Willard put in goals for Skaneateles, it could not nab the game-winner late in regulation or in 20 minutes of overtime, Skye Sanford working her total to eight saves helped by a fierce and resilient Cazenovia defense.

Looking to follow this up, Cazenovia visited Alibrandi Stadium Friday to face Christian Brothers Academy and found itself in overtime, but was able to defeat the Brothers 2-1.

Baker led the way, as in the first half she took a pass from Caitlyn Smithers and converted to put the Lakers in front 1-0, which lasted for a while.

Lauren Zollo tied it for CBA with a second-half free kick, but that was all Cazenovia’s defense would allow, Stanford working her way to 10 saves.

It went into OT, where Hannah Ruddy, from the right side, sent a touch pass to Baker, whose shot sailed into the top left part of the net for the game-winner.

Back on Tuesday, Chittenango took a 2-3-1 record into its game against Phoenix and was unable to get much going in a 3-0 loss to the Firebirds.

Rebecca Baldwin recorded six saves for the Bears, but she had no answer for Courtney Carter, the Phoenix forward who, carrying her own side, netted all three goals for a hat trick to give her 10 for the season.

Two days later, Chittenango lost to Marcellus 5-0, with Baldwin getting seven saves but the Mustangs rolling behind a deep and balanced attack led by Ava Aupperle, who had two goals and one assist.

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