The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Raiders roll over Vikings to return to semifinals
Canastota shuts Thousand Islands out in rain, advances to sectional semifinals
CANASTOTA » Thousand Islands gave the undefeated Canastota football team its closest game of the regular season this fall, a 3425 victory for the No. 1 seed in the Section III Class C playoffs.
Therewas nothing close about the rematch.
The Raiders scored 24 firstquarter points in the pouring rain on their home field, rolling to a 42-0 quarterfinal victory to return to the Section III Class C semifinals.
“They’re a good team, hardnosed team, talented team,” said Canastota head coach Tom Congden of the Vikings. “I think last time it was a wake-up call. Hey, we’ve got to keep working, you know. If we don’t come to execute things can happen. Each and every week after that I think we’ve gotten better and better.”
The Canastota defense posted its second consecutive shutout behind strong efforts from Lukas Eddy and Doug Simmons. Both players recorded two-sacks in the victory, with Simmons also recovering two fumbles.
“It feels amazing. We did it as a team,” said Simmons. “We’re kind of just flowing. We’re doing it all. We’re kind of firing on all cylinders.”
Despite the steady rain throughout the day and the contest, Canastota’s up-tempo offense didn’t get stuck in themud. Quarterback Jeff Marsh threw three touchdown passes and ran for another while Ben Marshall added two more scores on the ground.
“I was worried about the field
conditions,” said Congden. “The grounds crew did an excellent job keeping tarps out and stuff but as you can see it’s a mess out there. Weather was a little nervewracking but the guys did an excellent job executing.”
The rain, which lasted throughout the entire game, came into play on the opening possession when a bad snap on a Thousand Islands punt attempt gave Canastota possession on the Vikings’ 48. Jeff Marsh ran for 39 yards on the Raiders’ first play and Marshall scored from 11 yards out two plays later for a 6-0 lead.
After a 3-and-out on the ensuing possession, the Canastota quarterbackwent to work with his arm, completing a 21-yard pass to Erick Marsh on second down. Jeff Marsh then ran for a 34-yard score on the next play before connecting ZarinMartin for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 lead with 6:20 to play in the first quarter. The Raiders were far from done in the opening period.
BrandonOtts’ third-down sack led to another Vikings punt attempt and another bad snap led to a turnover on downs. Otts needed just one play to capitalize, hauling in a 30-yard touchdown catch from Jeff Marsh. Marshall ran in the two-point conversion, extending the Canastota advantage to 220. The hosts added a safety on another bad fourth-down snap and took a 24-0 edge into the second quarter.
JeffMarsh capped the ensuing drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Erick Marsh early in the period to give Canastota a 30-0 lead it would take into halftime.
The score stayed that way until late in the third quarter when Jeff Marsh hit Darien Fox with a 15-yard touchdown pass for a 36-0 lead. Marshall added his second touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter, scoring ona 14-yardrun for the 42-0 final.
Following his team’s final home game of the year, Congden expressed his appreciation for the Canastota supporters.
“It’s great coaching for Raider nation and I know the players enjoy playing for Canastota’s Erick Marsh (22) and Darien Fox (20) celebrate after Marsh scored a touchdown against Thousand Islands. Raider nation,” he said. “Best fans out there.”
Up next for Canastota is a semifinal game against Lowville nextweekend, date, time and location to be determined. Cazenovia took over on its 40. The hosts’ again drove down the field, reaching the end zone four plays into the second quarter when Matt McLauglin powered his way through the middle of the line, bouncing off two would-be tacklers for a 17-yard touchdown run. McLaughlin added the two-point run as well for a 30-0 advantage. Cazenovia needed just over a minute to score again after Matt Regan recovered his own onside kick. Regan added the score, a 31-yard run three plays later, and the conversion to push the lead to 38-0. The ball continued to bounce Cazenovia’s way on its next offensive series following another Skaneateles punt. Facing 4thand-6, a Regan pass was deflected into the air and came down in the hands of Austin Enders, who was laying flat on his back, for 21 yards and a first down. Regan scored on a 14-yard run on the next play for a 44-0 lead that Cazenovia took into halftime.
Enders capped the scoring in the third quarter with a 16-yard run, followed by a Regan PAT kick. Steinhorst then turned to his reserves, giving them some game time and a chance to get some mud on their jer- seys as well.
Cazenovia advances to next weekend’s semifinals where it will face Chittenango for the second straight season after winning last year’s contest 476. The date, time and location for the game are to be determined.