The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Cazenovia hands Oneida first loss
The Blue and Orange’s winning streak was dashed by the heavyweight Lakers.
ONEIDA, N.Y. >> Two weeks after suffering an unexpected loss to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, things appear to be back on track for Class B East heavyweight Cazenovia.
Following a win over Central Valley Academy last week, the Lakers traveled to unbeaten Oneida on Friday, posting a convincing 28-12 win.
“We functioned better on offense as a teamthan we have in a while,” Cazenovia head coach Jay Steinhorst said. “We have to continue to keep getting better, score as many points as we can.”
Ryan Romagnoli paved the way for Cazenovia, racking up 127 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Laker quarterback Drew Johnson added 71 yards on the ground and a touchdown of his own.
“That’s a really good Oneida team. We respect them,” Romagnoli said. With a week left in the regular season, the Laker veteran wants to see his team continue to improve heading into postseason play, and credited a loss for galvanizing Cazenovia for the stretch run. “After the loss to VVS, we have had the best two weeks of practice. We just have to keep grinding.”
Defensively, Cazenovia forced a pair of interceptions and two fumbles.
“Pretty good job,” Steinhorst said of his Laker defense. “Allin-all, a pretty solid effort.”
“When you lose the turnover and penalty battle, and cannot tackle, it’s a recipe for disaster,” Oneida head coach Jason Fuller said. “You cannot do that against a teamlike Cazenovia.”
Oneida took its first drive the distance, capping a 66yard drive with a 26-yard Vinny Leibl touchdown reception from Lukas Albro, who started under center in place of the injured Ryan Chevier, for a 6-0 lead. Leibl was shaken up on the play though and did not return in the contest.
“Absolutely. It’s hard to replace anybody,” Fuller said
when asked if the injuries to Chevier and Leibl harmed Oneida’s chances on Friday, calling the pair of seniors “leaders on the field.”
“Other guys need to step up and make plays. It’s an 11-person game.”
Cazenovia also took its first drive 66 yards for a first quarter touchdown, tying the contest at 6- 6 when quarterback Drew Johnson pounded it in from 2 yards out. A missed extra point kept the contest tied at 6- 6 with two minutes left in the first.
Oneida was unable to sustain its next drive, punting the ball after stalling near midfield.
Cazenovia used the same formula on its next possession, leaning heavily on Johnson yet again. This time however, the Lakers went to Romagnoli in the red zone, and he delivered a rushing score. Johnson hit Chad Carges for the two-point conversion, and the Lakers went up 14-6 at the 6:45-mark in the second quarter.
Facing a 3rd- and-10 from their own 30-yard line on their next possession, the hosts moved the chains with a 27-yard catch by Ty D’Arcangelis from a scrambling Lukas Albro. Back-to-back penalties on the ensuing Oneida first down short-circuited the drive however, and the hosts were forced to punt.
With the ball on their on own 43-yard line and 2:25 left in the first half of play, the Lakers engineered an 8-play scoring drive, taking a 20- 6 lead when Johnson hit senior wide receiver James Pavelchak for a 15-yard touchdown. After a successful extra point, Cazenovia car- ried a 21-6 lead into the intermission.
Out of the half, Cazenovia marched down the field on a nine play scoring drive. Johnson and Romagnoli kept the chains moving throughout, finding success off the option. Romagnoli capped off the drive with a 1-yard score to extend the Laker lead to 28-6 midway through the third quarter following the extra point.
Oneida threatened on its next possession, using a big pass-and- catch from Albro to Will Merrell to move deep into Cazenovia territory, but the Lakers forced a fumble on the next play to halt the Oneida drive.
Oneida rallied back to force a punt on the ensuing Laker possession, and then, got an even bigger lift when Zander Farr broke through the Cazenovia protection for a blocked punt.
Of f the punt block, Oneida capitalized with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Albro to Will Merrell to trim Cazenovia’s lead to 28-12 with little more than a minute left in the third quarter, but it was as close as the hosts would get.
The Cazenovia defense forced a fumble and an interception on Oneida’s next two drives, closing the contest put 28-12.
Cazenovia improves to 5-1 on the season with the victory and will face Chittenango in what Steinhorst called a “friendly rivalry” game after seeing each other for 7-on-7’s during the summer months.
Oneida drops to 5-1 and travels to VVS for a regular season finale at the Red Devils’ new stadium.
“24-hour rule,” Fuller said. “[We’ll] move on and get ready for VVS as I’m sure they’ll be ready for us.”