The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Lakers knock off VVS
MANLIUS, N.Y. >> Once in danger of missing of not qualifying for the 2018 Section III Class B playoffs, No. 4 Vernon-Verona-Sherrill had an opportunity extend its run to the championship game at the Carrier Dome on Friday.
Unfortunately for Red Devil fans, No. 1 seed and defending Class C state champion Skaneateles had other plans.
The Lakers turned to the ground game on Friday, racing past VVS for a 47-13 win.
“I thought once we adjusted to how they were playing, I thought our boys did a nice job,” Skaneateles coach Joe Sindoni said. “Our strategy all year is we are going to take what they are going to give us. Early on, we felt like we had the running game going. I thought Areh [Boni] had a great first half.”
“They kept playing. They played hard right until the end. They came back and got one on us. They have a very good team, and they kept fighting.”
Pat Hackler and Areh Boni accounted for all of Skaneateles; scoring on Friday, rushing for three touchdowns apiece and linking up for an aerial score late in the contest.
Tyler Rotach and Alex Oliver each recorded a rushing touchdown for VVS in the defeat.
Skaneateles needed five plays to strike first, going up 6-0 on a 14-yard Areh Boni rushing touchdown at the 5:55 mark in the first quarter.
VVS got its offense going on their second offensive possession, marching their way down to the Skaneateles 10-yard line for 1stand-goal. The Laker defense held however, bottling up Horodnick on 4th-and-goal to turn the Red Devils over on downs.
After stopping VVS deep in their own territory, the Lakers engineered another quick-hitting scoring drive. This time, Skaneateles needed six plays, going up 13-0 on a Hackler 10-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the second quarter.
The Red Devils punted on their next offensive possession, but got a spark from the defense on the Lakers’ next possession. Senior Red Devil Jacob Horodnick picked off a Hackler pass, returning it all the way to the Skaneateles 14-yard line. Five plays later, VVS had its first score of
the tilt courtesy a 2-yard plunge from Tyler Rotach to cut the Laker lead to 13-7.
Skaneateles wasted no time answering back, going back to Boni, this time for a 50-plus yard scamper to grow the Laker lead to 197, a score that would carry into the half.
“He runs hard, obviously. Even when teams stuff it, he finds a way to fall forward. I think part of what makes him an effective runner is the offensive line opening holes and the threat of Hackler keeping it and going the other way,” Sindoni said of his bruising running back.
Boni’s second touchdown was a big blow to any sort of momentumVVS grabbed on the Rotach score.
“It defintely was a backbreaker. We got right back into it, 13-7. I think they went down and scored in two or three plays. That was heartbreaking,” Oliver said. “We wanted to try and stop them from throwing the ball over our head, which we did a very good job of I thought, but the running back really tore us up up the middle.”
Out of half, Skaneateles needed two plays to increase its lead. On 2ndand-10 from their own 32, Hackler kept the option for a 68-yard scoring run. Twenty seconds into the second half, Skaneateles led 26-7.
Following a VVS 3-andout, Hackler orchestrated a three play scoring drive, keyed by a 51-yard catch byWamp. Hackler finished the drive off with a 4-yard run for a 33-7 Skaneateles lead.
After a VVS fumble, Boni added his third touchdown of the day on a 3-yard carry to push the Skaneateles lead to 40-7.
The Red Devils were able to answer with a 53yard Alex Oliver touchdown run down the middle of the field on their ensuing possession, but Skaneateles came right back with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Hackler to Boni for the final score of the contest and a 47-13 advantage.
“We don’t use that as an excuse,” coach Gary Oliver said of son and starting quarterback Alex Oliver being limited to two plays due to injury. “Jacob [Horodnick] stepped in there at quarterback and did a good job. Michael Guertin stepped in on defense and did a good job. It’ a big blow to our team when [Alex] goes down. You saw what happened when he went in there for a couple of plays. Separated shoulder, it’s kind of hard to keep running the ball like that.”
“I am very proud of this team. At the beginning of the year, we had three returning defensive guys, and I wasn’t sure if we were going to stop anybody. And we are here in the semifinals,” Oliver continued, addressing his seniors. “I want them to remember the journey. It’s not always about the last game you playand the score. Unless you’re the state champion, you’re going to go home with a loss. It’s more about the journey and the guys they played with and played for.”
Skaneateles remains un- defeated on the year and moves on to the Section III Class B title game against No. 2 seed Cazenovia, pitting the respective Class B West and Class B East champions against one another for section supremacy
VS closes the season with a 6-3 record and a second straight trip to the Class B semifinals.