A modest-sized roster, new players in key positions, youth everywhere on the field – name the excuses and the Skaneateles football team could use them this fall.
Instead, the Lakers are 2-0, with both wins on the road, including Friday night’s impressive 34-7 romp over Westhill that featured more big-play magic from sophomore quarterback Pat Hackler and running back Areh Boni’s trio of touchdowns.
A day before Skaneateles won its season opener 25-18 over Syracuse Institute of Technology Central, Westhill claimed a wild 34-28 decision over Marcellus at the Carrier Dome in the Kickoff Classic on Sept. 1, forcing eight Mustangs turnovers, but still needing a second-half comeback from a 28-20 deficit to pull it out.
Given these comparable results, even the most die-hard Skaneateles partisan could not have imagined that the Lakers would march into Westhill and unleash a superb all-around effort.
From the outset, the Skaneateles defense was dominant, using its speed and aggression to contain Westhill’s skillful trio of quarterback Zavion Barrott, tailback Marcus Welch and tight end Casey Rogers.
In fact, the only points the Warriors scored came on a Lakers punt early in the second quarter that Rogers blocked, the ball rolling into the end zone where Jack Gilmartin recovered. Other than that, Skaneateles didn’t make many mistakes on this night.
By the time that took place, the Lakers were on the board thanks to Boni’s nine-yard TD run in the opening period. And right after the blocked punt, Skanetaeles drove down the field, and Boni would find the end zone again on a nine-yard pass from Hackler that gave the visitors the lead for good.
But it was a pair of big plays that wounded Westhill beyond repair. One came right before halftime when, from the Warriors’ 21, Hackler threw deep and found Nate Wellington, who took it the rest of the way, the 79-yard TD suddenly making it 21-7 at the break.
Now worried about the long throw, the Warriors forgot that Hackler could run, too. From the Warriors’ 45 in the third quarter, Hackler read the pass rush and took off, not getting caught by anyone as he further extended the Skaneateles margin.
Even with a 28-7 lead, Skaneateles did not let up, putting together one more scoring drive in the fourth quarter that Boni finished off with his third TD of the night on a 10-yard run.
Not only are the Lakers 2-0, it got both of those wins on the road, so the crowd at Hyatt Stadium should be fired up when Homer visits next Friday at 7 p.m. Though the defending Class B West champions, the Trojans are 1-1 and lost its league opener to Marcellus 37-29.