General Brown football holds off furious Cazenovia rally to repeat as section champs (64 photos)

Syracuse, N.Y. — With less than a minute left on the clock and General Brown clinging to a two-point lead, a pass from quarterback Jackson Ward to running back Camden Thomas hung up in the air for what felt like an eternity.

But when it came down, Thomas caught it and reached the line to gain to secure the first down and ice the 51-49 win over top-seeded Cazenovia in the Section III Class C championship game on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Ward immediately raised his arms in realization of what had just happened.

“I was very relieved after that first down,” he said. “It just all came to me that we were going to win. It was just an awesome feeling.”

The Lakers had an idea that the Lions could go to that play, but in a short-yardage situation late in the game, it was still unexpected.

“We had practiced that all week, knowing that they slipped that kid out from the slot,” Cazenovia coach Kyle Martin said. “It’s hard when they run the ball so well; it’s a short-yardage situation, it’s the end of the game; you expect run. Safeties, corners, guys get their eyes in the backfield because you have to.”

The catch put the finishing touches on General Brown’s second-straight section championship win in a game that will go down as one for the ages.

The Lions showed no signs of championship jitters. Drew Pauly returned the opening kick nearly 50 yards to the Lakers’ 36-yard line to give the Lions great field position to begin the game.

General Brown ended its opening drive with a four-yard touchdown run from Ward. Luke Dupee nailed the extra point to make it 7-0 less than two minutes into the game.

Cazenovia was faced with a third down on its first possession, but the Lakers quarterback Bobby Livingston evaded multiple General Brown defenders in the backfield and bought enough time to find Phineas Colby for a 26-yard pass to set up a first down. The Lakers originally believed Colby broke free for the tying touchdown, but he stepped out of bounds at the 28-yard line.

Livingston attempted to make a little more magic happen on the drive, but a failed fourth-down conversion gave the Lions the ball back at Cazenovia’s 28-yard line.

General Brown responded with a 72-yard touchdown run from Thomas on its next play from scrimmage.

The Lions’ defense forced a three-and-out and the offense again immediately put the pressure on the Lakers.

On the first play of the drive, Cooper Donaldson broke free for a 78-yard touchdown run. Another Dupee PAT made it 21-0 with 3:01 left in the first quarter.

“Our line was getting physical with them. They were opening some holes,” General Brown coach Doug Black said. “Cam Thomas had some great runs, broke a lot of tackles. He’s a phenomenal kid and he runs hard.”

Facing a three-score deficit, the Lakers finally managed to erase the 0 from the scoring column.

Livingston marched Cazenovia down the field and connected with Colby for a 10-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left in the first quarter. Sebastian Gebers made the PAT to make it 21-7.

“We just — at that point we said, you know, run game’s kind of out the window. We’re just gonna let our quarterback and receivers get down the field,” Martin said. “Our offensive line would give Bobby protection for three, four seconds and that lets him move and when he’s moving, he’s at his best.”

After back-to-back one-play possessions that ended in 70-plus yard touchdown runs, the Lions’ next possession was more methodical.

General Brown ate up six minutes of game time and scored on a one-yard touchdown run from Ward, his second of the game. Dupee’s fourth PAT was good and the Lions led 28-7 with 6:08 left in the half.

The Lakers wouldn’t let the Lions pull too far ahead, though.

Livingston hit Dylan Schug for a 38-yard pass to set Cazenovia up inside the 1-yard line and Livingston finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Gebers’ kick made it 28-14 with 5:17 left in the half.

The Cazenovia defense came firing on the next possession. A huge tackle for loss and sack on consecutive plays brought up a fourth-and-24, forcing the Lions to punt for the first time all game with 2:48 left in the half.

Again, the Cazenovia offense went right to work.

This time, Livingston found Daniel Bliss for a 53-yard touchdown with 1:28 left in the half. Gebers made another kick to cut the deficit to 28-21.

That score held at halftime.

The Lakers began the second half with the ball, but couldn’t get anything going. The Lions’ defense came out swarming and sacked Livingston twice on the opening possession of the half. Cazenovia punted it away and General Brown took over at its own 46-yard line.

Three plays later, Thomas found the endzone on a 42-yard run to extend the lead to 35-21 with 8:43 left in the third quarter.

“We knew they were going to score coming to this game,” Ward said. “They have a really good offense and we knew that we just had to keep our heads high and always keep it rolling.”

General Brown’s defense continued to hold strong on Cazenovia’s next possession.

Wyatt Parisian intercepted a pass from Livingston to set up another Lions touchdown.

Thomas scored another one for the defending champs. This one from 43 yards out to make it 42-21 with 5:40 left in the third.

Cazenovia continued to bring the fight to the Lions.

Livingston found Paul Mitchell for a 50-yard completion and ended the drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to Colby to make it 42-28.

The Lakers then successfully attempted an onside kick and Livingston went back to work.

He found Colby again for the big play. A 46-yard touchdown pass made the score 42-35 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

After forcing a General Brown punt, the Lakers took over and mounted another scoring drive.

Livingston and Colby connected on several completions before Livingston scored on a two-yard keeper to tie it at 42-42 with 10:52 left in regulation.

General Brown broke the tie less than four minutes later.

Dupee, stepping in for Donaldson, scored on a four-yard run.

“We had to make some adjustments,” Dupee said. “I had to hop in at left wing back and it’s just a lot to get to and I made it work.”

He then lined up for the PAT but missed for the first time all game. The Lions led 48-42.

The Lakers had a chance to lead for the first time all game, but the opportunity was squandered.

Jalen Bullock intercepted Livingston at the Cazenovia 41-yard line.

Now it was Dupee’s time to redeem himself.

The senior lined up for a 33-yard field goal and drained it to put his team ahead by two possessions with 2:50 left.

“Nothing’s too big for (Dupee),” Black said. “He doesn’t let the spotlight get to him or whatever. He just plays and that’s a great example of overcoming that adversity. Missing the extra point could have cost us. And he comes back and kicks the game-winning field goal.”

“During the moment I didn’t feel like it was that big of a kick, but obviously down the stretch it was huge,” Dupee said.

The kick proved to be the difference. Cazenovia drove down the field once more and scored on a three-yard run. The PAT made it 51-49 with 1:05 left in the game.

“(Livingston is) phenomenal. We just — he ran out of time and we were able to stop him just enough to get that one stop,” Black said.

Running out of time is exactly what happened.

The Lakers were unable to recover another onside kick and the Lions took over, setting up what eventually was the game-sealing play between Ward and Thomas.

The loss was Cazenovia’s first all season. It finishes the season 10-1.

“I’m gonna miss these guys,” Martin said. “... I always say, I go, you guys are sometimes you’re my brother, sometimes you’re my sons, sometimes you’re my friends. Today, we were all warriors together. It’s a season that I will remember for my life.”

For General Brown, it’s a season that’s still going. The Lions improve to 10-1 and add another title to the collection.

“I think it says a lot about our younger kids that they buy into what we’re doing,” Black said of the repeat. “And they watch these older kids play, and hopefully they’re seeing all the hard work that goes into winning a sectional championship, and hopefully they’re ready to put that work in.”

The Lions will take on Section IV’s Chenango Forks in the regional championship at noon next Saturday at Vestal High School.

General Brown: 21-7-14-9 -- 51

Cazenovia: 7-14-14-14 -- 49

First Quarter

General Brown: Jackson Ward 4-yard run (Luke Dupree kick) 7-0

General Brown: Camden Thomas 72-yard run (Luke Dupree kick) 14-0

General Brown: Cooper Donaldson 78-yard run (Luke Dupree kick) 21-0

Cazenovia: Phineas Colby 10-yard pass from Bobby Livingston (Sebastian Gebers kick) 21-7

Second Quarter

General Brown: Jackson Ward 1-yard run (Luke Dupree kick) 28-7

Cazenovia: Bobby Livingston 1-yard run (Sebastian Gebers kick) 21-14

Caz: 1-yd TD run Bobby Livingston. (Sebastian Gebers kick) 28-14.

Third Quarter

General Brown: Camden Thomas 42-yard run (Luke Dupee kick) 35-21

General Brown: Camden Thomas 43-yard run (Luke Dupee kick) 42-21

Cazenovia: Phineas Colby 6-yard pass from Bobby Livingston (Sebastian Gebers kick) 42-38

Cazenovia: Phineas Colby 46-yard pass from Bobby Livingston (Sebastian Gebers kick) 42-35

Fourth Quarter

Cazenovia: Bobby Livingston 2-yard run (Sebastian Gebers kick) 42-42 10:52

General Brown: Luke Dupee 4-yard run (kick missed). 48-42

General Brown: Luke Dupree 33-yard field goal 51-42

Cazenovia: Bobby Livingston 3-yard run (Sebastian Gebers kick) 51-49

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