Lions' roar fills Dome again

SYRACUSE — General Brown is back on top of Section 3 football.

The No. 5 Lions upended the No. 7 Cazenovia Lakers, 27-14, in the Class C title on Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

"We've been dreaming about it since sixth grade," General Brown quarterback Robert Thomas said. "We were watching our older brothers, our older cousins, our alumni playing in the Dome back then, and we always dreamed about being down here and winning."

General Brown will face Section 4's undefeated Chenango Forks in the state's first round at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Union-Endicott.

There was hardly ever a doubt against Cazenovia, and running back Nick Klusacek made sure of it.

General Brown's opening drive started ominously for its previously unbeaten opponent. Jared Flath returned a failed Cazenovia field goal try to General Brown's 41-yard line.

On the Lions' first play from scrimmage, Klusacek rushed 54 yards. Flath punched it in two plays later, and General Brown took a 6-0 lead.

"We came out here with so much momentum," Klusacek said. "We wanted to stop them on defense, and then offensively, just run on them."

The Lakers were more worried about Flath — General Brown's main running back — than Klusacek.

So Klusacek made them pay again.

He started General Brown's next scoring drive with an interception. He ended it with a 36-yard touchdown.

"Coach (Tom) Frears said they were going to key on Flath," Klusacek said. "They were going to give me a high dose of football, and I just ran it through the holes."

Cazenovia (9-1 overall) couldn't answer in the first half, managing only 37 yards rushing. The Lakers had decent success in the air, throwing for 73 first-half yards. But the bigger, stronger General Brown line constantly pressured quarterback Jeff Hopsicker.

"We thought we could take it to this team," Cazenovia running back Chad Dorrance said. "They're big and have great technique as well. That combination is pretty tough to overcome."

The Lakers came to life, briefly, in the second half when Zack Golden returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown. Cazenovia pulled within 13-7.

General Brown responded with an exhilarating 80-yard drive that ended with Flath rushing two yards into the end zone on fourth down. It was the play that sealed the win.

"We knew we had to put one more on there," Klusacek said. "We knew all we had to do then was play some defense, and we did."

Cazenovia and General Brown exchanged punts to finish the third quarter with the Lions ahead 19-7.

Klusacek added another touchdown run in the fourth — a 20-yarder to put the Lions ahead 27-7.

Jacob Ayer scored Cazenovia's final touchdown on a recovered fumble in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.

"Our goal starting Aug. 17 was to play on Thanksgiving weekend, and that's the state finals," General Brown coach Steve Fisher said. "We've never been there before, and we're hopefully going to get there week-by-week."

Klusacek finished with 147 yards on 10 carries and was named the game's MVP by Section 3. Flath totaled 85 yards on 17 touches and had two scores.

"Every sectional title is different," Fisher said. "We won in 2003, 4 and 5. We were just talking about that before we went out. 'Where were you six years?' They were in sixth grade. I said, 'Now you get a chance to live your dream. Not many people get to do that.'"