C-NS got its win by defeating No. 3 Baldwinsville 32-14 on Friday night.
The Northstars got off to a slower start than they're used to, leading by just five at halftime, but the team made the necessary adjustments at halftime to come out clicking on all cylinders.
Complete Box Score »
"The coaches do a great job with halftime adjustments," C-NS coach Dave Kline said. "They got in there at halftime, they made some adjustments, they went over them with the team, the guys got them and then we were OK."
C-NS scored 20 unanswered points in the second half before the Bees scored with less than a minute remaining in the game to end the run.
"I didn't think we played really well. We struggled in the first half," Kline said. "We weren't coming off the ball. We weren't as clean as we'd been. But we got better as the game progressed, and in the second half we started playing better again. We just have to clean up some things."
This is C-NS' sixth straight time reaching the Section III Class AA championship. The Northstars have won the previous five times they've made the title game.
"It's pretty amazing. It's pretty incredible," Kline said. "We're very fortunate. You have to have a lot of luck with that at the same time. These are a great group of kids, they've worked hard all year. They've gotten better. There have been times people didn't think we'd get here, but we did. I'm so proud of the guys and the work that they put in as a program."
While this game is the rematch that many have anticipated since last season ended, both coaches say there's no added pressure heading into next week's game just because they're playing one another.
"We give the same message all year, and that's, 'The most important practice is the next one,'" Brown said. "'The most important game is the next one.' Our message from day one hasn't changed. It doesn't matter who we're playing. They understand the importance of what's in front of them."
"The guys are ready to go work, they're ready to get after it," Kline said. "Let's lay it all out there. We're going to be the underdogs. We don't have much to lose, so we're just going to go play. No pressure on us. Let's just go have some fun."
CBA (10-0) and C-NS (9-1) will meet in this year's Class AA championship game at 6 p.m. next Sunday inside the JMA Wireless Dome.
