Anthony Johnson would not let the Cicero-North Syracuse team endure the rare feeling of a three-game losing streak.
Johnson carried the Northstars throughout Friday night's game with West Genesee at Bragman Stadium all the way into overtime, where he struck again and helped produce a 20-13 win over the Wildcats.
This happened as Liverpool, who edged C-NS in a 6-0 defensive battle the week before, handled Fayetteville-Manlius 35-14 to improve to 4-0 set up a big showdown next Friday at LHS Stadium against reigning state Class AA champion Christian Brothers Academy, who is also 4-0.
With injuries at the quarterback position and elsewhere on the roster, C-NS had taken back-to-back shutout defeats to CBA and Liverpool, the kind of adversity not seen in the program for nearly a decade. Johnson was at full strength, though, and against a West Genesee side back in Class AA and fresh off lopsided wins over Henninger and Baldwinsville he made sure the shutout streak didn't last.
A first-quarter drive led to Johnson scoring on a six-yard run. This only proved a reprieve, though, for the Wildcats' defense, led by Elijah Apps (20 tackles) and Raul Colon (15 tackles), stifled the Northstars until the second half.
By then, WG led 13-7, thanks to two long scoring passes by Jack Wade to Brian Simmons, one covering 44 yards and the other 65 yards. Other than those two plays, though, the C-NS defense held the Wildcats under 200 total yards.
Meanwhile, Johnson returned to the end zone late in the third quarter, scoring from four yards out, but a missed extra point kept it 13-13, where it stayed through a scoreless fourth quarter.
In OT, each team gets a possession on the opponent's 20-yard line. CNS got it first, and Johnson, instead of running up the middle, sped outside, ultimately beating the Wildcats defenders to the end zone for his third touchdown of the night.
When C-NS's defense made a fourth-down stop on WG's possession, the Northstars had a much-needed victory, Johnson having gained 164 yards on 21 carries as Carson Kimmel added 75 yards on 19 carries.
Marcus Reed again led the Northstars' defense, recording 11 tackles. Johnson chimed in with seven tackles as Kimmel, Connor Bednarski and Xander Provost got six tackles apiece. Adrian Tangretti, Tai'Veyon Jones and Jacob Miscone each got five tackles.
