Though they went about it in extremely different manners, the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool football teams each served up impressive and thorough season-opening victories, both doing so on special occasions.
For the Northstars, it was Jim Ryan's debut as head coach and it came on the familiar stage of the JMA Dome where C-NS had won five consecutive Section III Class AA titles before Christian Brothers Academy dethroned them in the 2023 final.
With this Friday's rematch against CBA looming and the Brothers blanking East Rochester 32-0 in its season opener, the Northstars needed a counterpoint against another high-profile Section V opponent- and got it by earning its own shutout, blanking Victor by a 21-0 margin.
Expecting to have a strong defense from the outset, C-NS met those expectations in a big way, constantly thwarting all of the Blue Devils' attempts to get going. Marcus Reed had a pair of sacks as part of his team-high total of nine tackles, Connor Bednarski adding six tackles and Carson Kimmel five kills. Xander Provost, Jacob Miscione and Adrian Tangretti also recorded sacks.
What helped was that the Northstars were able to put together a pair of first-half scoring drives, leaning heavily on its ground attack behind a big and dominant offensive line. Twice, Anthony Johnson would find the end zone, on runs of four and 42 yards. Then, with his team up 14-0 in the third quarter, Johnson snagged a third touchdown on a 25-yard run, well on his way to a total of 175 yards on 19 carries. Braydon Dems got the start at quarterback, completing eight of 11 passes for 48 yards, Jakob Purdy went three-for-three on extra points.
