As they left the field Sept. 4 the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse football teams were quite aware they might run into each other again in November come playoff time.
Meanwhile the two sides faced Section IV opponents last Friday and both would win, the Northstars taking its home opener 49-7 over Elmira and the Legends going to Corning and breaking clear late to beat the Hawks 42-20.
C-NS initially found Elmira troubling, the Express taking a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter after the Northstars got on the board with Peyton Dems' 29-yard touchdown pass to Alex Salloum.
But in a decisive second quarter C-NS netted 21 unanswered points, a combination of offensive execution and a defense which forced key turnovers.
Dems again found Salloum, this time on a 28-yard scoring strike. Then the ground game got going, Miy'jon McDowell Reid twice finding the end zone on runs of three and 10 yards.
McDowell Reid added a third score in the third period, by which point the Northstars' defense had settled in and thwarted any Elmira attempt at a comeback. Tai'Veyon Jones and Nadarren Carter added fourth-quarter scores, Carter on a 15-yard pass from Khais Johnson, who took over at center late in the game.
