The Cortland/Homer hockey team fell behind Clinton 4-0 in the first period and never recovered as the Golden Eagles lost 6-2 Thursday night at J.M. McDonald Sports Complex.
Cortland/Homer was coming off a difficult 6-1 loss on the road the previous night against New Hartford, which is 12-1-1 and ranked fifth in the state in Division II in the most recent state rankings. The Golden Eagles were also without leading scorer Gabe O’Connor on Thursday. Some fatigue from Cortland/Homer mixed with everything clicking for Clinton in the first period led to the Comets quickly taking control.
Nolan O’Brien scored twice for Clinton in the first and teammates Tom Bingham and Ian O’Brien added a goal. Cortland/Homer went with starting goalie Jack Mederios to begin the night, but the quick start from the Comets led to the Golden Eagles switching to Cole Mead in net the remainder of the game.
Cortland/Homer responded well offensively in the second period. Preston Bowman found the back of the net just a minute in off an assist from Brady Coffin and Bodey McGrath scored off an assist from Coffin four minutes later. The Golden Eagles were beginning to click, but Clinton hung onto its lead by adding two more goals.
Clinton secured its win with a strong final period despite not scoring a goal. The Comets controlled possession and used the clock and their defense to their advantage.
Cortland/Homer head coach Paul Quinlan knew his team got off to a slow start but was happy with the way his team played the remaining two periods.
“Clinton had a little bit more than us tonight,” Quinlan said. “It was one of those games where we looked a little tired. After the first it was 2-2 and was pretty even. Clinton changed up their system in the third period and it was a good road period for them. They played well. “
It was a big game in terms of the Section III Division II standings. Cortland/Homer fell to 3-12 with the loss and Clinton moved to 3-10-2. The Golden Eagles came out on top over the Comets on Dec. 15, but it was not their night on Thursday.
Since back-to-back wins over Albany CBA and Auburn, Cortland/Homer has hit a rough patch with four consecutive losses. Quinlan is seeing the work from his group every day and knows they have it in them, they just need to get over the hump. The head coach is confident in his guys and hopes their next game can be a jump start.
“It’s a hard group to get mad at because every character test we get, they rise to it,” Quinlan said. “Progress is being made. It hasn’t turned into wins yet but at some point, it has to break. The effort and the energy are there from us. Our practices and work habits are good and we’re getting better. The referee tonight actually said to me, ‘Every time I see you, you’re better.’ The game against Ithaca should help us because that is an easy game to get up and ready for.”
Cortland/Homer plays at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at home against Ithaca.
BOYS BASKETBALL
CHITTENANGO 54, HOMER 38
Max Franco scored 15 points for Homer, but the Trojans couldn’t overcome 38 points from Chittenango star Ryan Moesch. The Trojans trailed 44-29 after three quarters and had the deficit to nine midway through the fourth.
Wyatt Wilbur was held to nine points, Kaden Durham contributed eight points and Tyler Van Etten had four points for Homer.
UNION SPRINGS 80, GROTON 50
Matt Hayes went for 11 points for Groton, but the Red Hawks lost the second half 48-23 after trailing 32-27 at the break.
Dom Mackey followed Hayes up with eight points, Nick Karandeyev, Conor Eldred and Trenton Walker scored six points apiece, Sean O’Brien had five points, Mike Lane and Carmelo Riley-Israel netted three points each and Jaiden Mitchell had two points for Groton.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
CINCINNATUS 3, DERUYTER 0
Cincinnatus stayed unbeaten in CCL play with a 25-20, 25-27, 25-7 win thanks to Allyson St. Germain’s 13 kills and Kaedance Latta’s 15 assists.
Shanley Nicholas led DeRuyter with nine digs and an ace, Molly Amidon contributed three assists, two digs and a kill and Adelia Leonardo notched three digs and two kills. Chelsey Prince (three digs, one kill), Selena Rodriguez (two kills, one ace, one dig), Graycie Barber (one kill) and Angelena Rodriguez (one kill) also aided the Rockets’ effort.
BOWLING
HOMER BOYS 7, A-P-W 0
HOMER GIRLS 7, A-P-W 0
Ivan Eaton paced the Homer boys’ effort with a high game of 219 and a 566 series, while Kimberli Proctor topped the Homer girls with a 181 high game and a 473 series.
John Bishop (191 game, 558 series), John Holcomb (203 game, 547 series), Orie Bush (181 game, 500 series), Tyler Seymour (147 game, 157 game), Tanner Vogel (170 game, 128 game), Caleb Hamilton (186 game) and Chris McMullin (117 game) also aided Eaton’s effort.
Olivia Hamilton (167 game, 461 series), Kristen Comb (159 game, 434 series), Lorelei Hill (115 game, 336 game), Addison Platt (123 game, 330 series) and Jaden Bush (110 game, 281 series) followed up Proctor’s showing.
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
DRYDEN
Jade Brockner won the girls 55-meter dash (7.76 seconds) and the 200-meter race (28.22 seconds) and finished second in the 400-meter dash Wednesday night at the Twilight Invite. Raelen Green topped the field in the long jump (16 feet, 4 inches) and placed second in the 55-meter dash and Reagan Burnham won the 1,500-meter race (5:27.93).
The sprint medley relay team of Ella Bloomfield-Brown, Green, Nicole Morrow and Burham won their event (4:49.97), Bloomfield-Brown was second in the high jump, Weronika Conroy finished second in the shot put, Jillian Miller came in third in the 55-meter hurdles and fourth in the long jump, Mckenna Crocker finished third in the 1,500-meter race and fifth in the 800-meter race, Morrow placed fourth in 400-meter dash, Dalia Bosworth was fifth in the 55-meter hurdles and sixth in the 400-meter dash, Hannah Emmelhainz came in fifth in the long jump and sixth in the 55-meter hurdles and Alivia Wojcik placed fifth in the 1,500-meter race.
Ethan Gibbs led the Dryden boys by placing second in the 55-meter hurdles and fourth in the 400-meter dash, Suansian Songput came in third in both the triple jump and long jump and Eliot Couch finished third in the 1,600-meter race.
MORAVIA
Mason Kratzer broke a 16-year-old school in the boys 200-meter dash with a time of 25.64 seconds, beating the previous record of 25.97 seconds. Kadie Love also set a school record in the girls 800-meter race with a time of 3:07.37.
CeCe Stryker won the girls 400-meter dash (1:07.98) and finished second in the 200-meter dash and Karson Mackey finished second in the 55-meter hurdles and fifth in the 200-meter dash.
Mackey also placed second in the 400-meter dash and third in the 55-meter dash and Kemper Fairweather was sixth in the 55-meter dash.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
BOYS BASKETBALL
Institute of Technology at Cortland, 6:45 p.m. today
Moravia at Marathon, 7 p.m. today
Otselic Valley at Cincinnatus, 7:30 p.m. today
Dryden at Lansing, 7:15 p.m. today
Tully at Manlius Pebble Hill, 7 p.m. today
Mexico at Cortland, 6:45 p.m. Monday
McGraw at Groton, 6:30 p.m. Monday
Faith Heritage at Cincinnatus, 7 p.m. Monday
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Cortland at Syracuse West, 6:30 p.m. today at Institute of Technology
Homer at Chittenango, 7 p.m. today
Marathon at Moravia, 6 p.m. today
Groton at Union Springs, 7 p.m. today
Tully at Weedsport, 2:30 p.m. Saturday
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
McGraw at Tully, 7 p.m. today
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Cincinnatus at Little Falls, 1 p.m. Saturday
WRESTLING
Denny Wright Duals at Homer, 9 a.m. Saturday, boys only
Marathon, Dryden at Newark Valley, 9 a.m. Saturday
Southern Hills at Oswego, 8 a.m. Saturday
Denny Wright Duals at Homer, 9 a.m. Sunday, girls only
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Tully at Onondaga Community College, 4:30 p.m. today
BOWLING
Cortland at Solvay, 3:30 p.m. Monday at Strike N Spare Lanes
SWIMMING & DIVING
Greene at Dryden, 4:30 p.m. Monday
