SHERBURNE – Despite losing many key pieces from last year’s Section III football finalist, Sherburne-Earlville is back in the title game.

Eschewing the rebuilding mantra for retooling, the Timberwolves raced to a 20-0 halftime lead, and went on to defeat visiting Onondaga on Friday evening, 20-12 in the second-ever grid contest on their newly minted turf field.

All three phases of the game – offense, defense, and special teams – were on point, and head coach Steve Franklin assessed that it was probably the best half of football the Timberwolves have played, especially given the stakes, over the past two seasons.

“All season long, we’ve struggled with special teams; it’s been our Achilles’ heel,” Franklin said. “If you think of the three phases of the game, we’re usually decent on one side of the ball or maybe two of the three. The first half, we were really good in all three phases.”

S-E (4-5) raced to a 20-0 halftime advantage, which was a far cry from the nail-biting 19-18 victory over Onondaga earlier in the season.

Nick Hull raced 65 yards for the first of his two scores to give Sherburne-Earlville an early 7-0 lead.

The two scores in the second quarter were directly related to special teams impact plays.

Near midfield, the Timberwolves timed a fourth-down fake punt perfectly.