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Streaks stopped cold
Forks loses first to a section foe
since 2000
By Kevin Stevens
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
TOWN of CHENANGO -- Two-touchdown margins of victory do not come
a whole lot more convincing than the 14-0 shutout Corning East
pitched Chenango Forks' way Saturday afternoon.
Forks' football win streaks of 55 against Section 4 opponents,
46 in the regular season and 27 on its home field were squelched
by a Corning East squad that did to the Blue Devils what the
Devils did to more than a few during their five-season stretch
of brilliance that began in 2001.
 The Blue Devils (1-1) were limited to four first downs and 88
rushing yards by a crew of Corning East defenders that caught an
earful following what their coach determined to be a lackluster
effort in Week 1.
"Last week, we told our kids that against Owego, we put the
F-I-Z-Z in physical," said Trojans coach Randy Holden. " ...
(Saturday), I think we really picked up the physical end of it
and I think we had a good defensive game plan -- so did Forks."
Indeed, Forks was up to the task defensively against East's
defending Section 4 Class A champions, who may not be limited to
a 14-point total the rest of the season. However, it was an
output plenty good to deal Forks its first home-field loss since
Sept. 24, 2000.
That day, it was Corning East 13, Forks 7.
Fullback Alex Hamilton scored from half-a-yard out midway
through the second quarter and from 10 yards with 2:45 remaining
in the third on his way to a 75-yard total that was the game's
high.
The two TDs held up just fine on a day Forks failed to penetrate
East's 40-yard line.
"They're very fast and they're very physical up front," said Jud
DuBois, a two-way Forks lineman. "They seem to swarm to the ball
pretty well."
"They're real fast, quick and pretty smart," said Josh Cary,
another of the Devils' two-way linemen. "They don't have many
mental breakdowns, don't make too many errors. We just made too
many mental mistakes. I think we matched up pretty well with
them physically."
 In a game delayed about 40 minutes at the start by inclement
weather, the teams traded first-quarter punts before East began
its second possession at its 31-yard line late in the opening
quarter. It was soon after that the Trojans discovered they
could make a little hay with the passing game.
Quarterback Coleman Flory was 3-for-3 through the air on the
drive, the last of the three a 7-yarder to Shawn Roe that
brought the football to Forks' 11-yard line. An offside penalty
moved the ball to the 6, and three plays and another offside
penalty later, Hamilton crashed over the goal line to make it
6-0 with 6:34 to play before halftime.
Forks went three-and-out its next two possessions, and took to
the locker room to regroup from a rare scoreless half.
The Devils showed some life with back-to-back 9-yard rushes from
quarterback Bryan Lance and running back Joe Nicholson to open
third-quarter play, but shortly after punted from East's 43-yard
line.
The Trojans started at their 17, and after four running plays
crossed midfield when a 19-yard Flory-to-Brad Comfort pass play
-- on second-and-15 -- brought the ball to Forks' 47. Four
rushes and a pass advanced the guests to Forks' 10-yard line,
from which point Hamilton broke through the line into
inexplicably spacious running room for the second score.
Flory ducked inside on an option play for the two-point
conversion -- the game's final points.
The Blue Devils generated a single first down thereafter, that
when Lance scooted 15 yards on an option play the first play
after East's second TD.
"Their team speed is a lot of it," Forks coach Kelsey Green
said, articulating just what was the root of East's defensive
superiority. "I'm not sure we sustained our blocks very well.
We'd have a couple plays, then we'd have something for nothing.
Then we had a couple open opportunities that we didn't take
advantage of throwing the football. But overall, we never got
anything going."
Green added, "We felt we played a nice football game
defensively, just never got anything going on offense and put
too much pressure on our defense. You can't stay out there that
long against that team, they're going to find something, break
something. They've got too many weapons."
Place mouse over photos to
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All
Photo credits above and below by Diogenes Agcaoili Jr. - Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
Trojans ends Forks' win streak
Devils had won 28 straight on home field
By SHAWN VARGO
The Leader - Corning
 CHENANGO FORKS | Corning East did something at Chenango Forks
that no other team has done since 2000 - that's win a football
game.
The Trojans (2-0) ended the Blue Devils' 28-game home winning
streak with a 14-0 shutout Saturday, in a game that was delayed
nearly an hour because of thunderstorms.
Ironically, Chenango Forks' last home loss was at the hands of
the Trojans on Sept. 23, 2000. Between those losses, the Blue
Devils (1-1) have won five Section IV, Class B titles.
“That's an awesome football team over there. This was an awesome
game. Awesome football game,” East head coach Randy Holden said.
“I'm ecstatic that we won, but there was nothing easy or cheap
or non-challenging about the whole game. Forks is Forks.
“I tip my hat to (Chenango Forks' head coach) Kelsey (Green) and
his kids, but I also have to say our kids played inspired
football and we found a way to get a W.”
Saturday's game lived up to the billing, as both clubs battled
hard in the trenches from the opening kickoff. The first quarter
saw both teams complete one possession apiece - both ending with
punts.
East's second possession ended with the game's first score, as
the Trojans drove the ball 69 yards in 12 plays. The highlight
was a 12-yard completion from Coleman Flory to Brad Comfort on a
4th-and-6 play from the Blue Devils' 30-yard line.
Flory was a perfect 3-of-3 passing on the drive for 24 yards.
Alex Hamilton punched it in from a yard away on East's second
fourth down play of the drive.
A missed extra point gave the Trojans a 6-0 lead.
The scored held up until halftime as East's defense didn't allow
a Chenango Forks first down in the second quarter and just two
in the first half.
“Last week, I told the kids we put the fizz in physical with an
F-I-Z-Z. I thought we didn't play with any passion. We didn't
try to really hit people and punish people when they had the
ball,” Holden said. “I thought we really picked up the physical
end of it and we had a good defensive gameplan. But physically,
our kids took a big step up.”
The end result was just 88 yards of offense by Chenango Forks on
the day.
After East forced a Blue Devils' punt to start the third
quarter, the Trojans marched for their second score, led by
Flory and Hamilton. Flory ran the ball four times and connected
on a pair of passes, while Hamilton popped off runs of 16 and 10
yards. The 10-yarder, which saw him disappear into a crowd of
players, only to break into the daylight, put him into the end
zone for the second time.
“I think they were keying on the Flory brothers, since everyone
knows they're really good,” Hamilton said. “That just opened up
the hole for me and I was just able to pound the ball into the
end zone.”
Hamilton finished with 76 yards rushing, followed by Flory with
63 on 20 totes. Flory completed seven passes for another 74
yards. Brad Comfort pulled down four passes for 42 yards, while
Shawn Roe added two catches for 23 yards.
“I thought the difference in the game was our ability to throw
the football - hand's down. We got the yards when we needed it,”
Holden said.
“We have a lot of good receivers and they played well today,”
Flory said.
Flory scooted in for the 2-point conversion, giving East a 14-0
lead with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.
From there, Chenango Forks tried to make something happen
through the air, which it wasn't able to do all day. Every time
quarterback Bryan Lance rolled out, the Trojans kept his
receivers covered and him pressured, hindering his ability to
throw.
When East recovered a Blue Devils' fumble midway through the
fourth quarter, the Trojans were able to work off all but 30
seconds off the clock.
When the final horn sounded, East celebrated at midfield, giving
the Week 2 game a playoff game feel.
“We're going to let these kids enjoy this game, but we're going
to Maine-Endwell next week and everybody knows how they feel
about us and how prepared and well-coached they are,” Holden
said. “It doesn't get any easier for us, so we don't want to get
a fat hat.
“If we do, this win will be dissolved in a heartbeat and that's
my No. 1 concern.”
The Trojans will travel to Maine-Endwell for a 1:30 p.m. game
Saturday.
East ends Forks' streak with
14-0 win
By Stephen P. Jensen
Special to the Elmira Star-Gazette
KATTELVILLE -- That Corning East beat five-time defending
Section 4 Class B champion Chenango Forks 14-0 on Saturday,
ending the Blue Devils' winning streak against Section 4 foes at
an astounding 55 games, may not be the greatest shock to the
region's more educated football fan.
That the Trojans completely dominated Forks from kickoff to
buzzer was the surprise.
After running away with the season opener against Owego last
week, 34-14, East (2-0) stepped into the Devils' den. Once
there, neither a 45-minute lightning storm delay, a subsequently
malfunctioning scoreboard, nor a meaty CF defensive line, led by
mountainous senior, 6-foot-6, 315-pound Josh Cary, could turn
away the Trojans' multifaceted attack.
And Class A's Corning was just as good on defense.
The skeptical fan need only review the following supporting
evidence to be convinced this was no fluke:
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East ran a total of 57 plays,
amassing 260 yards. Forks, meanwhile, ran just 27 plays on
offense. East limited the Blue Devils to 79 yards in the
game.
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Trojans running back Alex
Hamilton, who scored both of East's touchdowns on the ground
-- from inside the 1-yard line in the second quarter, and
from 10 yards out in the third quarter -- by himself out
gained Forks (1-1) in the first half, 42 yards to 38. He led
East with 75 rushing yards despite nursing an
old-but-healing left wrist injury and a newly dinged left
shoulder.
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And East moved the ball
consistently throughout, gaining 15 first downs, seven in
the first half, eight more after the break. Forks managed
just four first downs, tried throwing the ball only twice
and gained no ground through the air.
Still, it was Corning East head
coach Randy Holden who was in line along with his players after
the game ended. After screaming at his players, "You haven't won
anything yet -- we haven't played Maine-Endwell yet," Holden
toned it down as he greeted Forks player after Forks player
with, "You know I respect you," and, "We wanna be like you --
we're not yet."
"It was an awesome football game," said the intense Holden
afterward. "It was an awesome football game. Awesome. I'm
ecstatic we won, but there was nothing easy about it. It's a
non-league win, but now we can measure ourselves against one of
the best football teams maybe in the history of Section 4."
But he shied away from calling this an upset.
"Forks' offense and our offense, they're really quite similar,"
said Holden, whose East squad was the last visiting team to win
on Chenango Forks turf, a 13-7 win on Sept. 24, 2000. Saturday's
victory ended the Blue Devils' 27-game home winning streak.
"They run a lot of counters and misdirection, too, but we both
smash you in the mouth on the line of scrimmage."
Two muddy and bloody East players walked toward the visitors'
locker room together late Saturday afternoon. Senior quarterback
Coleman Flory put his arm around classmate Hamilton. "We did
it," Flory said.
Flory, who gained 64 yards rushing and kept the Forks bull rush
honest with a 7-for-9, 73-yard day throwing the ball, had high
praise for his backfield mate.
"Today he was a warrior," Flory said of Hamilton, who had
splotches of dried blood up and down his battered arms. "He has
a hurt wrist and a hurt shoulder ... I'm so proud of him."
Hamilton said his wrist, heavily taped to help protect it after
summer surgery, wasn't the problem against Forks. Two minutes
into the game, a hard hit left his left arm numb. He went the
next five plays that way, he said, getting one carry for 4 yards
in the span. His teammates knew, but he never mentioned it to
his coaches.
"It's moving," he said when asked how his arm and shoulder were
holding up. He grinned, but he didn't offer to raise it.
"He was the tip of our spear today," Holden said of the 6-foot,
185-pound Hamilton, whose aggressive defense also punctuated
East's stinginess. "We're used to being smaller. It's always
been that way. We don't have one player who can match up with
Cary, one-on-one. So I told them they had to be technicians
today."
"You can't call it an upset," said Kelsey Green, Chenango Forks
veteran head coach. "Their program and ours, the last two years,
are carbon copies. And they might have had more experience
coming back."
Indeed, both programs have experienced remarkable success.
Entering this matchup, Forks was on a 63-3 tear since the start
of 2001, while East, a state finalist in 2003 and a semifinalist
last fall, is now 32-4 in its last 36 games. Three of those
losses have been to eventual state champions.
"They threw the ball on us today. When you have to defend the
line the way you do, you can't leave a crease or they're in
there," Green said of the option-heavy East backfield. "That
allowed them to complete some things. We had a couple chances,
but we just couldn't get anything started.
"We were impressed watching (Hamilton) against Owego," Green
added, noting that the senior had been banged up but never left
the game. "We know the type of kids they have in Corning, so I
wasn't surprised at all."
Loss puts Forks in unfamiliar
territory
By Kevin Stevens
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
TOWN OF CHENANGO -- Not since September of 2000 had a scoreboard
outside the confines of the Carrier Dome displayed a game-ending
tally that did not favor Chenango Forks' football team.
Not until Saturday afternoon, that is, when the inevitable
finally took place.
Corning East is, at present, simply that much better than Forks
-- maybe better than any other Section 4 has to offer, too.
And so the record for the Blue Devils, who lost no more than a
single game in the 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons,
drops to 1-1 with a 14-0 setback against Corning East.
Shutout notwithstanding, East's victory should come as a
surprise to no one familiar with what's been going on of late
over in the Western end of the section.
East, you see, is 32-4 in its last three dozen football games.
The Trojans reached the Class A state final in '03, made it to
the semifinals last November. The minute schedule-makers saw fit
to throw the two together for a non-leaguer in Week 2, the end
of Forks' streaks was a distinct possibility.
Fifty-five victories in a row against Section 4 opposition; 46
straight regular-season successes; 27 in succession on the home
field they've protected so well.
Those are finished.
So be it.
How the 2006 version of the Blue Devils will ultimately be
judged begins Monday, following what promises to be a less-than
gleeful off day for those who wore the red helmets Saturday
against East.
At Forks, they've not gathered for film study or practice the
Monday after a loss since falling by 21-13 at Oneonta on the eve
of October, 2000. So what comes Monday will be ground not
visited for some time.
The three defeats dealt Forks' way in the period from 2001
through 2005 came in state championship contests, after which
gear was collected, hugs were exchanged, tears rubbed from
cheekbones and the next formal get-together came at the team
banquet.
This Monday will be different.
"It doesn't feel too good right now, but we're going to have to
overcome it, play tough against Owego," said junior lineman Jud
DuBois. "Just come together as a team, help each other up when
we're feeling down."
"You know what? That's neither here nor there," Forks coach
Kelsey Green said of the streak-buster and all that went with
it. "It's all a part of what you do when you coach high school
ports. We'll find out what this does in terms of our effort, our
enthusiasm, bring the football team a little closer together, we
hope."
And how the Blue Devils will be judged should not necessarily be
tied entirely to the wins and losses that may come from this day
forward. Their division is no joyride, to be sure.
Owego, from the other Class B division, is no slouch, and that's
the squad coming to Forks on Saturday. The tail end of Forks'
schedule is nasty, calling for visits to Norwich, then Windsor.
In the interim will come a meeting with those boys from across
the river, who're craving an ending to their 0-for-too-long
slide against Forks.
It'll be a tough road.
However, Forks has earned a reputation as a class outfit during
its stay at the pinnacle of Section 4. If there has been a word
to the contrary, it has not been offered my way.
No program wants to be known only as good front-runners. And so
come what may, the '06 Blue Devils have a good bit to uphold
that has zero to do with streaks and the like.
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