2006 Chenango Forks Varsity Football

Game 5 vs Chenango Valley

Blue Devils rule the valley yet again, 14-9!

Articles courtesy of the
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
Photos - Tom LaBarbera

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Forks escapes CV

Late Warriors' miscues help Blue Devils

By Kevin Stevens

Press & Sun-Bulletin

Forks rules The Valley" chants were revved up once again, for a 12th consecutive edition of the Chenango Forks--Chenango Valley football rivalry.

More appropriate, however, in the wake of the Blue Devils' 14-9 victory Saturday, might have been "Forks barely escapes The Valley," or perhaps, "Late breaks assist Forks' rule of The Valley."

The Blue Devils retained neighborhood bragging rights when Joe Aston sprinted 5 yards around left end for a touchdown with 55.7 seconds remaining, and teammate Tim Zdimal intercepted a CV pass near midfield with six seconds left.

But assuredly, they'll not have any dominance to reflect on. Not this year, not after posting their narrowest margin of victory over CV since a one-point tickler in 1996.

"They're a good football team, and we knew that," Forks coach Kelsey Green said. "People were coming to me all week and saying, 'Naw, really?' Well, I hope they came to the game. Because if they just read about it and see us by 14-9 and think we didn't play well, they're out of their minds.

"That's a good football team."

But in the waning moments, CV was a good football team that committed several costly

blunders.

The Warriors (4-1) took a 9-7 lead when, on the first play of the final quarter, Matt Mullins passed to Nick Dadamio for a 7-yard touchdown.

Three punts and a turnover later, Forks, still down 9-7, took possession of the football at its 42-yard line with 4:29 remaining.

On the second play of the drive, the Warriors were called for roughing the passer, a penalty that moved the football to CV's 37. Five plays later, on third down from the 35-yard line, Blue Devils quarterback Bryan Lance dropped back and passed deep intended for Drew Pero. The pass was incomplete, but CV was called for pass interference.

What followed was the critical penalty, a dead-ball unsportsmanlike conduct infraction against CV coach Jay Hope for protesting the call. That advanced the ball half-the-distance to the goal line, or, the 10-yard line.

Aston picked up 5 yards to the 5, and on second down was stopped for no gain.

On third down, with 59 seconds remaining, Aston took off to his left, continued a wide path to the outside and ran in without a touch from a defender. Dylan Warner's second successful PAT kick accounted for the final point of the game.

Chenango Valley started at its 21-yard line after the ensuing kickoff, and moved to its 45 in five plays.

On second down after Mullins spiked the football to stop the clock with 13 1/2 seconds remaining, Mullins passed down the middle. The ball caromed high off the hands of a receiver and was picked off by sophomore Zdimal.

All that remained was Lance taking a knee, and Forks improved to a 4-1 record.

"That last one, we got a timeout (before the TD) and Chick (assistant coach Dave Chickanosky) talked about a different blocking scheme. We just took it a little wider," Green said. "Joey is a tough 5-yard runner, a little sparkplug. That's who we wanted with it, and Jarred Wells threw a nice block."

As for the penalty that brought the football to the 10, Hope accepted full responsibility.

"We talk to our kids about that kind of stuff all the time," he said. "I'm the leader of the ship, I'll take the blame on that one. I have to. I did it."

The game amounted to a showcase for CV's passing game, featuring junior quarterback Mullins and a talented cast of dependable receivers.

Mullins completed 16 of 27 throws for 196 yards, demonstrating quality decision making behind some excellent pass protection.

On a 79-yard drive for CV's touchdown to open the fourth quarter, Mullins spread six completions for an 80-yard total to three receivers.

"He's got a lot of poise back there," Green said of Mullins. "We didn't get a lot of pressure on him, and he's very accurate. They spread you, they all can run, they can catch it and he can throw it."

Mullins said: "For the previous four games, we were opening up the run. (Forks) knew we could throw it, but I think they were expecting us to run the ball a little more than we threw it."

CV struck first on a 34-yard field goal from Dadamio 5:09 into the game.

Forks answered on its first possession of the second quarter when a 28-yard Lance-to-Garrett Cade pass play brought the ball to the 7, and Nick Stephens rushed in on the next play.

"It just shows that we can come from behind, that we never give up," Warner said of the outcome. "It's Forks football. You never give up."

Forks' Josh Cary added, "There were two prepared football teams, both physical teams. I think the game came down to who made the fewer mistakes."

	1	2	3	4		Tot
Chenango Forks	00	07	00	07	-	14
Chenango Valley	3	0	0	6	-	09

CV - Nick Dadamio 34 FG
CF - Nick Stephens 7 run (Dylan Warner kick)
CV - Derek Haven 7 pass from Matt Mullins (kick blocked)
CF - Joe Aston 5 run (Warner kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

	CV	CF
First Downs	16	9
Rushes-Yards	32-99	40-171
Comp-Att-Int	16-27-2	1-5-0
Passing Yards	196	28
Total Offense	59-295	45-199
Punts-Ave yards	3-31.0	1-63.0
Fumbles-Lost	3-1	3-2
Penalties-Yards	7-70	3-28

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Chenango Valley rushing

Trevor Cola 18-64
Derek Haven 11-31
Justin Iams 1-2
Matt Schaffer 1-1
Brian Stinson 1-1

Chenango Forks rushing

Bryan Lance 11-75
Joe Aston 6-27, 1 TD
Nick Stephens 9-23, 1 TD
Dylan Warner 5-21
Joe Nicholson 6-18
Jarred Wells 3-7

Chenango Valley passing

Matt Mullins 16-for-27, 196 yards, 1 TD, 2 int.

Chenango Forks passing

Bryan Lance 1-for-4, 28 yards
Dylan Warner 0-for-1

Chenango Valley receiving

Nick Dadamio 5-69
Trevor Cola 4-54
Cory Micha 4-54
Derek Haven 3-19, 1 TD

Chenango Forks receiving:

Garret Cade 1-28

JV Score: Chenango Valley won, 13-12

Preview Article:

by Kevin Stevens
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

CV-Forks rivalry has new slant

While Forks versus The Valley tends to generate its share of interest annually from followers of high school football hereabouts, Saturday's contest seems to have generated just a bit extra attention.

With good reason.

It'll be Chenango Forks' five-time defending Class B champions crossing the river to face Chenango Valley at 1:30 Saturday. And suffice to say, this renewal of a rivalry that has been all Blue Devils for some time -- no CV victory since 1994 -- has the potential to be a beauty.

This year, it is CV with a win streak to speak of, seven in succession dating to last season.

And the unbeaten record belongs to the Warriors (4-0) as opposed to Forks (3-1).

"Our approach is, yes, it's a big game because it's CV-Forks, but it's a big game because it's an important division game," said coach Jay Hope, whose CV squad has outscored its opponents by 122-45.

"Just like the (NFL) road used to go through Pittsburgh, this road goes through Chenango Forks."

Chenango Valley, Chenango Forks and Windsor enter Week 5 with 1-0 records in Division III play. Just two Division III teams will qualify for Class B playoffs.

"It's an important game in the division, has all the makings of a heck of an afternoon," Blue Devils coach Kelsey Green said.

The Warriors' multi-dimensional offense is of concern to Forks, particularly the speed with which they attack. While the Blue Devils may have a slight edge in body size, they'll want no part of a prolonged footrace.

"(CV's) Trevor Cola has had a highlight film already in four weeks," Green said. "Derek Haven is a good, tough runner. They mix it up well offensively. Matt Mullins throws it well and Nick Dadamio is a heck of a receiver.

"It's definitely a very legitimate offense that can score from anywhere on the field.

"Defensively, it's a lot of the same kids-- and they're pretty stubborn up front."

Forks, winner of two games by a combined 78-13 since a Week 2 loss to Corning East, last fell to Chenango Valley in 1994 by a 14-13 count. It has been, however, since 1999 that the Warriors scored a second touchdown in a game against Forks.

"We definitely don't have to play that up," Hope said of the Blue Devils' sustained superiority. "Our seniors, they want to be the ones to beat Forks. For their seniors, they don't want to be the ones to give up the victory."

Post-game Article:

Fifth Quarter:

Published Tuesdays in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

Big plays plentiful for Forks, CV

Big plays and big swings were the order of the day Saturday at Chenango Valley, where Chenango Forks extended its win streak over the Warriors to 12 with a come-from-behind 14-9 escape.

The Blue Devils' winning drive, which began with 4:29 remaining, closed with Joe Aston rushing 5 yards for a score with 55.7 seconds remaining. But leading to that was a vast assortment of critical plays turned in by both sides.

There was a 32-yard Matt Mullins-to-Trevor Cola pass play on third-and-14, which kept alive a drive that resulted in Nick Dadamio's 34-yard field goal for the Warriors midway through the opening quarter.

Aston's pass interception near midfield two plays into the second quarter, setting up a drive that landed Nick Stephens a 7-yard TD rush for Forks. A play before that touchdown, 6-foot-4 Garrett Cade came back on an under thrown ball from Bryan Lance to make a 28-yard reception in traffic.

And Forks' Aaron Phelps creating a fumble that teammate Max Ginty scooped up and returned 68 yards to CV's 36-yard line.

And a 63-yard punt by Lance that hopped into the end zone, leaving CV -- ahead 9-7 at the time -- 80 yards of real estate to try to cover.

"When you get down to it, it was a big pass play to Garrett, bend-but-don't-break defense, the big fumble -- which was huge," Forks coach Kelsey Green said. "Then we get caught by a lineman. There were shades of Bobby Evans over here, picking one off and not getting caught."

Green was flashing back to 1996, a 23-22 victory at CV in which sophomore end Evans returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown.

For a time, Forks' primary offensive threat was quarterback Lance on the move, scrambling from pass mode into decent chunks of yardage. In fact, during the Devils' opening possession of the third quarter, he carried four times for 65 yards.

"We really didn't have many people open, (CV) was dropping straight back," Lance said. "After I got past the line, I had at least 15 yards every time."

The Blue Devils lost two-way standout Joe Nicholson to an ankle injury on the opening play of the second quarter.

"We really rallied around him," teammate Dylan Warner said. "He was our inspiration in this one."

Chenango Valley made hay game-long with its passing game, as Matt Mullins closed with 16 completions for 196 yards.

"We have kids who can throw it and catch it," CV coach Jay Hope said. "We do a lot of things in the summer and the kids are on the same page. Up front, we've had some good protection. Forks wasn't really coming after us, they were more dropping off to spots, even dropping their ends off, so we felt there was plenty of room to throw. It was just a matter of finding the right spots.

"We try to throw a controlled passing game, rather than always try to hit a home run. We take our shots, but we use our passing game as kind of a mid-range running game."