Game 1 - 2008 Chenango Forks Varsity Football

Game 1 vs Waverly
Blue Devils blank Waverly 7-0!
Win is eleventh straight season opening victory!

Articles courtesy of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
For Press photo gallery , click here

Forks defense smothers Waverly

Freije's TD run all Blue Devils need

By Robert B. Bonaparte
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

TOWN OF CHENANGO -- Chenango Forks used its vintage, stifling defense to win its season opener, but it was Waverly that sent an early-season statement to other teams in the Section 4 Football Conference.

Ryan Freije ran 14 yards for a second-quarter touchdown and Forks held a determined Waverly squad out of the red zone in a 7-0 non-league victory on a damp Saturday afternoon.

"To start off 1-0 against a quality team like Waverly feels fantastic," said Forks coach David Hogan, who earned his first victory after being an assistant for 11 seasons. "There's no question that the kids are confident that we're going to have a good year."

Waverly is also confident that it can build on last year's 8-1 record, its best in 55 years, and on Saturday's hard-fought loss to the seven-time defending Section 4 Class B champions.

"I think when people play us, they know that we're going to bring a high level of intensity," Waverly coach Jason Miller said. "What I'm happy about is that the kids expected to win and we're upset that we didn't.

"We just got to get rid of these mistakes."

The Wolverines' biggest mistake stopped their longest drive of the game midway in the third quarter. They had kept the drive alive with fourth-down runs from Kevin Gorman and quarterback Logan Walker.

But after Walker's 1-yard run put Waverly on Forks' 33-yard line -- the closest it would get to the Blue Devils' end zone in the game -- a holding penalty on the next play negated a 9-yard run by Walker that would have given Waverly a first-and-10 on Forks' 24-yard line.

Then, on third-and-15, Gorman was tackled by Mike Szymkowicz for an 8-yard loss, forcing Waverly to punt.

"Penalties killed us," Miller said. "We got to better on that. We don't have a choice."

The Wolverines had one final drive in the fourth quarter. But Forks' Shane Baron made a open-field tackle that limited Joe Terwilliger's carry to two yards and made it fourth-and-11 on Waverly's 44-yard line.

The tackle forced Waverly to punt with four minutes and 10 seconds remaining. The Blue Devils ran the ball three times, the latter a Baron three-yard run for a first down that enabled them to run out the clock.

Baron had team-highs in carries (21) and yards (74). The senior back also had two fumbles, both recovered by Waverly, including one on Forks' first offensive play of the game.

"I know it's wet, but it's not an excuse," Hogan said. "We need to secure the football."

Baron's runs of 14 and 11 yards set up Freije's 14-yard run up the gut of Waverly's defense.

"It was some great blocks on that play," Freije said. "That's what gets you there, the blocks.

"When I got the ball, I just saw a hole open up and get bigger and bigger and there was the end zone."

It was one of the few hiccups for Waverly's defense, which held Forks to three first-downs in the second half. Miller hopes this won't be the last time these two teams play this season.

"Our goal is to play these guys in (the Section 4 Class B Tournament)," Miller said. "We held our ground. Forks will punish a lot of teams in the second half and we didn't allow that to happen. I just feel bad our offense couldn't do anything."

Defense never rests as Forks tops Waverly

By Dave Post

Sayre Morning Times

If you love big offensive numbers and lots of scoring, Chenango Forks High School was definitely NOT the place to be on Saturday.

If you love good, hard-hitting defense, you would have been right in your element at Saturday’s 7-0 win for Forks over Waverly. How hard was the hitting? The teams combined for four fumbles in the game’s first 12 plays.

The two defenses combined to allow just 259 total yards (115 of which the teams then lost to penalties) and neither squad was able to sustain a drive. The most consistent drive of the day was a 12-play, third-quarter Waverly march that began at the Wolverines’ 34-yard line and advanced as far as the Blue Devils’ 33 before being derailed by a broken play, one good surge by the Forks defense and a penalty. The penalty was particularly devastating, as the first-down run of Wolverines’ QB Logan Walker — which would have given Waverly a first down at the Forks’ 24-yard line — was wiped out by the holding call.

“We had one drive going and we had a mistake in the backfield where somebody went the wrong way on one play, then we had a first down called back by a holding call,” added Miler. “Those are mistakes we can’t make.”
Together, the squads had five plays of more than 10 yards. The difference was that the Blue Devils put three of those together on one drive and that drive started at Waverly’s 40-yard line after the Devils’ defense pinned the Wolverines deep.

“Our defense was really outstanding,” said Waverly coach Jason Miller. “I’m proud of the way the kids played. It was a very physical game and that’s something we can build on.

“We just have to get better, technique-wise, especially on offense, but we were going against a team that’s known for its defense and played well.”
Forks’ game-winning drive opened with a 15-yard run up the middle by Shane Baron, who led Forks with 74 yards on 21 carries. Seeing success for the first time all day, the Devils took an if-it-isn’t-broke-don’t-fix-it approach and rode Baron up the middle until the Wolverines stopped it, which they did two plays later, after a 10-yard run. Stopping Baron wasn’t quite enough, though, as Ryan Freije took a handoff on the next play and raced 14-yards into the end zone. Dan Grady’s PAT kick brought the scoring to a close with 5:23 to play in the first half.

Waverly moved the ball well at times, but just couldn’t seal the deal.
In what became a field-position game, part of the Wolverines’ woes were brought about by special teams. On the possession before Forks scored, Waverly was pinned back at its 7-yard line by an excellent coffin-corner punt by Grady. That and the Devils’ defense were what set up the score. For the game, Grady averaged 39.2 yards per punt, often leaving the Wolverines needing to cover 80 or more yards to score. Chenango Forks, on the other hand, started inside its 30-yard line just twice, one of which came in the Devils’ final possession.

Waverly did have a couple of golden opportunities in the game. The first came early in the first period, after the Blue Devils coughed up the ball at Waverly’s 49-yard line. Waverly managed just three yards in three plays, though, and had to punt.

A few possessions later, Forks started with the ball at Waverly’s 49-yard line after another fumble but the Devils managed just six yards on three plays and punted.

Kevin Gorman, who led Waverly with 53 yards rushing in 13 carries, and Chris Nocchi paced the Wolverines defensive charge, with plenty of help from Greg Kipling, who caught the only pass attempted in the game — a nine-yard completion from Walker — and the rest of the defense.

“We’re not walking out of here feeling that this is a moral victory because we held Forks to seven points.” said Miller. “The kids truly expected to win.”
Chenango Forks will host Corning East Saturday in an attempt to go 2-0 on its new field.

Norwich, an 18-14 winner over Owego at Norwich Friday night, invades Waverly’s Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday night for the Wolverines’ home opener.