WINDSOR -- The faces may have largely changed,
but for Chenango Forks, Friday night still yielded a most
familiar outcome.
Lukas Aston and Jacob Green each ran for a pair
of touchdowns as the Blue Devils rolled to a 33-8 victory over
host Windsor in a non-league football game.
It was the 14th straight season-opening victory
for Forks, coming off its ninth Section 4 title in 10 years last
season. And considering the plethora of newcomers to the
starting lineup, it was an impressive performance that should
garner the attention of future opponents.
In particular the performance by Aston, who
missed nearly all of last season due to a torn ligament in his
knee suffered in Week 2.
He rushed for 140 yards, 132 of those coming in
the first half, including a 58-yard touchdown run in the second
quarter that helped Forks seize control.
With the Blue Devils leading 7-0 and facing a
first down at its 42-yard line, Aston took a handoff from
quarterback Zach Jeske, ran up the middle before cutting outside
left around the 35-yard line and outrunning several Windsor
defenders for a touchdown that gave Forks a 13-0 lead with 8:51
remaining in the second quarter.
Green scored on an 11-yard run with 1:23 left in
the first half to increase the lead to 20-0. Aston added a
1-yard touchdown run with 8:16 left in the third quarter to give
Forks a 27-0 lead.
"I've been looking forward to this game for a
long time, waiting for that first game ever since I got
injured," Aston said. "It's great to be back."
Green, among the many inexperienced Forks players
thrust into significant roles, tallied 88 yards on the ground,
part of a Forks rushing attack that piled up 292 yards. In
addition to his 11-yard touchdown run in the second quarter,
Green added another 11-yard touchdown run just seconds into the
fourth quarter for a 33-0 Forks lead.
Defensively, Forks limited Windsor to seven first
downs and 123 yards of total offense.
"We're definitely thrilled with the start," said
Forks coach Dave Hogan, who handed his brother Tim a second
straight blowout defeat following last season's 53-16
season-opening romp. "Anytime you can win the way we did, and
everybody plays, that's good.
"I thought we played well in all three phases of
the game."
Forks opened the game impressively, picking up
three first downs on its first five plays to reach the Windsor
34-yard-line before a botched pitch led to an 11-yard loss and
an eventual punt.
But Windsor went three-and-out, and Forks took
over at its 46-yard line on its second possession.
This time, the Blue Devils would score, as Alec
Fleicher took a pitch right from Jeske and scored on a 5-yard
run on fourth-and-3, capping a 10-play drive and putting Forks
up 7-0 with 2:08 left in the first quarter.
Windsor did little on its second possession, and
moments later Aston scored on his long run to help turn the game
into a rout.
"We thought we had a good plan to stop the
midline," Tim Hogan said. "And we did at times but Lukas is
tough to stop down the middle."
