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2014 Chenango Forks Varsity Football

Game 2 vs Tioga

The Blue Devils acquire sweet revenge, 21-7!
Score two fourth quarter TDs for the victory!

Articles courtesy of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin and the Valley Sports Report

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4th-quarter touchdowns carry Chenango Forks past Tioga

Kevin Stevens, Press & Sun-Bulletin

  • Sophomore Tim McDonald rushes 56 yards for Blue Devils' go-ahead touchdown early in fourth quarter
  • Chenango Forks' defense stops Tigers for no gain on key fourth-and-1 play early in final quarter

TOWN OF CHENANGO A smidge of fortuity coupled with a whole lot of sound execution helped Chenango Forks to a 21-7 victory Saturday over Tioga Central in a matchup of football programs that have logged seven Section 4 championships over the last five years.

Sophomore Tim McDonald dashed 56 yards for a touchdown that put the Blue Devils out front for keeps 95 seconds into the final quarter. Moments later Forks defenders squelched a fourth-and-1 play from the Tigers' 35-yard line and cashed in on the subsequent wrap-it-up drive.

The outcome all but assured a No. 1 ranking for Class C's defending state champions, and brought the Blue Devils a measure of feel-good after absorbing their lone loss of 2013 from the Tigers­ 7-0 in Week 2 on Tioga County grass.

The play that'll prompt palms-to-ceiling, eyes-rollin' exasperation come Tioga film study occurred about four minutes before halftime with Forks trailing 7-0 and staring down fourth-and-10 from the Tigers' 27 yard line. Forks quarterback Jack Sherwood delivered a pass that brushed the hands of intended receiver L.J. Watson and into those of Robert Story just a bit ahead.

Watson went airborne near Forks' sideline in an attempt to make the catch, only to have wet football graze wet hands and continue on to Story at the 2-yard line.

On the next snap fullback Ryan Bronson rushed in and, with Tony Silvanic's PAT kick it was all-square.

Tioga (1-1) took its next possession 49 yards on five plays before Forks' Hunter Luybli recovered a fumbled exchange from center at the Devils' 21-yard line half-a-minute before halftime.

"That may have been the play of the game for us, because that was fourth down," Devils coach David Hogan said of his team's lone pass completion. "We had that tip and we were able to punch it in just before halftime ­ that was huge."

Bronson's TD answered one produced by Tioga on the second play of the second quarter ­ and a thing of beauty it was. On third-and-goal from the 6, Tigers quarterback Sam Burns surveyed while on the move to his right and golden-touched a pass that Justin Fiske went airborne to receive above and behind two defenders in the back-right corner of the end zone.

Tioga's defense held on Forks' opening second-half possession when a fourth-and-8 pass from Sherwood to Story was ruled to have been caught out of bounds, turning over the football to the Tigers at their 34.

Nine plays brought the visitors to Forks' 10-yard line, from which point Tanner Folk's attempt at a go-ahead 27-yard field goal line-drove left of target with 56 seconds to play in the third quarter.

Five Forks rushes advanced the ball to its 44-yard line, from which point McDonald powered through trouble a couple yards into a rush, accelerated up the field, eluded an attempted foot tackle by Adam Zwierlein at the 10 and proceeded across the goal line on the fourth play of the fourth quarter.

"It felt pretty great. My linemen had great blocks, pancaked 'em, I broke one tackle and sent it ­ it was great," said McDonald, who has two TDs of 30-plus yards two games into his sophomore season.

Tioga took over after the kickoff at its 26-yard line and three plays later faced fourth-and-1. Following a Tigers timeout with 8:16 remaining, they handed the football to Jesse Manuel but he was stopped for no gain and Forks took over at the 35.

Surprised by the Tigers' decision, Forks coach David Hogan was asked?

"No, I don't think so. I think both programs have confidence," he said. "We try to win games up front and if you can't get a yard … "

In need of a put-it-away score, the Blue Devils converted first on third-and-7 when Watson rushed 10 yards with aid of Bronson's lead block, and then on fourth-and-4 when Watson picked up 11 yards to Tioga's 5. Two plays later Watson carried across from the 4, over the left side behind exquisite blocking with 2:45 remaining.

"It was a dogfight in there, I just tried to get through the seams and into the end zone, finish the game," Watson said.

McDonald rushed for 78 of Forks' 191-yard total, with Bronson adding 62. Manuel totaled 129 combined rushing and receiving yards for Tioga, his afternoon including a 42-yard catch-and-run effort three plays before the critical giveaway just before halftime.

FORKS RIDES FOURTH-QUARTER SCORES TO 21-7 WIN OVER TIOGA

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report

BINGHAMTON — Another Tioga-Chenango Forks match-up and another classic battle.

Forks used a pair of fourth-quarter TDs to break open a deadlock en route to a 21-7 win here Saturday afternoon in non-divisional Section IV football action.

"I'm very proud of my guys," said Tioga coach Nick Aiello. "I thought we matched their intensity, especially in the first half and coming out of the gate in the second half."

In a battle of defending Section IV champions, the Tigers dominated the first quarter, forcing a Blue Devil fumble on their first possession, and running 17 offensive plays to four for Forks.

The second quarter opened with Tioga at the Forks' 6-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, QB Sam Burns lofted a perfectly-thrown pass to the back corner off the end zone over a pair of defenders to Justin Fiske, who was able to get a foot in-bounds for the score, to cap a 14-play, 52-yard drive.

Tanner Folk's PAT kick gave Tioga a 7-0 lead with 11:12 remaining in the first half.

After an exchange of punts, Forks benefited from a fortuitous bounce in the midst of an eight-play, 59-yard drive to tie the game with 3 minutes left in the half.

Facing 4th-and-10 at the Tioga 27, Forks QB Jack Sherwood's pass glanced off the hands of intended receiver Tony Silvanic and caromed to 6-4 split end Robert Story, who rumbled to the 2-yard line.

Ryan Bronson plunged into the end zone for the game-tying score on the next play.

"It was a big momentum swing," said Forks coach Dave Hogan. "If you went to one play, that might have been the play of the game for us.

"It was fourth down and we were able to punch it in right after that just before halftime," he added. "That was huge."

"In big games you need the bounces to go your way," said Aiello. "They definitely had a couple go their way."

Tioga threatened in the final minute of the first half, thanks to a 44-yard pass from Burns to Jesse Manuel, but a botched snap resulted in a turnover to end the drive.

Chenango Forks opened the second half with a long drive, but the Tigers' defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs at its 34.

Tioga responded by driving the ball to the Blue Devils' 10, but Folk's field goal attempt with 56 seconds remaining in the third quarter was wide left.

Six plays later, Tim McDonald broke three tackles and raced 56 yards for a score to give Forks a 14-7 lead with 10:25 left in the game.

On their next possession, the Tigers gambled on 4th-and-1 at their 35, but Manuel was stuffed for no gain..

"Big games are games of momentum," said Aiello. "We had three guys around the ball and (McDonald) was able to break loose on that long touchdown — that was a huge momentum swing.

"If we were going to go on a long drive, we had to take a shot there on fourth down." he added. "We gave them the short field."

Ten plays later, Watson bulled in from 4 yards out with 2:45 left in the game to wrap up the win for the Blue Devils.

"It was a great game," said Aiello. "21-7 definitely doesn't tell the whole story."

Forks ran for 185 yards and passed for 25 in the win, while Tioga gained 160 yards on the ground and 62 through the air.

Manuel rushed for 72, Brad Jump gained 67 yards — both on 17 carries — and Burns added 17 yards on six carries.

Burns also completed all four of his pass attempts for 62 yards, including a pair to Manuel to 51 yards.

Tioga, now 1-1, hosts Candor Friday.
01 02 03 04   Tot
Chenango Forks 0 7 0 14 - 21
Tioga 0 7 0 0 - 7
  • T  - Justin Fiske 6y pass from S. Burns (Tanner Folk kick)
  • CF - Ryan Bronson 2y run (Tony Silvanic kick)
  • CF - Tim McDonald 56y run (Silvanic kick)
  • CF - LJ Watson 4y run (Silvanic kick)
    •

TEAM STATISTICS 

  Tioga CF
First Downs 9 12
Rushes-Yards 37-154 37-191
Passing Yards 66 25
Comp-Att-Int 5-5-0 1-3-0
Total Offense 42-220 40-216
Punts-Ave yards 2-18 1-40
Fumbles-Lost 5-2 2-1
Penalties-Yards 3-15 2-20
.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Tioga rushing

  • Jesse Manuel     15-74
  • Brad Jump        17-65
  • Sam Burns         3-11
  • Adam Zwierlein    2-4

Chenango Forks rushing

  • Tim McDonald      5-78, 1 TD
  • Ryan Bronson     16-62, 1 TD
  • LJ Watson         9-46, 1 TD
  • Jack Sherwood     3-8
  • Cody Lamond       2-0
  • Isaiah Roman      1-(-1)
  • Dylan Studer      1-(-2)

Tioga passing

  • Sam Burns 5-for-5, 66y, 1 TD, 0 int.

Chenango Forks passing

  • Jack Sherwood 1-for-3, 25y, 0 TDs, 0 int.

Tioga receiving

  • Jesse Manuel      3-55
  • Justin Fiske      1-6, 1 TD
  • Adam Zwierlein    1-5

Chenango Forks receiving:  

  • Robert Story      1-25

JV Score:  Chenango Forks 38, Oneonta 12 (CF now 2-0)

Preview Article(s) 

Teams played to a 7-0 outcome last season decided by Jesse Manuel’s touchdown in waning minutes

The teams that last year provided arguably Section 4’s regular-season football Game of the Year will have another go at one another when Tioga visits Chenango Forks at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

It was Week 2 of last season when Jesse Manuel’s touchdown rush of 2˝ yards with 2˝ minutes remaining lifted the host Tigers to a 7-0 win, dealing Forks’ record a lone stain on the way to state supremacy in Class C. That night, the Blue Devils scraped out 95 offensive yards.

Two of the preeminent programs in Section 4, Forks and Tioga have combined for a 46-5 record from the start of 2012 to the present.

“It means a lot to me, they took our perfect season away from us last year and we definitely have a lot of fire in our bellies for this one,” said Blue Devils fullback/linebacker Ryan Bronson.

“Very big game. We’ll be very motivated to do well this year,” said Forks QB/DB Jack Sherwood.

Tioga opened with a come-from-behind 25-12 win at Newark Valley, with junior tailback Manuel rushing for 199 yards and senior fullback Brad Jump adding 105. Forks rushed for 326 yards in a 49-6 coast past Johnson City.


By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report

SATURDAY

Tioga at Chenango Forks, 1:30 p.m.: A year ago, defending Section IV Class D champion Tioga knocked off defending Class C champion Chenango Forks, 7-0, in one of the hardest-hitting contests I've ever seen.

Chenango Forks went on to win 10 straight games en route to a state title, while Tioga advanced to and lost in the state semifinals for the third consecutive season.

The two hook up again Saturday afternoon and you can bet Chenango Forks, despite its state title, has not forgotten about Tioga's win in Week 2 last season.

Forks graduated QB J.C. Sweeney and all-state running back Isaiah Zimmer, but the Blue Devils may be more difficult to defend this year with Ryan Bronson, speed L.J. Watson and option QB Jack Sherwood all capable of making big plays.

The Tigers will get Dylan Babcock and Dylan House back this week to shore up their defense and they'll need them.

Prediction: Last year, an experienced Tioga team caught a Forks team with a couple of young players in key positions early in the season and were able to pull off the upset. This year, the tables are turned a bit with the Tigers featuring youth and / or inexperience at several key spots. …. Chenango Forks 20, Tioga 6.
 

Post-game Midweek Article(s):    

Fifth Quarter:  Forks toughs one out

Kevin Stevens, Press & Sun-Bulletin

Chenango Forks' 21-7 victory against Tioga made it two games this season — and 32 from 2009 to the present — in which the Blue Devils limited an opponent to a single-figure point total.

"What a game to watch. You like defense — you come to this game, I'll tell you what," said Forks coach David Hogan. "That was a very, very exciting game between two very strong programs, we were fortunate to come out with the 'W.' "

The Tigers had the better of things early on. By the time Sam Burns connected with Justin Fiske for a 6-yard scoring pass on the second play of the second quarter, Tioga had snapped the football 20 times to Forks' four, and total yardage to that juncture favored the Tigers, 74-16.

It was 7-7 at halftime and the teams traded empty third-quarter possessions before the Devils went 80 yards on six plays for the go-ahead strike, that coming on a 56-yard, tackle-breaking touchdown run by sophomore Tim McDonald.

"I thought he was stopped because everyone was right in the middle," Hogan said. "It was a play just off our guard, next thing you know I see him into the secondary. … I couldn't see much other than that he was able to bounce out of there."

To go with the win, Hogan was especially pleased to see arguably the Devils' two most valuable two-way players — FB/LB Ryan Bronson and OG/LB Hunter Luybli — make it through OK.

"Hunter was spelled but he finished the game, that was the one I was concerned about with the hamstring," he said. "Ryan's (ankle) was certainly not 100 percent but he played the whole game both ways, can't ask for more than that."

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: TIOGA'S AIELLO BELIEVES LOSS AT FORKS WILL PROVE BENEFICIAL

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report

When you've been to three consecutive Class D state semifinals, it's tough to consider a defeat beneficial, but coach Nick Aiello believes Tioga's loss to defending Class C state titleist Chenango Forks will help his team in the long run.

"I think anytime you play a strong program, a team that year after year puts a quality 11 on the field, it's going to benefit you one way or another.

"In this case, it was a loss," said Aiello. "Now, we'll look at the film and really see what we're not doing well and what we need to work on and that will make a difference in the long run.

"Anytime you play a program like Chenango Forks, you're going to benefit from it in the long run.

"Another thing I saw as the game went on was our guys gaining confidence and testing themselves to make plays," added Aiello. "We didn't make enough plays to win the game, but at the same time you could see the confidence growing and that's the confidence we need going into our division."

Tioga's offense moved the ball well between the 20s, said Aiello, but didn't make enough plays in the red zone.

"It was a combination of things," said Aiello, crediting the Blue Devil defense.

"Twice, we botched snaps inside the 20. We have to take the mentality that when we're in the red zone, the defense is going to be pretty good and we just have to kick it up an extra notch to punch it in.

"We were running the same plays that got us into the red zone," added Aiello. "Some of that might be on me to be a little more aggressive in the red zone, but at the same time we were looking to run the same plays that we had been running effectively."

Aiello noted that his young line is gaining experience and depth in the early going.

"We're still young up front and heading into next week there's a chance the line will look a little bit different," he said. "We're still figuring it out.

"The one thing we've been able to do these first two weeks against good opponents is create depth," said Aiello. "We had a lot of guys get a lot of reps in practice and a lot of playing time in the games.

"Once we get a line finalized that we're comfortable with, I think we'll be just fine and we'll have depth."

Senior QB Sammy Burns was 4-for-4 on the day and continues to make strides, said Aiello.

"I keep saying Sammy (Burns) is going to come into his own, especially now that we're getting into the division games. I was pleased with the way he handled the big game. I think he'll continue to grow as his confidence grows."

Defensively, Aiello was pleased with what he saw Saturday.

"I've been saying since preseason that defense needs to be our strength.

"We have a good core group of returners on defense and pretty much all 11 saw good playing time last year," said Aiello. "On top of that, I think we're a little more athletic than we have been. We were able to utilize that speed and I was really happy with how aggressive we were on defense — a lot of guys flying to the football and that's what we need."

Aiello said special teams did its job.

"Our kickoff coverage was good.

Tanner (Folk) punted well and made his extra-point attempt," said Aiello. "It would have been nice to get that field goal, but I think the conditions may have an impact on that.

"As a whole, I was pretty pleased with special teams," he added.

GRADE FOR WEEK 2: B. "I think their effort was outstanding … hopefully they see the potential is there and we're doing some great things right now. At the same time, we have to get better at those little things if we are going to be the team we want to be.

"I was pleased with the way we played — the way we got after it and were able to match their intensity and the way we were aggressive the entire game," said Aiello.

"In terms of how we played," continued Aiello, "we didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had. Some of that's on me, we have a lot of skill guys and I need to utilize them and be more aggressive with the play-calling, but at the same time we're still missing the little execution things that make the difference."


 

 

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