2014 Chenango Forks Varsity Football

ENDWELL – In a showdown of Section 4 football heavyweights, it was the Kyle Balmer-to-Michael Palmer connection for Maine-Endwell that administered the knockout blow.

The pair hooked up for three touchdowns, and the Spartans' defense was its usual stout self in a 20-7 victory over Chenango Forks on Friday night in a matchup of reigning state champions.

In front of a crowd of up to 9,000 by M-E athletic director Dave Cook's estimate, M-E (6-0) extended its Section 4 record winning streak to 44 games while putting a halt to Forks' 16-game winning streak.

Balmer tossed touchdown passes of 5, 28, and 12 yards to Palmer, the last of those coming with a dose of luck and in the process effectively closed the door on the Blue Devils.

M-E led 14-7 when it took over at the Forks' 32-yard line following an Adam Gallagher interception of a pass by Forks quarterback Jack Sherwood with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

An illegal procedure penalty and a sack of Balmer put M-E in an unenviable third-and-22 situation at the Forks' 44. However, on third down, Balmer rolled left and lofted a deep pass that Palmer made a leaping grab of at the 5 to give M-E a first-and-goal.

After Gallagher was stuffed for a 7-yard loss on first down, Balmer's second-down pass was tipped by Gallagher near the 5 before Balmer managed to come down with the pass in the end zone for a touchdown that put M-E ahead 20-7 with 7:04 remaining.

Forks' two subsequent drives ended on downs at its 43 and with an interception of a last-gasp Sherwood pass by M-E's Andrew Grassi in the waning seconds.

"Sometimes you have to have luck. We had some today," M-E coach Matt Gallagher, referring to the tipped touchdown pass. "But I also think that we were able to do some of the things we always do.

 

"(Forks) is tough, they're going to go a long way. It was good for both of us to have a game like this, it makes me happy and the rest of the team happy that we won a big game like this. Under all that pressure they did a great job."

It was a well-played contest between the top-ranked teams in the state in their respective classifications, M-E in Class B and Forks in Class C.

And it was M-E that started off impressively, thanks first to the legs of Balmer and then some great awareness in the end zone by Palmer.

Balmer ripped off runs of 17, 8, and 10 yards to help move M-E to the Forks' 10. Then, following two plays that went for no gain and a 5-yard run by Gallagher, Balmer rolled right on fourth down and fired a pass to the right side of the end zone, Palmer hauling in the pass while stopping long enough to get his feet in bounds as M-E grabbed a 6-0 lead with 7:32 to go in the first quarter.

Forks (5-1) answered with a strong drive of its own, moving from its 35 to the M-E 15. That drive was squelched, though, when Sherwood was sacked by Cordell Woolfolk for a 12-yard loss on fourth-and-7.

The score remained 6-0 until late in the second quarter, when both teams struck for big scoring plays, the first of those coming again via the Balmer-to-Palmer combo.

On third-and-10, Balmer — given plenty of time on the play by his offensive line to survey the field — let fly a gorgeous deep ball that Palmer caught in the back right side of the end zone past a falling Forks defender for a 28-yard strike that increased M-E's lead to 14-0 with 2:55 to go.

"There was no excuse for it not to be a perfect ball," Balmer said of the ball to Palmer. "I had a lot of time all night, the line did a great job. Receivers did a good job of getting open, and with my receivers I trust them enough to throw it up one-on-one."

Forks answered quickly, however, when Sherwood found L.J. Watson in stride with a pass between two M-E defenders at the Spartans' 15, Watson breaking a tackle afterwards to reach the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown reception that cut M-E's lead to 14-7 with 2:02 left in the second quarter.

 

It had the potential to be a momentum shifter, with Forks getting the ball to start the second half. The Blue Devils reached midfield on that opening drive of the third quarter, but Sherwood threw incomplete on third down under heavy pressure from Hunter Hazen and Forks had to punt.

"We talked about that at halftime, if we could drive it down (to start the second half) we had a ballgame," Forks coach Dave Hogan said. "But we struggled moving the ball consistently, and you have to do that against (M-E), we weren't able to do that."

Forks did catch a break when it recovered a fumble at its 42 following a botched pitch by Balmer on M-E's opening drive of the second half, but that drive stalled at the M-E 42 when Hazen broke up a pass on fourth-and-5.

Forks managed six first downs on its five second-half possessions.

"We were a little upset with ourselves (after their touchdown)" said Palmer, who was as impressive defensively in the secondary as he was catching the ball. "But we had to remember that we were still up in the game and to win the second half.

"We stepped it up when we needed to step it up."
 

M-E, Forks delivered on the promise

Kevin Stevens, kstevens@pressconnects.com

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
 ~ Maine-Endwell junior Michael Palmer was best in show, contributing big-time on both sides
 ~ Chenango Forks gave the Spartans all they could handle, and are deserving of remaining No. 1
 ~ Broome County spectators and Section 4 football the better for this exceptional matchup

ENDWELL – No complaints here.

And the guess is, that'll be an opinion shared by the vast majority of the 8,000 or 9,000 spectators on hand for an interscholastic athletic contest which drew — and deserved — what may have been unprecedented advance billing.

Maine-Endwell 20, Chenango Forks 7 was what the scoreboard displayed upon conclusion of a crisp, clean, vigorously contested and mightily intense football game pitting one top-ranked reigning state champion against another.

Seating was spoken for an hour before kickoff on a near-ideal night for football.

The grassy hills on either side of the home bleachers made for a vantage point for hundreds.

Spectators occupied space outside the fence, all the way around the running oval, side-by-side and in spots a few-deep.

Clearly this one mattered to a great deal of people, many of whom had no stake in the outcome but who came out to have a look at what was presumed in advance to be high-quality football.

And both sides delivered.

"It was so much fun. A dream come true," said Hunter Hazen, 214 pounds worth of Spartans defensive stalwart.

"The atmosphere was unreal. It was so much fun — nothing like it," said Spartans quarterback Kyle Balmer, another of the teenagers granted such a tremendous opportunity to experience such a happening.

These guys will bounce grandchildren on their knee one day and share their take on the second Friday in October, 2014, and all that led to it. And hopefully, once the initial disappointment wears off, Forks' personnel will relish their part in it all.

That the better team won should not be disputed. The Spartans had a few more answers — and on this night they had the biggest-impact player in uniform.

Michael Palmer, junior split end/safety, was simply a cut above, and not merely because he was the scorer of all three M-E touchdowns — but let's start with those.

The first came on fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line with 4:28 elapsed, a toe-the-boundary-and-lean delight of a reception of a Balmer pass just across the goal line. It required awareness, concentration and a willingness to absorb a whack that he and the world knew would be coming while he was virtually defenseless. Exquisite, is what it was, and put the home team on top for keeps.

His second TD came via a 28-yard reception 2:55 before halftime, the catch made over a fallen defender in the end zone.

The third? Well, from Balmer's vantage point, it went as follows.

"I saw a big guy in my face and I saw a lot of luck on that play," the quarterback said with a hearty laugh.

Balmer passed under duress, the football deflected off the hands of M-E's Adam Gallagher and into those of Palmer for a 13-yard scoring play to make it 20-7 with 7:04 remaining. The rub o' the green most certainly favored M-E on that one — but was made possible by another superb Balmer-to-Palmer creation.

Two plays prior, on third-and-22, Balmer accepted the snap from center and dashed left, squared his shoulders in the nick of time he had left, and delivered a football that Palmer went airborne to secure despite sound resistance applied by No. 16 in the white jersey, Jack Sherwood.

"He's a pretty special player," was how Forks coach David Hogan summed up the Michael Palmer he watched Friday night.

On the other side, Sherwood-to-L.J. Watson was a connection established, or solidified, that will pay dividends down the pike for Forks.

Forks' offense, for decades one heaviest on the run game and which will remain just that, was forced into an uncharacteristic number of forward passes by Maine-Endwell defenders. Sherwood demonstrated a good bit of poise, and Watson a knack getting it done on the other end.

Biggest of the bunch was a 43-yarder on third-and-10 that brought points 2:02 before halftime — necessary points at that for the Blue Devils. Watson, streaking down the visitors' sideline, snatched the ball out of the air before a defender could do same and proceeded across the goal line.

In fact, Sherwood-to-Watson pass plays netted 77 yards in that second quarter, which ended 51 minutes after opening kickoff.

Yes, 51 minutes, as in businesslike, no-frills football.

And then came a scoreless third quarter in which each side possessed the football twice. That required all of 17 minutes.

"I looked at the clock and thought, 'It's over already?' I was happy, though," said Spartans coach Matt Gallagher.

Mutual respect was the order of the night, as well.

Each had the other's utmost attention. Each knew the other was capable of producing on both sides. These eyes detected no shenanigans, none of the unnecessary after-the-whistle baloney that can bring down a game.

"I saw two very good ball teams go at it," Hogan said. "We told our kids we're very happy with their effort, they never quit, they played hard. This is how you get better, playing teams of that caliber."

Indeed, and those who tend to ranking New York's football teams should make the prudent play and leave the Blue Devils up top of the Class C pile, even after a two-TD setback.

Maine-Endwell, also, will be the better for it.

And given what was on display Friday night, not only those 8,000 or 9,000 in attendance are the better for it, but so, too, is Section 4 football. Because let's face it, one or both of these teams is likely to represent Broome County in state playoffs next month, and will be that much better prepared because of Week 6.

Maine-Endwell's win streak is 44 games. Forks' 16-gamer, co-third among active one in New York, is over.

And now for both, with Game of the Year and all its trappings behind, they can return to normalcy.
 

Not surprising points hard to come by for Forks, M-E

Kevin Stevens, kstevens@pressconnects.com

Story Highlights

 ~ Individual defensive playmakers were spread about the teams
 ~ Tough road ahead for Spartans: At Johnson City and then at Elmira

Most in the know agreed that points would be at a premium in Friday's contest pitting Chenango Forks against Maine-Endwell, one bringing together two of the finest football defenses in Section 4.

Indeed, the outcome — M-E 20, Forks 7 — brought uncommonly low point totals for each top-ranked, defending state champion.

Maine-Endwell, winner of 44 games in succession, had not been limited to that few points since pulling out a 19-16 win over Rochester Aquinas in the semifinal round of 2011 state playoffs.

The first five games of this season brought M-E a 35.8-per-game average. A season ago, the Spartans' low came in a 22-21 win over Schalmont for the Class B state title, completing a season in which they scored at a 44.7 clip. As for 2012? Eight times M-E put up 50 or more, and the low came in a 28-7 win over Union-Endicott.

Chenango Forks brought a 2014 per-game average of 40.8 into Friday night, and over its final 11 games of last season the norm was 41.7. Week 2 of 2013 brought a 7-0 loss at Tioga, and thereafter began a 16-game win streak.

Any surprises from M-E, coach David Hogan of Forks was asked? "No, I don't think so. They're every bit as quick as we thought they were, they're tough up front. Nope, I don't think so. That's about what we thought we were going to get."

And M-E coach Matt Gallagher's take on the Blue Devils? "Typical Forks, hard-nosed, well-coached, disciplined and just a great bunch of kids who came over here to play. They're going to go a long way, for sure."

Defensive standouts were numerous on both sides.

Ryan Bronson, Cody Lamond and Allan-Michael Rios come to mind for Forks, and on the other side Adam Gallagher, Hunter Hazen and Jake Felice contributed their share.

As for some key defensive plays:

M-E sophomore Cordell Woolfolk sacked quarterback Jack Sherwood for a 12-yard loss on a fourth-and-7 play at the 15 to end the visitors' opening 15-play drive.

Rios popped running back Adam Gallagher on a stop for zero gain on third-and-3 to prompt a punt late in the first half.

Drew Gallagher tackled Forks' Lamond at the line of scrimmage, the Spartans' 42-yard line, and a play later that Forks possession ended on a fourth-and-5 incompletion.

Adam Gallagher jumped the route of intended receiver Tony Silvanic to intercept a pass and give M-E possession at Forks' 32-yard line, setting up the final touchdown.

Felice shot through a gap for a solo sack and 8-yard Blue Devils loss, and two incomplete passes later — one nearly intercepted by a leaping Michael Palmer — the Devils' second-to-last possession was over.

Clearly, Maine-Endwell's defensive effectiveness impacted Forks' play-calling, as the Blue Devils' pass count was considerably above the norm.

"When your base plays aren't working and you have to do some other things that you're not used to doing, it's uncomfortable and not as sound as you'd like it to be," Hogan said.

As for the greatest difference in the game, Hazen said: "I always have to give it to our offensive line. Hard work all week, and I know they worked hard, too but, we won for a reason."

Maine-Endwell wraps up the regular season with back-to-back road games, against Johnson City and then Elmira— the latter a squad that has averaged 43.7 points per game thus far. Forks is home against Whitney Point next weekend, then visits Chenango Valley for the regular-season finale.