2015 Chenango Forks Varsity Football
Game
8 vs Chenango Valley
Chenango Forks 43,
Chenango Valley 27
CF's 22nd
straight win vs CV in the past 21 seasons
Articles courtesy of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
| To Game 6 - Newark Valley |
To Game 9 - Dryden |
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Forks, Watson crush rival CV, 43-27 Special guests include a powerful offensive line, determined backfield mates, a stingy defense and rock-solid special teams. On a cool, overcast Saturday afternoon, Chenango Forks junior Watson lined up under center, in the backfield, out wide, and as a safety, a kick returner and a punter. Rival Chenango Valley saw far too much of the Blue Devils standout. Watson scored three touchdowns over the final 8 minutes, 57 seconds of the second quarter to lead Forks to a 43-27 Section 4 Football Conference non-division victory over visiting CV. It marked Forks' 22nd successive victory over its neighbors and this one wasn't nearly as close as the score indicates. With 8:16 to go in the third quarter, the hosts held a 43-7 lead, showing no rust from a two-week layoff that included a forfeit win over Lansing last week. By halftime, Watson carried 14 times for 154 yards. He amassed 132 yards on his final five attempts of the half, the last a highlight-reel, 46-yard scoring run 28 seconds before intermission. During that highly-impressive stretch, the 33 on his jersey could just as well have read: Hazardous material, keep away. The really good stuff for Forks came after Watson switched from quarterback to halfback. Tony Silvanic took over at quarterback in the second quarter, when yards and points started coming in bunches. "We started mixing it up and playing me at halftime and I didn't think they were ready for it at all," said Watson, who played running back last season before switching to quarterback this season. Watson's last possession at QB resulted in the game's first touchdown. Forks drove 50 yards 50 yards in 10 plays, the big play an 11-yard run by Tim McDonald on third-and-9. McDonald took a toss left and made it to the sideline before being forced out at the 28. On the next play, Watson rolled left on a designed pass, didn't like what he saw, tucked it, reversed field and gained 10 yards, and a tripping penalty moved the ball to CV's 7. Two plays later, McDonald ran off the left side, scoring on a 4-yard run and Silvanic's PAT made it 7-0, with 21 seconds left in the opening quarter. Following the Warriors' third straight three-and-out to start the game, Watson returned a 40-yard punt by Nick Pert 30 yards to CV's 16. Three plays later and now in the backfield, Watson took a pitch right, made a sharp cut, broke a tackle and scored from 13 yards. McDonald's two-point run made it 15-0 with 8:57 remaining in the half. Ryan Ehrets recovered a CV fumble on the ensuing possession and Forks took over at its 31. A 22-yard run on a sweep left by Watson, aided by a downfield block from Dylan Studer, moved the ball to CV's 43. Five plays later, Watson took a toss left, narrowly avoided a tackle attempt in the backfield, cut it up and then to the right and finally into the end zone from 21 yards. Silvanic tacked on the extra point for a 22-0 Blue Devils lead. "They have a lot of good running backs, especially the Watson kid," CV coach Jay Hope said. "He doesn't need much to make you miss and he has another gear that can take it the whole way." CV (5-4) finally answered. Quarterback Mark Mullins found Chris Vegiard on a long crossing route, a pass that just avoided defensive back Cody Lamond on the left side. Vegiard continued on for a 70-yard scoring play and Pert's PAT drew the Warriors to 22-7, 1:25 before halftime. As Mullins and Matt Slezak dropped McDonald for losses and the first two downs of the next possession, CV took timeouts after each play. But on third-and-13, McDonald swept around the left end for 14 yards. Watson ripped off a 20-yarder around the right side on the next play and Studer took a toss left for another 13 yards to CV's 46, setting up Watson's grand-finale of the half. He started right in glide-mode, exploited the smallest of seams and burst through it. Once in open field, he cut it back to the left and eased into the end zone 28 seconds before halftime. Silvanic's PAT extended the lead to 29-7. "It was going to be a good play anyway, but he turns a long play into a touchdown," Forks coach Dave Hogan of Watson, who finished with 158 yards on 15 carries. The Blue Devils (7-1) put the finishing touches on this one early in the third quarter. Studer returned the second-half kickoff 79 yards to CV's 9, setting up a 3-yard scoring run by McDonald one play later. CV's next possession ended in a punt that McDonald took back 41 yards to CV's 17. Studer scored from 4 yards two plays later for a 43-7 lead. Thereafter, Mullins and Co. had their way with Forks' backups. Mullins threw three fourth-quarter scoring passes, a 7-yarder to Sam Trebilcock, and two more to Slezak that covered 67 and 14 yards. Mullins finished 13-for-22 for 266 yards and four TDs. Slezak caught seven passes for 132 yards. Forks, which didn't attempt a pass, rushed 274 yards in the first half and 337 overall. Linemen Brandin Paulhamus, Zach Ostrander, Ehrets, Nick Hutchinson and Joseph Aldrich played a big role. "They made their blocks and we made some big plays," Watson said. This coming Saturday, Forks will host the loser of Saturday night's game between Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour and Lansing in a Class C semifinal. The Warriors will get a rematch against Susquehanna Valley in a Class B semifinal this coming Saturday at home. The Sabers beat CV, 19-16, in Week 7. |
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | Tot | ||
| Chenango Forks | 7 | 22 | 14 | 0 | - | 43 |
| Chenango Valley | 0 | 7 | 0 | 20 | - | 27 |
- CF - Tim McDonald 4y run (Tony Silvanic kick)
- CF - Watson 13y run (Tim McDonald run)
- CF - Watson 21y run (Silvanic kick)
- CV - Chris Vegiard 70y pass from Mark Mullins (Nick Pert kick)
- CF - Watson 46y run (Silvanic kick)
- CF - McDonald 3y run (Silvanic kick)
- CF - Dylan Studer 4y run (Silvanic kick)
- CV - Sam Trebilcock 7y pass from Mullins (Pert kick
- CV - Matt Slezak 67y pass from Mullins (Pert kick)
- CV - Slezak 14y pass from Mullins (kick failed)
TEAM STATISTICS
| CV | CF | |
| First Downs | 14 | 15 |
| Rushes-Yards | 25-72 | 55-341 |
| Passing Yards | 266 | 0 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 13-22-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Total Offense | 47-338 | 55-341 |
| Punts-Ave yards | 5-33 | 4-34 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-71 | 9-88 |
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Chenango Valley rushing
Chenango
Forks
rushing Chenango Valley passing
Chenango Forks passing
Chenango Valley receiving
Chenango Forks receiving:
JV Scores: Preview
Article(s)
Post-game
Midweek
Article(s):
Uncertain of Watson's status for the following week's game against Lansing, the Blue Devils worked in Tony Silvanic at quarterback. Turns out, Forks never played Lansing. Instead, the Blue Devils earned their second forfeit victory in three weeks. It allowed Watson to heal, but Forks continued to give Silvanic work at quarterback. That work paid off Saturday in a 43-27 victory over visiting Chenango Valley. Silvanic replaced Watson at quarterback in the second quarter and the Blue Devils scored 22 points in the quarter, including three touchdowns by Watson. "We definitely knew we had to get him in there and get him some reps when I got hurt (vs. Newark Valley)," Watson said. Going forward, opponents can expect to see Watson and Silvanic sharing snaps at quarterback. "We're not going to give up on either thing," Forks coach Dave Hogan said. "Today, it seemed it was working better with Tony at quarterback. Certainly, there are pros and cons with both. They're both going to be playing some quarterback." Lansing bows out Two weeks ago, Lansing forfeited its penultimate regular-season game to state power Chenango Forks because of a rash of injuries. Lansing coach John Winslow called it a "difficult decision" but one that "comes down to a question of safety." Winslow and athletics director Adam Heck were put in a similar situation Sunday, less than 24 hours after the Bobcats' 60-32 loss to Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour that gave the Seneca Indians the Division V title. Winslow's team, small in stature and in numbers, was put through the wringer by a physical WG/O-M squad that rushed for 499 yards. Lansing suffered "multiple injuries," according to Heck. A team is required by state rule to have 16 eligible players in order to play. So he and Winslow had to make another difficult decision: Bow out of the upcoming Class C playoffs. Again, Chenango Forks — whose only losses over the past two seasons have come to Class A power Maine-Endwell — was to be the Bobcats' opponent. "It comes with great disappointment that Lansing could not compete in the playoffs," Heck said Sunday night by text message, "but we need to continue to take into account the medical aspect of the game and that was the direction heavily recommended by our coach and athletic trainer. "It is also unfortunate that under both situations this year, Chenango Forks was negatively impacted," Heck said. "As an athletic department, there is the highest level of respect for coach (Dave) Hogan and their football program." Forks (7-1) had the option of accepting a forfeit and moving directly to the Class C title game, but that would have been its third victory by forfeit this season. Two weeks before the Lansing forfeit, Whitney Point forfeited to the Blue Devils due to low numbers. Forks has opted to play and will take on Dryden (5-3), which finished third in Division V, in a Class C semifinal at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Union-Endicott's Ty Cobb Stadium. That game will be followed by the other Class C semi, pitting Newark Valley (7-1) against WG/O-M (7-1). The winners will meet at noon Nov. 7 at Binghamton Alumni Stadium. |
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