...

2007 Chenango Forks Varsity Football

Game 2 vs Corning West

Blue Devils heat up Corning West 28-6!
Now four-for-four vs the Vikings!

21-028-6

Articles courtesy of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, Corning's The Leader and the Elmira Star-gazette
Place mouse over photos to read captions
Photo credits - none

to Game 1 - Maine-Endwell

to the 2007 team page

to Game 3 - Corning East


Forks grinds out victory over Corning West

By Mike Mangan
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

TOWN OF CHENANGO -- 
An afterthought in the running attack last week, Joe Aston was front and center Saturday for Chenango Forks for the Blue Devils on Saturday.
 
Aston rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown, and Nick Stephens added two touchdown runs as Forks rolled to a 28-6 victory over Corning West in a non-league football game.

Tim Zdimal also had a touchdown run for Forks (2-0), which is now 2-for-2 in its season-opening three-game trek through Section 4 Class A competition. The Blue Devils visit Corning East on Friday.

Aston, who had a mere six carries for 18 yards last week in Forks' 21-0 victory over Maine-Endwell, established himself early and often in Saturday's victory over West.

His 60-yard run on Forks' opening drive -- the last 50 yards coming after a great block by Stephens -- put the Blue Devils deep in West territory, and three plays later Aston scored from 3 yards out to put Forks up 7-0 with 8:04 left in the first quarter.

In the third quarter, Aston's 24-yard run highlighted a seven-play drive that ended with the first of Stephens' two touchdown runs, a 3-yarder that put Forks up 21-6 with 5:17 left.

Aston then had runs of 14, 11, 15, and 7 yards on Forks' final scoring drive, one capped by a 4-yard run by Stephens with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter that made it 28-6.

"Very rarely was (Joe) brought down on the first contact," Forks coach Kelsey Green said. "He ran hard, broke a lot of tackles, and we got some good blocks downfield.

"You put those things together, you'll get some yardage."

Aston's performance highlighted a Forks' offensive rushing attack that racked up 286 yards, a far better showing than the 189 rushing yards by the Blue Devils in their victory over Maine-Endwell.

Stephens chipped in with 57 rushing yards for the second straight week.

"Our offensive line, in a week has taken a step forward," Green said. "It was nice, our backs got a little running, we didn't have that room last week."

West was limited to 136 yards of offense by the Blue Devils defense.

A big reason for that was the absence of CW starting quarterback Austin Rose, who was knocked out of the game with a jammed thumb shortly after his 12-yard touchdown pass to Steven Hanshaw with 1:28 left in the first quarter brought the Vikings within 7-6.

Still, West was in position to tie when Stephens fumbled on Forks' opening drive of the second half, giving the Vikings the ball on the Forks' 32-yard line, trailing 14-6.

The Vikings drove to the Forks' 18, but on third-and-8 backup quarterback Aaric Ross was called for intentional grounding, resulting in a 17-yard loss.

On fourth-and-25 at the Forks' 35, Ross was sacked by Judson DuBois.

Forks then scored on its ensuing possession to take a 21-6 lead.

"We talked all halftime about our first drive (of the second half), well, our first drive was one play," Green said. "It's about having poise and experienced kids, and we played great defense in the second half."
 

Without its coach and QB, West falls to Forks

By Stephen P. Jensen
Special to the Star-Gazette
 
CHENANGO -- By midway through the second quarter of Corning West's battle with perennial state-title contender Chenango Forks on Saturday, the Vikings had lost starting quarterback Austin Rose, as well as head coach Mike Johnston.
 
Rose was sidelined with what he believed to be a dislocated right thumb on his throwing hand. Meanwhile, Johnston had bigger concerns -- he received a cell phone message from a guy along the West sideline who said, as he bolted toward the coach, "Just got a call ... her water broke," as Johnston's wife, Sara, went into labor with the couple's second child.
 
Physical conditioning may have been the story on a hot and humid afternoon as Johnston raced to his wife's side. His team was left without a head coach and with an empty tank, perhaps as early as halftime, as his Corning West squad (1-1) lost 28-6 to the Blue Devils (2-0).
 
After West gained 284 rushing yards against Dryden in its season opener, the Vikings managed just 122 yards on the ground Saturday, and a scant 42 total yards of offense after intermission. The loss of the red-headed Rose appeared to be a major factor.
 
Forks took just six plays to strike first when Joe Aston went up the gut for a 3-yard score and an eventual Devils 7-0 lead. But West used an impressive 13-play, 71-yard drive over 6:29 of the first quarter to get nearly even. Rose ran for two first downs on runs of 14 and 11 yards, then connected with Steven Hanshaw on a 12-yard scoring strike. Gregory Riff's point-after kick clanked off the right upright, and West trailed just 7-6.
 
Then Rose wilted.
 
On the second play of Forks' second possession, Rose, who doubles as West's free safety, was involved on a short Forks gain, and his day was finished.
 
"I was involved in the tackle and I think I dislocated my wrist," said Rose, who added that he was headed to the hospital after the game. He was ever optimistic. "Dr. Mauer (teammate Ben Mauer's dad, Dr. Mark Mauer of Guthrie Clinic) tried putting my thumb back in place. It hurt ... I think it'll be OK. Maybe a couple days out of practice."
 
Meanwhile, Forks pounded away on the ground, spending 46 of its 53 plays on the grass, where the Devils racked up 274 yards. Nick Stephens gained 107 of them, including two touchdowns, Joe Aston added 98 yards and a score.
 
"We knew, coming into the season, that we'd have to be in top condition, especially for days like this," said Aston, acknowledging the oppressive humidity. "That's why we put in those early two-a-days."
 
Jeff Edwards, West's defensive coordinator, took over when Johnston left.
 
"Those two losses (Rose and Johnston) on offense are huge, especially when you're playing a state championship-caliber team like Forks that's well-coached and well-conditioned," Edwards said. "Aston had a day on us, both inside and out, but they have so many weapons, and they're so well-coached."

Place mouse over photos to read captions
Photo credits - none


01 02 03 04   Tot
Chenango Forks 7 7 7 7 - 28
Corning West 6 0 0 0 - 6
  • CF - Joe Aston 3 run (Rob Lumsden kick)
  • CW - Steven Hanshaw 12 pass from Austin Rose (kick failed)
  • CF - Tim Zdimal 4 run (Lumsden kick)
  • CF - Nick Stephens 3 run (Lumsden kick)
  • CF - Stephens 6 run (Lumsden kick)

TEAM STATISTICS 

Corning West CF
First Downs 10 19
Rushes-Yards 40-122 46-286
Passing Yards 14 60
Comp-Att-Int 2-8-1 4-7-0
Total Offense 48-136 53-346
Punts-Ave yards 3-34.3 2-24.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-52 3-25
.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Corning West rushing

  • Austin Norvel 11-43
  • Travis McGowan 9-37
  • Ben Mauer 7-25
  • Austin Rose 3-20
  • Daquane Young 5-12
  • Gregory Riff 3-1
  • Aaric Ross 2-(-16)

Chenango Forks rushing

  • Joe Aston 14-159, 1 TD
  • Nick Stephens 14-57, 2 TD
  • Tim Zdimal 8-30, 1 TD
  • Max Ginty 3-20
  • Mike Jeske 1-9
  • Jake Reynolds 3-8
  • Jesse Villella 1-4
  • Shane Baron 1-0
  • Rickey Bronson 1-(-1)

Corning West passing

  • Austin Rose: 1-for-2, 12y, 0 int.
  • Aaric Ross: 1-for-6, 2y, 1 int.

Chenango Forks passing

  • Jake Reynolds: 4-for-7 60y, 0 int.

Corning West receiving

  • Steven Hanshaw 1-12, 1 TD
  • Travis McGowan 1-2

Chenango Forks receiving:  

  • Joe Aston 2-38
  • Garret Cade 1-12
  • Clint Cade 1-10

JV Score: Corning West 40, Chenango Forks 6


Preview Tidbit from Binghamton paper: 

CF/CW snippet from the overall weekend football preview article...

By Kevin Stevens
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

Chenango Forks will be home at 1:30 Saturday to face Corning West. Both won openers by three-TD margins, Forks over Maine-Endwell and West over Dryden.

Corning West gained 216 of its 284 rushing yards after halftime against Dryden, with Austin Norvel's eight carries for 116 yards leading the way.

The last time the Blue Devils hosted one of Section 4's western-most members, Corning East halted Forks win streaks of 55 games against Section 4 opposition and 27 games on its home field.

Preview Article from Corning paper:

West football has tough test vs. Forks
By Bob Benz - The Leader
 
Although the season openers for both Corning East and Corning West got off to shaky starts last week, the Trojans and Vikings are each 1-0 after amending early-game woes to pull away and win comfortably.
 
Both teams were held scoreless and trailed after the first quarter by scores of 7-0 and 6-0, respectively. However, the Trojans and Vikings each followed their slow starts with four unanswered touchdowns to win going away, 29-7 and 28-6, respectively.

This week, each will try to ride that momentum to 2-0 starts as both Crystal City schools remain on the road in Week 2.
 
The defending Class A state champion Trojans will visit Elmira Southside - a team East has owned in recent years - at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
 
West's task figures to be significantly more difficult as the Vikings will travel to play perennial state power Chenango Forks at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
 
The Blue Devils, whose current run of six straight sectional titles includes a pair of state titles in 2004 and 2003, opened the season with a 21-0 shutout of Maine-Endwell.
 
Quarterback Jake Reynolds rushed for a game-high 78 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries, while also connecting with 6-foot-4 split end Garrett Cade for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Cade caught two passes for 65 yards in the win.
 
"They're big and physical, they've got great speed in the backfield, they've got the Cade kid," West head coach Mike Johnston said.
 
Although Maine-Endwell managed 200 yards of total offense against Chenango Forks, the Blue Devils kept the Spartans out of the end zone.
 
"Their defense is stellar," Johnston said. "They play a 5-2 old school and they're very disciplined and they're very physical."
 
Against Dryden last week, West amassed 317 yards of total offense, 299 of which came on the ground. Travis McGown rushed for 117 yards and scored on a 61-yard TD run that gave the Vikings an eight-point lead early in the third quarter. West also got 83 yards from Austin Norvel, who gave the Vikings an insurance score after finding pay dirt from 44 yards away later in the third.
 
Defensively, West pitched a shutout after the second quarter against Dryden. Johnston knows he'll need an even better effort against Forks.
 
"We've got to slow them down defensively," Johnston said. "I don't know that you can ever stop a good offensive team like they are. You've got to slow them down and make them work for every drive. I think offensively, we've got to mix what we do, run and pass. We've got to give people some opportunities with our blocking up front. I think the line of scrimmage is definitely going to be a key as far as who controls the line of scrimmage will have the upper hand as far as winning the ball game."
 
It will be just the fourth meeting between West and Chenango Forks, as the teams last met in 2000, when the Blue Devils came away with a 7-0 victory. The Vikings are still looking for their first-ever win in the all-time series.
 

Post-game Article:    

Fifth Quarter:

Published Tuesdays in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

Defense a constant in Forks' title runs
Blue Devils yield 6 points in 2 games

By Mike Mangan
Press & Sun-Bulletin
 
It has been a constant for Chenango Forks during its six-year Section 4 Class B football championship run, and it may very well be the catalyst to a seventh straight title this season.

That would be the Blue Devils' defense.

A hallmark of the program in recent seasons, there have been no signs through two games that anything will be different this season.

In victories over Class A opponents Maine-Endwell and Corning West, Forks has allowed a combined six points. Maybe as impressively, Forks has allowed a total of 129 yards of offense in the second half of its two games.

Senior defensive tackle Jud DuBois offers a simple take on the Blue Devils' defensive success.

"It's just a case of staying together," DuBois said. "If one person makes a mistake, we just make sure to lift him up, and if somebody makes a tackle, we make sure to (compliment) him."

DuBois likely received his share of compliments in Forks' 28-6 victory over Corning West on Saturday.

After the Blue Devils turned the ball over in Forks' territory to open the second half, Corning West -- trailing 14-6 -- had a chance to tie, moving to Forks' 18-yard line on its ensuing possession.

DuBois ended the threat with a sack of backup quarterback Aaric Ross on fourth down, one of several quality plays DuBois made on the day.

"A lot of (West's offensive troubles) had to do with Austin Rose being out of the game," Forks coach Kelsey Green said of West's starting quarterback, who sat out the last three quarters with a jammed thumb. "But we still pursued and gang-tackled well. We played very good team defense."

The Blue Devils will target a sweep of the Corning schools when travels to meet defending Class A state champion East High at 7 p.m. Friday.


.

  Site Meter

counter courtesy of