Game 3 - 2009 Chenango Forks Varsity Football

Game 3 vs Sidney
Blue Devils speed past Sidney 41-0!
First game between the two since 1986
21-0

Forks routs Sidney in quick-hit fashion
Blue Devils amass 504 rushing yards

Kevin Stevens
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

TOWN OF CHENANGO -- Make it three games and three points allowed by Chenango Forks, looking every bit the part of New York's second-ranked Class C football team.

The Blue Devils overpowered and out-quicked Sidney for a 41-0 victory in Division V of the Section 4 Football Conference on Saturday, with the Warriors' offense spending the vast majority of the afternoon on the unpleasant side of midfield.

Forks, on the other hand, was a huge play waiting to happen.

Five Blue Devils scored on rushes of 44 or more yards, and three scoring "drives" required three or fewer plays.

The final tally sheet showed Forks with 504 yards -- despite not once turning to the forward pass -- to Sidney's 114.

"Offensively and defensively, we came to play," was how two-way Forks lineman Justin Flannery so succinctly and accurately summed up his squad's outing.

"I didn't think we'd be up and down the field, but I thought we'd be able to hang in a closer game than that," Warriors coach Jeff Matthews said. "We didn't do anything offensively."

And do remember, this was a Sidney squad coming off a 37-point outburst against Walton-- which will play host to Forks in a Division V contest Saturday.

The Blue Devils' first five possessions brought touchdowns, the first a 12-play, 69-yard drive that proved an aberration on a day of quick-strike TDs.

It was a seven-point game to open the second quarter, Sidney in possession from Forks' 49-yard line. And that was just about the juncture when the field began to tilt toward the Warriors' end zone.

Defensive tackle Flannery intercepted a deflected pass to give Forks (3-0, 2-0) possession at Sidney's 45, and three plays later Tyler Lusht took a toss to the left and cut toward the middle for a 45-yard score and 13-0 advantage.

The hosts next had the football following a punt and a penalty at their 7-yard line, and after five plays had first down at their 30. Jordan Barnett got the call, started left, broke through initial traffic and raced away for a 70-yard TD. Jimmy Miller's two-point run made it 21-0 with 4:22 to play in the half.

A three-and-out series and the guests' fourth punt of the half left Forks the ball at its 23-yard line. On first down, Ryan Lusht found running room left and outraced the defense for a 77-yard score. Dan Grady kicked the PAT for a 28-0 bulge.

At the midway point, Forks had rushed for 288 yards.

"We do have speed, and we do have a lot of kids who can run," Blue Devils coach David Hogan said. "And up front, we have guys who can get on bodies, and I think we'll see from the film that that's what happened.

"We feel that if we can get bodies on bodies, our kids in the backfield, with the speed we have, are going to make a play."

It was more of the same for Forks to open the second half, with Miller turning the third play from scrimmage into a 59-yard touchdown.

The sixth and final TD was the doing of No. 3 quarterback Casey LaNave, finishing a 76-yard drive with a 44-yard scoring rush midway through the final quarter.

Barnett led all rushers with 116 yards and two TDs on 12 carries, and three Forks teammates added 68 or better.

"It was a team victory," Flannery said. "The firsts did a solid job, the seconds did a solid job and we pitched a shutout."

Said Matthews, whose team dropped to 1-2, 0-2 in the division: "That's just a great team, a great program."