Game 10 - 2016 Chenango Forks Varsity Football

Game 10 vs Windsor

The Blue Devils defeat Windsor 32-13!
Advance to CFs 14th State Tournament in the last 16 seasons!

Forks makes it 5 straight titles
Watson scores three touchdowns in Blue Devils’ win over Windsor

Rob Centorani - Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

In machine-like fashion, Chenango Forks earned a fifth straight sectional title Saturday night.

The Blue Devils didn't breeze through a hard-hitting squad from Windsor. However, the 32-13 final score represented clear superiority in the Section 4 Class B football final at Union-Endicott's Ty Cobb Stadium.

The victory sends Forks (10-0) into a Class B state quarterfinal at 3 p.m. next Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse against Cazenovia or Homer. Defending Class B state champion Cazenovia and Homer will play in the Section 3 final at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Carrier Dome.

En route to taking a 20-point halftime lead, a Forks squad led by fourth-year varsity players L.J. Watson and Ryan Ehrets converted two fourth-down plays and had four other third-down conversions of 4 yards or longer in extending its winning streak to 21 games.

Forks' three first-half possession went thusly: Sixty-five yards in 11 plays, touchdown; 54 yards in 14 plays, touchdown; 70 yards in 11 plays, touchdown.

"They were making plays and we couldn't stop them," said Windsor coach Tim Hogan, whose team lost to a squad headed by his older brother David for the second time this season. "You know, that's the best line I've seen in all the film I've watched this season and when L.J. gets on the corner, they're hard to stop."

But the joyride Watson enjoyed in rushing for a school-record 307 yards when Forks defeated Windsor, 40-21, in a Week 6 matchup … well, the sledding was considerably tougher this time around. Watson still rushed for 138 yards on 25 carries and scored three first-half touchdowns, but this time the Black Knights limited him to four carries of 10 yards or longer.

"Well, first of all, they have a lot of team speed and a lot of size," David Hogan said of Windsor. "They play with a lot of enthusiasm and they love to play football. We knew, even in the first game, a lot of things really went our way. We knew we were going to have a football game. No doubt, they were tougher, especially on defense."

As for Forks' defense, all it did was limit Windsor to 19 yards of offense in the opening half. The Black Knights' lone first down of the half came on a 21-yard scamper around right end by Dante Kimbrough on the first play of Windsor's third possession. Windsor's other 10 plays in the half netted minus-2yards. "I told the guys up front that if they do their job, we were going to do our job in the secondary," Watson said. "They put up a couple sacks in the backfield, they kept their foot on the gas and I told the guys in the back that they have to come up and pursue the ball. Everybody was there making tackles."

Following a threeand- out on Windsor's first possession, Forks took over at its 35. Tim McDonald rumbled for 5 yards on a fourth-and-2 for Forks' initial first down. Consecutive runs of 11 and 17 yards by Watson brought the ball to Windsor's 18. Two plays later, Watson took a give up the middle, used those nimble feet to sidestep a defender at the 8 and continued into the end zone on a 14-yard run. Bryant LaMere's extra point made it 7-0 with 3:14 left in the first quarter. Two key pass plays highlighted Forks' second drive. On fourthand- 7 from Windsor's 40, Cody Bogue hit Watson over the middle for 9 yards. Then on thirdand- 14 from the 35, Bogue found Watson in the right flat. Watson proceeded to break two tackles on a 23yard gain to the 12. Four plays later, Watson scored from a yard out, diving into the end zone after finding a crease on the right side. LaMere's PAT made it a 14-point spread.

"Just because we don't throw much doesn't mean we're not good at it," David Hogan said. "We do work on it quite a bit. We are certainly a run-first team, but Cody does a really good job running our offense and he comes through a lot."

Three third-and-2 conversions led Forks' third touchdown. Jeremiah Allen gained 11 yards on a quick-hitter on the first, an offside penalty gave Forks on a first down on the second and McDonald gained 3 yards on the third. When Allen took a toss left for 18 yards, Forks had first-and-goal at the 9. Watson scored on the next play, also on a toss left, and Forks had 20-0 lead 51.1 seconds before halftime.

Tiernan Joseph starred on defense for Forks in the opening half, twice sacking Trevor Kimble for losses that totaled 23 yards.

Forks, looking to win a fourth straight state championship, extended its lead to 26-7 in the third quarter. It used six runs to cover 49 yards, the last a 16-yarder by Sean Wiser around the left end with 5:24 left in the period.

Windsor (7-3) then answered with a 61-yard scoring drive. It included a 29-yard run around right end by the speedy Kimbrough, who broke several tackles before being pushed out of bounds at Forks' 6. One play later, Kimble hit Cory Hagerman over the middle on a 6-yard scoring play and Kieran Horton's PAT made it 26-7 with 1:42 left in the third. That marked the first points scored against Forks since its Week 6 meeting against Windsor. After forcing a punt, the Black Knights took over at their 19 with 8:11 left. Any thoughts of a comeback ended after four plays netted 4 yards. Joseph dumped Kimbrough for a 2-yard loss on first down, a Kimbleto- Hagerman pass gained 6 yards, and Kimble's next two passes missed their marks. A 1-yard touchdown run by Allen made it 32-7 and Windsor capped the scoring on the next play from scrimmage when Kimble hit Jordan Haven on a deep pass to the right side that resulted in an 80- yard touchdown. "I couldn't be happier or more proud of a bunch of kids," Tim Hogan said of a Windsor squad that qualified for a sectional final for the first time since 2008. "We always say, leave it all on the field and I didn't see one kid quit."

Windsor's coach added he'll be rooting for his brother's team the rest of the way. "If you're going to knock us out, you better go win it," Hogan said of his message to Forks' coaching staff after the game. "Hopefully, they'll listen."