2016 Chenango Forks Varsity Football

Kevin Stevens - Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

Make that 13 final four appearances for Chenango Forks in 24 seasons of state football playoffs, courtesy of Saturday’s 35-13 thumping of Cazenovia at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.

The Blue Devils produced two touchdowns in the closing 2:18 of the opening quarter, and two more in the second quarter’s final 70 seconds to make it a not-to-be-flipped 28-0 difference at halftime of the Class B quarterfinal.

Most Valuable Player L.J. Watson rushed 19 times for 140 yards and rang up that final first-half TD on a dazzling interception runback that covered 65 yards. That pick was one of three before halftime and four overall for the unbeaten, top-ranked Blue Devils, who’ve won a minimum of 11 games for a fifth consecutive season.

Ahead will come another 3 p.m. Saturday start at C-NS, the semifinal opponent Dunkirk or Batavia­ one of which will attempt to become the first Forks opponent since Windsor in Week 6 to put up first-half points.

It was Forks linemen accounting for the first two interceptions­ Brandin Paulhamus on the third play from scrimmage and Ryan Ehrets with 92 seconds to play in the first quarter. The former set in motion a drive halted at the Lakers’ 1-yard line, but the Devils converted the latter into their second TD.

Forks struck for its initial points with 9:42 elapsed when, a snap after sophomore Jeremiah Allen rushed for 16 first-down yards, Cody Bogue sent a pass that Dan Crowningshield received on the run behind a defender at the 22-yard line and turned it into a 44-yard scoring play. It marked the second completion in a 5-for-8, 113-yard afternoon for Bogue, who continues to throw one fine-looking pass after another.

“They were stacking the box and we know we have to throw against any team that does that to us,” said Devils coach David Hogan. “We practice it a lot, Cody throws the ball very well, we feel like we protect him very well and we feel like we have some wideouts and some backs who can catch the ball.

“It’s obvious that we like to run the ball first, but we do feel that we can throw the ball any time we want.”

Ehrets’ interception came on a second-and-14 play one down after Crowningshield piledrove a ball carrier into a 4-yard loss at the Lakers’ 16-yard line, and left the Devils with the football at the 9. Watson made it a two-TD game by rushing 9 yards on an inside path for points with 49 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Cazenovia proceeded to drive 56 yards to Forks’ 13 before a) fumbling for a 6-yard loss, b) having Ehrets tip away a third-and-11 pass and, c) watching the possession fizzle when Sean Wiser elevated to successfully defend a pass in the end zone.

Caz reached Forks’ 31 late in the second quarter before staunch pass defense led by Wiser, Crowningshield and Tim McDonald shut down that threat and put the Devils in possession at their 36 with 2:37 remaining in the half.

Time to put a fork in the Lakers.

A 54-yard, second-down rush by Watson brought the football to the 5, and two plays later Watson carried over the right side for a score and three-TD spread.

Thirty-two seconds after, Watson finished off an indescribably brilliant interception return on which his speed, footwork, vision, toughness ­ and talent unparalleled on that field ­ were on display. His path to points appeared just about shut down near the visitors’ sideline late in the return, but somehow, some way, he made his way back against the grain and scored near the middle of the field.

Only L.J.

“If you watch L.J. long enough, you just know that he feels that he’s going to score, you can tell in his body language,” Hogan said. “That was awesome, what a great run.”

“I saw a little bit of it, but I was trying to block for him, so … It was pretty nifty,” Ehrets said.

From a Cazenovia perspective?

“After that we kind of knew it was over, but we never gave up,” said Caz MVP Cody Thorp. “We have a lot of heart, this team does.”

And no pack-it-in, as the second half-opening onside-kick recovery and half-field scoring drive illustrated. Three of the last four plays were rushes by the elusive Thorp, the last a 2-yarder on a well-executed option 3:45 into the quarter.

Problem was, about all that succeeded in doing was rattling the Devils’ cage.

Following failure to recover an onside kick, the Lakers left Forks a mere 51 yards to travel for more points. Five consecutive rushes to go with a facemask penalty advanced the Devils to the 16, from which point Bogue spiraled a picture-perfect pass that Crowningshield ran under with 5:18 to play in the third quarter. Bryant LaMere’s fifth PAT kick made it 35-7.

The defensive showing makes it 10 times in 11 weeks Forks’ opponents have fallen short of a third TD.

“We knew they were tough, they have a lot of fast guys and they were capable of making a play at any moment,” Ehrets said. “It was a tough week of preparation, a lot of guys working everywhere. We can’t tip our hats any more to our prep teams.”

Said the Lakers’ Thorp: “They’ve got some big boys up front. We couldn’t run the middle too much but we tried to do what we could do and that’s what the outcome was.”

Forks, which came in on a 351-per-game rushing average, was limited to 210_ that is, to Cazenovia’s 31 rushes for 109 yards.

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Cazenovia has no answer as indomitable Chenango Forks wins

Donnie Webb - SyracuseDotCom

The defending state champions were roughed up and dispatched by the defending state champions.

There's no shame in that or the final score. Chenango Forks is that good.

The Blue Devils, who have won three straight Class C championships, got three touchdowns from L.J. Watson and stormed to 35-13 victory over Cazenovia in a Class B state high school football regional on Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse High School's Bragman Stadium.

It was the 22nd win in row by Forks, which has been moved up to Class B this season and is ranked No. 1 in the state. The Blue Devils advance to next week's Western semifinals at C-NS against either Batavia or Dunkirk.

Cazenovia, the defending Class B state champions, ends its season at 9-2.

Watson rushed 21 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns. But it was his 65-yard return of an interception late in the first half that was the talk of the game. He broke four or five tackles inside the 10-yard line while barreling into the end zone.

"Ah, so sweet," said Chenango Forks coach Dave Hogan. "There wasn't much time left in the half. We were hoping he was going to score. He was bound and determined. If you watch L.J. long enough, you just know that he feels he's going to score. You can just tell in his body language. That was awesome. That was a great run."

You can watch that play here:

Caz was hanging in late in the first half, trailing 14-0 with under 90 seconds to go. But Watson broke a 54-yard run, then finished off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown with 1:10 left.

Here's the 54-yard run that set up that score:

"He's solid," said Cazenovia linebacker Austin Enders of Watson. "You can't tackle him high, as we learned in the game. You've got to take him low. That's the only way to stop him. He's a great running back."

Cazenovia quarterback Anthony Vecchiarelli started his second game for starter Matt Regan, who injured his foot during the sectionals against Chittenango. Against a defense as sound and talented as Forks, limitations in the pass game were exposed. Vecchiarellli was intercepted four times. None was bigger than the one by Watson returned for a touchdown.

The Blue Devils scored twice in 32 seconds and a 28-0 halftime lead.

Chenango Forks quarterback Cody Bogue tossed two touchdown passes to Dan Crowningshield. Both came off play-action with the Lakers shading the line of scrimmage trying to stop Watson.  His first one opened the scoring and covered 44 yards. The other was to a painfully open Crowningshield in the third quarter covering 16 yards.

At times, Cazenovia moved the ball. It could not, however, sustain drives. The Lakers were trailing 35-0 when they finally scored, a 1-yard run by Cody Thorp. That drive included an onside kick to start the second half and a fake punt in which Vecchiarelli tossed a 26-yard pass to Austin Enders. You can watch that play, here:

Cazenovia coach Jay Steinhorst said the Lakers needed to bring their A game to beat a team as powerful as Chenango Forks. He said the Laker performance was more in the B range. He congratulated his team and told them in a post-game huddle that they'd been defeated by a great.

"We've been the Beast of the East," he said. "It wasn't our night."

"Can't be any more proud," Enders said of the Lakers, who overcame significant graduation losses to win its fourth Section III championship in five years and get back to the state playoffs. "Great team. Great family."

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Chenango Forks ends Cazenovia’s state championship defense

By John Brewer  - The Oneida Daily Dispatch

icero >> It was a bout of champions Saturday as the reigning New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B champion Cazenovia Lakers squared off against the 2015 Class C champion Chenango Forks Blue Devils.

Jumping up to Class B play in 2016 did not seem to faze the Blue Devils as they defeated the Lakers by a score of 35-13 in the Class B Regional Final.

Senior running back L.J. Watson paced the Blue Devil attack, earning MVP honors and tallying three touchdowns. Cazenovia senior running back Cody Thorp took the MVP award for the Lakers.

Chenango Forks enjoyed a fruitful first quarter with key plays on both sides of the ball, striking first less than three minutes into the game. After a 16 yard run by sophomore Jeremiah Allen, the Blue Devils struck deep on the very next play. Quarterback Kris Borelli connected with Dan Crowningshield on a deep 44 yard strike to put Chenango Forks on top.

The following possession, Chenango Forks lineman Ryan Ehrets picked off a failed Cazenovia screen attempt, giving the Blue Devils possession deep in Laker territory. Chenango Forks needed only two plays to score points off the turnover on a short rushing touchdown by L.J. Watson.

Cazenovia would threaten early in the second quarter following a deep pass connection between Anthony Vecchiarelli and Thorp. After nearly losing the football on a pitch to the running back, the Lakers failed to convert on 4th and 10 in the red zone as a Vecchiarelli's pass fell incomplete in the end zone. A delayed incomplete call by the officials on the play drew the ire of Laker fans.

Late in the second, Chenango Forks padded their lead on drive featuring Watson. Watson bounced a run out to the sideline, breaking tackles on the way to a 54 yard scamper that set the Blue Devils up on the Laker 5 yard line. The senior Blue Devil running back would later punch the ball into the end zone on a goal line run to put the Blue Devils up 21-0.

Watson�s work was not done however.

On the next Cazenovia possession, the Chenango Forks standout intercepted a Vechiarelli pass and returned it all the way to the house for a pick-6 touchdown.

At the end of the half, Cazenovia trailed 28-0.

The Lakers scored first in the second half to cut the lead to 28-7 on a Thorp rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter after converting a fake punt attempt.

The teams would trade touchdowns to end the game as Dan Crowningshield crossed the goal line for the Blue Devils before Cazenovia scored the final touchdown of the game on a 42 yard pass from Vecchiarelli to Will Huftalen.

The Lakers and head coach Jay Steinhorst finish their 2016 campaign with a 9-2 overall record.

Chenango Forks improved to 11-0

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