- Kevin Stevens, kstevens@pressconnects.com @PSBKevin
Chenango Forks’ resourceful defenders held Union-Endicott scoreless through the final 35 minutes and 53 seconds Friday night on the way to a come-from-behind 21-7 football victory at Ty Cobb Stadium.
The first of dependable fullback Tim McDonald’s two touchdowns in a 100-yard rushing outing finished a nine-play, 56-yard drive and put the Blue Devils (2-0) on top by 13-7 with 3:56 to play in the third quarter.
Union-Endicott (1-1) advanced to Forks’ 13-yard line before losing a fumble late in the third quarter, and reached the guests’ 11-yard line only to have a fourth-down pass intercepted in the end zone with 1:56 to play in the game.
McDonald rushed 24 times, and teammate L.J. Watson tacked on 75 rushing yards to go with two receptions for 60 yards and a TD.
The Tigers’ Josh Greenwood rushed for 111 yards on 15 carries.
And following this one, there were bruised and banged teen-agers on both sides.
“We ran into a very, very physical team, no doubt about that,” said Forks coach David Hogan. “We know they’re very well-coached and that makes it all the more special when you can beat a team that physically tough.”
The Blue Devils faced their first deficit of the young season when, on the opening play of the second quarter, U-E’s Devon Hogan delivered a picturesque, fourth-and-14 pass from the 16 that Tyler Maerkl went airborne to snare near the end zone’s left boundary. That polished off a 73-yard drive that gouged better than six minutes from the clock and lasted 13 plays.
The Blue Devils responded on their next possession, which began at their 37 and concluded with the football in the hands of one of Section 4’s most gifted and spectacular players.
On fourth-and-7 from the Tigers’ 33-yard line, quarterback Cody Bogue sent a high pass that Watson sprinted under to receive behind a defender at about the 3 and proceeded on in. That was four plays after that pair collaborated on a 27-yard gain to escape a third-and-10 pickle. On that one, Watson leapt to make a gorgeous grab between a pair of defensive players.
The 7-7 standoff held through halftime, at which point the message from Forks coaches was?
“Just keep doing what we’re doing and we’ll be on top, because we played a great first half and we just needed to build on that,” said McDonald, who gained 79 second-half yards. “We knew if we kept pounding we’d have it because our line won’t ever get tired. They condition very hard, they work very hard.”
Forks’ go-ahead scoring drive started with rushes of 11 and 6 yards by Watson, included a 12-yarder from McDonald and concluded with McDonald carrying in behind left guard on first-and-goal from the 2 with 3:56 to play in the third.
A crusher for U-E came on its next possession, which featured a 37-yard, first-down rush by Greenwood and a 28-yard pass from Hogan to Maerkl. And that duo appears to have a little something going on, as evidenced by their three hook-ups for 58 yards.
Just after U-E backtracked 5 yards on a false-start penalty, Greenwood lost possession a couple yards into a rush from the 18 and Forks recovered at the 10 with 2:27 remaining in the third.
The second-to-last U-E possession ended with Connor Borchardt lunging to make a critical tackle that squelched a fourth-and-5 play from Forks’ 38, and the Tigers’ last was wiped out by Kris Borelli’s interception in the end zone off Watson’s deflection.
McDonald’s second score, a 5-yard rush, came on his fifth carry of a nine-play possession with 5:34 remaining.
“Getting those turnovers certainly helped us, and us securing the ball,” coach Hogan said following his squad’s second consecutive turnover-free showing. “But I think us getting the first downs and punching those in in the second half were huge. And then our defense stepping up when they had to step up down in the red zone, certainly some keys there.”
As for McDonald’s 24-carry workload, to go with outstanding play at linebacker?
“Whatever the team needs, I guess. I’m ready for everything,” said the 200-pound senior. “I think our line was doing a great job, we were able to keep pounding and they got worn down a little bit and we stayed up.”
Chenango Forks, 36-3 with three Class C state championships over the last three seasons, opened its season last Saturday with a 55-12 victory over Tioga’s defending Class D state champions. Union-Endicott, playing a second consecutive weekend at home, opened with a 20-12 win over Binghamton. That point total represented the Patriots’ lowest since November 2012.
Next for the Blue Devils is a game Friday at Waverly, home of Section 4’s defending Class B champions. The Tigers visit Johnson City the same night.
But first, both sides figure to have a bit of healing to do.
“I think I’m going to be very sore tomorrow,” McDonald said. “They had lots of big, strong, fast kids. They were very physical.”
- Kevin Stevens, kstevens@pressconnects.com @PSBKevin
It’ll be the inaugural meeting of two football programs with considerable pedigree when Chenango Forks visits Union-Endicott for a 7 p.m. contest Friday.
The Blue Devils opened last Saturday with a wildly impressive 55-12 win over Tioga, powered by a ground game that generated 489 yards. Senior L.J. Watson led the way with 195 yards despite carrying once after halftime.
“U-E’s a good team, too. Obviously now that we’re in Class B playing bigger teams we’ll have to work harder,” Watson said.
Forks comes in manning the No. 11 rung on CBS MaxPreps Northeast Regional rankings, tops among New York schools in a 10-state listing. St. Joseph’s Prep of Philadelphia is No. 1, Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) No. 3, and Archbishop Stepinac of Staten Island No. 20 and next-best New York school.
Attribute that to the power of three consecutive Class C state championships.
The Tigers opened with a 20-12 victory over Binghamton at Ty Cobb Stadium, with Josh Greenwood contributing 193 of the team’s 321 rushing yards. Binghamton mustered 2.9 yards per carry against U-E.
Post-game
Midweek
Article(s):
Fifth Quarter:
Forks’ Mr. Dependable
- Kevin Stevens, kstevens@pressconnects.com @PSBKevin
With a touchdown lead and a premium on whittling time from the clock Friday night at Union-Endicott, Chenango Forks’ brain trust knew where the football was going with regularity.
Senior Tim McDonald rushed 10 times in the final quarter, one of those going 5 yards for the final TD in the Blue Devils’ 21-7 victory.
“A couple of our halfbacks were cramping up, and he’s the veteran back there, he’s played back there for three years now,” said Forks coach David Hogan. “He’s secures the ball, goes north and south and he’s was getting 4, 5, 6 yards a carry. Why not? Keep the clock moving, keep the sticks moving. He certainly was the go-to guy when we needed him most.”
On the other side was the game’s leading rusher, Tigers senior Josh Greenwood, whose 111 yards eclipsed McDonald’s total by 11.
“He’s a very good player, a very good player,” McDonald said of his counterpart. “He had some great runs. He breaks a lot of tackles but eventually we figured it out, once someone grabbed him we all needed to hop on him. Eventually that worked out for us.”