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from Friday, 9/28 2001 by Kevin Stevens
CHENANGO FORKS (9/29) --
A quick look at the win-loss records and team statistics
suggested that Chenango Forks wouldn't have much trouble with
Chenango Valley in the latest chapter of one of the Southern
Tier's best high school football rivalries.
The numbers turned out to mean
very little Saturday. Chenango Forks withstood a
spirited effort from the Warriors and hung on for a hard-earned,
13-6 victory. Drew Batty had a pair of
interceptions and returned a fumble 19 yards for a touchdown
late in the fourth quarter, helping the Blue Devils remain
perfect through four Section 4 Football Conference games. It was
Forks' seventh straight win over CV. "My goodness, what a
game," Forks coach Kelsey Green said. "It wasn't a
pretty victory, but you go into every game with one objective
and that's to win, so we're thrilled.
"I know the guys from CV
are despondent right now, but they have nothing to hang their
heads about. They played a great game."
Forks entered the Division III
game ranked 11th in the state in Class B by the New York State
Sports Writers Association. The Blue Devils were averaging 35.3
points and 250 yards rushing while holding opponents to an
average of just under 14 points per game.
CV (1-3) was coming off a 61-21
loss last weekend at Delhi. The Warriors had allowed an average
of 30 points a game.
Yet, with under five minutes
remaining, the Warriors trailed just 7-0. They had the ball on
their own 33-yard line after a 13-yard run for a first down by
Brandon Pickering.
After an incomplete pass, CV
split end Eric Brey was hit for an 8-yard loss. On third down,
CV tried to run Brey left, but he was crunched behind the line
of scrimmage by linebacker Steve Tronovitch, who knocked the
ball loose.
Batty scooped up the ball at
the 19 and ran untouched into the end zone to put Forks ahead
13-0 with 4:31 left.
"I think Eric was just
trying for that extra yardage, and the ball just got
loose," CV coach Bob Zanot said.
CV scored on Nate Andrus'
65-yard touchdown pass to Brey with 3:53 left, but Forks
recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
Although the Blue Devils were
limited to 197 yards of offense -- largely the result of CV's
switch to a 5-3 formation from its typical 5-2 -- they were up
to their usual stingy standards on defense. The Blue Devils held
the Warriors to 46 yards rushing on 29 carries and 143 yards
total.
Forks also forced four
turnovers. The first turnover, a Coy Reynolds interception of an
Andrus pass at the CV 30, led to a quick score. After a 28-yard
run by Jamie Hoover, quarterback Chris Spencer scored on a
2-yard run just 1:14 into play.
Forks found the going tough
offensively after that touchdown, but its defense stifled
several good scoring opportunities.
Andrus was picked off by Batty
on consecutive possessions in the second quarter, the second
interception coming at the Blue Devils' 19-yard line.
"The defense played a
tremendous game," Green said. "We made every play
defensively today but one. They really carried us today."
Said Zanot: "Through the
years we've always had a hard time scoring on Forks. And I don't
think we're alone. We know what they're going to do and it's
still hard to get things going against them.
"We were just looking to
catch a break, and we just couldn't do it."
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