2001 Chenango Forks Varsity Football

Forks rules stomping grounds, defeats East

Deyo, a lightning-quick 160-pound senior halfback, rushed for a game-high 138 yards and three touchdowns, the last being a 46-yarder down the left sideline in the third quarter of a 35-6 Class B semifinal rout of Corning East.

Not bad, to be sure, but it gets even better.

Following his final carry, a 50-yard spurt that set up Steve Tronovitch's 19-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the third quarter and opened a 35-0 lead, Deyo was serenaded by the crowd of several hundred.

"DEYYYYYO...DEYYYYYYYOOO," they chanted in unison, everyone sounding like calypso singer Harry Belafonte.

"I don't even know if I can describe that," Deyo said. "It's the best feeling I've ever had. To have people chanting my name in the last game a lot of us seniors will ever play on this field. It was ... it was amazing."

Amazing would describe the latest victory for the Blue Devils (9-0), ranked fifth among the New York's Class B schools.

Everyone already knows about Forks' tough-as-nails defense, which allowed Corning East only 10 yards rushing in the first half and 97 for the game. And nose guard Kelsey Jenks wasted little time setting a tone with a thunderous sack of Trojans quarterback Josh Stewart on a third-and-5 midway through the second quarter.

East couldn't block Jenks, and had no answer for fellow linemen Jake Frisch, Juan Mendoza or Jordan Jenks either. Normally fleet-footed East tailback Jordan Van Oort managed only 18 rushing yards, and athletic quarterback Felix Forbes had only seven.

But Forks won the game with its underrated offense, a unit that receives little attention but can't be overlooked. The Blue Devils employ a thunder-and-lightning running attack featuring Deyo and Jamie Hoover, two backs whose styles couldn't be any different.

Deyo is the flashy speedburner, who doesn't need many carries to rack up yardage. He notched 111 of his yards on only three carries and scored touchdowns of 15 and 46 yards to go with a 1-yard plunge that opened the scoring five minutes into the game.

Hoover (113 yards) gets the tough yards between the tackles. But he can also burst through the line for big gains, like his 55-yard touchdown that gave Forks a 21-0 lead late in the first half.

"In the beginning of the year, it was our defense that got all the credit," Hoover said. "They deserved it, but the offense got a little upset. We're not a one-dimensional team."

Said Forks coach Kelsey Green: "Maybe if we don't talk about it, [the offense] will keep sneaking up on people. I like the way we run. Roy is a constant, and Jamie really came through today."

Hoover will need to do it again this Saturday when Forks meets Oneonta for the Class B championship. The game is at 5 p.m. at Union-Endicott's Ty Cobb Stadium.

"We've been thinking about Oneonta for a long time," Deyo said. "Hopefully, it'll work out as well as it did today."

Chenango Forks rushing:

• Deyo 8-138, 3 TDs
• Hoover 11-113, 1 TD
• Spencer 8-55
• Batty 5-30
• Green 2-20
• Tronovitch 1-19, 1 TD
• Juriga 6-16
• Voorhis 4-9
• Mirabito 5-7
• Pendleton 3-7
• Carle 1-1

Corning East rushing:

• Forbes 11-7
• Van Oort 6-18
• Pearson 4-55
• Simpson 4-16
• Hatton 4-6
• Smith 3-4
• Stewart 3-(-14)
• Bennett 1-5

Chenango Forks passing:

• Matt Juriga 0-2, 0 yards, 1 int.
• Chris Spencer 0-1

Corning East passing:

• Stewart 2-6, 22 yards
• Forbes 0-1
• Smith 0-1

Chenango Forks receiving: 

Corning East receiving:

• Zielinski 1-14
• Van Oort 1-8 

JV Score: Chenango Forks 12, Susquehanna Valley 6