Week three brings local grid fans into heated division battles, and a potential game of the week is Sidney’s home matchup against Chenango County’s 12th-ranked Greene Trojans.
Greene’s current ranking, although completely subjective, may be the program’s highest in statewide Class C in school history.
Week one’s 37-0 shellacking of Oxford set the early tone, and last week’s 36-22 win over Tioga is a wee bit deceiving. The Trojans led 36-6 early in the third quarter before head coach Tim Paske flooded the field with reserves.
Sidney counters with two equally impressive wins routing Section III’s Mount Markham, a playoff team a year ago, and Delhi. “They have a good group returning up front (on the offensive line), and that’s a key to any team’s success,” said Greene’s Paske.
The Trojans handled Sidney a season ago with relative ease, but that was before the Warriors began to jell. Sidney finished with three wins over the final four games, and is off to a hot start this season.
Perhaps the biggest addition to Sidney’s roster is senior Mike Guerriere, who transferred from the soccer program. Already the leading soccer scorer in school history, he has made a name for himself on the football field with breakaway running speed and a booming leg on kickoffs. He also has a 47-yard field goal to his credit. “Guerriere’s probably one of the fastest kids we’ll see this year, and he’s a weapon on special teams,” Paske said. “We hope he only gets to kick off just once.”
The Trojans’ precision passing game crossed up Tioga last week, and combined with a sturdy offensive line opening big holes to move the ball at will. Over a period of four quarters – the last two of the Oxford game and first two of Tioga – Greene scored touchdowns on eight of nine possessions.
“I think everything starts up front, and I like group we have,” Paske said. “The offensive line is doing a great job executing on game day, and we have good leaders there. We want to compete for a division title, and this is our first stepping stone.”
Elsewhere this week, Norwich hosts Chenango Valley in a Class B division matchup; UV-Edmeston entertains Harpursville this evening, Oxford invites Lansing to town; and Sherburne-Earlville hosts a Section III division game against Mount Markham. Saturday, Bainbridge-Guilford travels to Deposit.
Chenango Valley (0-0, 1-1) at Norwich (0-0, 2-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
After years of dominating the rivalry, Norwich has dropped the last two meetings to the Warriors, who went on to earn a wild-card bid in the Section IV, Class B playoffs. The Tornado should have no difficulty getting up for the Warriors in their first division game of the season, and will attempt to get off to a better start. Over the first two games, Norwich has scored 26 of its 38 points in the fourth quarter, none in the third quarter, and one touchdown apiece in the first and second quarters.
Brian Stinson is the Warriors’ top returning rusher, although he doesn’t lead the team in that category. That distinction belongs to Devin Carroll, who is averaging a modest 56 yards rushing per game. CV picked up its first win a week ago against Sus Valley (17-10), and has a defeat to Corning West (21-18) in week one.
Norwich is led by junior running back Paddy Law, who has 141 yards rushing. Quarterback Tim Clark is completing 60 percent of his passes for 175 yards and three TDs.
Mount Markham (0-2) at Sherburne-Earlville (1-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
As recently as last November, Mount Markham was among the best Class C teams in the state. The Mustangs led eventual state champion Bishop Ludden by 20 points before dropping a Section III final. “They have kids that are used to winning,” said S-E coach Mickey James. “They lost most of their good kids, but they have a real good running back. They play hard and I expect they will come right at us.”
