Bainbridge-Guilford is one of two Chenango County teams to qualify for postseason play – Greene is the other – and it begins its foray into the Class D playoffs at defending state champion Walton.
Playing Walton is not an easy task for any club, and the Bobcats are coming off back-to-back defeats to Delhi and Unatego respectively. In the former, B-G had some success moving the ball, but could not stop the Bulldogs’ offense. In the latter contest this past Friday, the Spartans stopped the Bobcats’ offense stone-cold, and if not for a couple of key defensive stops by B-G, the 17-0 final would have looked much uglier on the scoreboard.
“Unatego just absolutely controlled the line of scrimmage, both offensively and defensively,” said B-G third-year coach Tim Mattingly. Leading rusher Dustin Ross was keyed on by the Unatego defense, and finished with just five yards. “Every time Ross touched the ball, three or four guys were all over him. We didn’t play a good game, but Unatego definitely dominated.”
If Delhi and Unatego were dominant, those two clubs may seem like patsies when confronted with an imposing, impressive Warriors club.
How impressive? The last two weeks, Walton has outscored its opponents 140-12. Through seven weeks, there are 19 teams in Section IV who haven’t scored that many points all season.
Averaging well over 300 yards of offense per game and over 47 points per game on offense, no one has slowed the Walton attack. Going one further, few have place much of a dent in the Warriors’ defense. Walton has outscored the opposition by 307 points, a statistic that places the state champs in a league of their own.
“They’re just methodical, well disciplined, carry out great fakes, and block extremely well,” Mattingly said.
In other words, there are few if any weaknesses. “We know it’s going to be a tough game, and I think there is a mental thing (for opponents) going up against Walton,” Mattingly said. “The question is, even if we slow their offense down, will we be able to move the ball? We will have to play our best game; we’ll see how it goes.”
Walton enters Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. home contest on a 20-game winning streak. Also in the Class D playoff mix are Delhi, Seton Catholic Central, Candor, Groton, Spencer-Van Etten, and Moravia. After this weekend’s contests, winning teams will be re-seeded and paired for the semifinals.
Elsewhere this weekend:
Norwich (5-2, 1-2) at Oneonta (3-4, 1-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
It’s been one of those seasons for the Tornado, who have garnered some impressive non-league wins, but simply found the division victories hard to come by. Norwich has intersectional wins over Oneida and Holland Patent, the number one and three seeds in the Section III, Class B playoffs, and non-division Class B wins over Owego and Waverly, both of whom are still in the Division IV playoff hunt. In Oneonta, Norwich will not just lace up the shoulder pads against a longtime rival, it can also vanquish the Yellowjackets’ postseason aspirations. Oneonta, in spite of its losing record, has a jewel of a victory on its docket: An 18-15 win over defending sectional champion Chenango Forks. If Oneonta can defeat the Tornado tonight, and Windsor is able to upend Chenango Forks this weekend, Oneonta will vault into the second-place playoff spot in Division III. Norwich coach John Pluta knows his club can no longer extend its season after week nine, but is pleased with opportunity to have a say in another team’s playoff fortunes. A win for the Tornado will match last year’s win total, accomplish a preseason goal (defeating Oneonta), and eliminate the ‘Jackets from the playoffs. Not a bad triumvirate of achievements.
Oneonta comes into the game with similar production on offense and defense against division opponents as the Tornado. Oneonta has averaged 11.3 points on offense and surrendered a shade under 18 points per game on defense. Norwich is scoring 14 points a game against the division and giving up 18.3 points a contest.
Leading Oneonta’s attack is senior running back Brendan Pidgeon, who has 675 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. Pidgeon is a bruising runner inside with breakaway speed. He scored on a long TD run against the Blue Devils helping his club pull out the three-point win. Matt Marcewicz has 441 yards on the ground, but may miss this contest with an injury.
