CHENANGO FORKS – Even the most optimistic of Chenango Forks supporters would not have predicted the type of defensive performance on display Saturday afternoon against Greene.
Count Blue Devils head coach, Dave Hogan, among the most surprised by a 21-0 shutout victory over the Trojans.
“In no way did I expect to shut them out,” Hogan said. “They have a lot of weapons on offense and it was quite a performance by our defense. We couldn’t play them any better.”
The saying good defense beats good offense was never more true in this case. The Trojans, averaging a Section IV-high 38 points a game, advanced no closer than 32 yards of the Blue Devils’ goal line. Five Greene turnovers in nine possessions didn’t help matters either.
“They took away some inside running stuff, and we felt we could throw on them,” said Greene seventh-year head coach, Tim Paske. “We had some opportunities…we just many too many mistakes, and when you do that against good teams, they capitalize.”
The Trojans survived Forks’ six-minute, 12-play drive late in the first quarter and into the early minute of the second stanza. On fourth down from the eight, Dan Grady’s 25-yard field goal was blocked, and Greene senior Scott Gorton grabbed the end-over-end loose ball returning it to the 19.
On the second play after the field goal, defensive end Mike Szymkowski stepped in front of a Gorton pass, and raced untouched for a 22-yard score. “Scott’s pre-snap read was to throw to the back side, which is what he did,” Paske said. “The end just dropped back into the passing lane, and he made a good play.”
The workmanlike Forks offense, one that eschewed the forward pass all but one time in this contest, drove 54 yards for the game’s first offensive touchdown. Quarterback Ricky Bronson, seemingly stopped at the line of scrimmage, found a seam in the Greene defense on an option keeper, and scored from 39 yards out.
Bronson finished with a team-high 103 yards on 11 carries, and Forks finished with 292 yards rushing on 52 carries. Ryan Lusht added 84 yards on just seven carries.
The lone pass attempt by the Blue Devils was intercepted by the Trojans’ Brian Day. “Defensively, we thought we had a good plan,” Paske said. “We wanted to make them work for everything, and we definitely made them work. (Poor) field position was definitely a factor. It’s hard to drive 80 yards against a defense as tough as theirs. There is a reason why they are ranked number two in the state.”
Derek Foster had two interceptions for the Blue Devils, and David Hendrickson intercepted a pass for Forks on the Trojans’ last possession of the game.
With two minutes left in the contest, Chenango Forks cashed in on a 66-yard drive as Jordan Barnett took the ball over the goal from one yard out.
Greene finished with a season-low 127 yards of total offense. Tyler Beckwith’s 58 yards rushing on 18 carries topped the Trojans’ statistics.
Score by quarters
Gr. 0 0 0 0—0
CFks 0 14 0 7—21
Scoring Summary
Second quarter
