All of the offseason work, the monotonous preseason drills, the running, the sweating, the aches and pains, and the anticipation of playing the first game of the season will be rewarded with the opening of the 2010 football season tonight.
All six of Chenango County’s football teams kick off under the lights, but had their initial taste of competition a weekend ago in controlled scrimmages against other area clubs.
Greene invited five other schools to participate on its field turf, the largest such scrimmage that we heard about. Norwich, Chenango Valley, and Deposit-Hancock were three of the other five teams on hand, said Greene coach Tim Paske, who gave his assessment of the participants
Norwich: “Norwich is big up front as usual, they’re physical, and come and hit you. I saw a lot of good things with them, and their kids believe in their system. They’re going to be tough.”
Chenango Valley: “They had a few kids injured, but they have some talent and size up front...(their success) may depend on getting the ball to the right people.”
Deposit-Hancock: “They have a lot of players and athletes to pick from, and Terry Raymond (D-H head coach) said he is doing a lot more teaching, especially to the Hancock kids learning a new system. By the end of the season, they will be a force to be reckoned with.”
At Oxford, head coach Mike Chrystie takes his team to an annual scrimmage where the Blackhawks see the likes of Chenango Forks, Vestal, and Delhi. One might think Oxford is the proverbial lamb being sent to the slaughter facing two significantly larger schools with winning programs (Forks, Vestal), and a Delhi team that is typically among the best in Class D.
“Some people might look at that scrimmage as a mismatch for us,” Chrystie said. “I’d like to think it’s a competitive scrimmage, and it prepares us for a successful season.”
Chrystie said he thought his team performed “pretty good,” and the big thing is that his team came away injury-free.
Sherburne-Earlville coach, Mike Jasper, said his team had perhaps its best overall scrimmage in the five years he has been on the coaching staff. The scrimmage included Section IV teams UV-Edmeston, Bainbridge-Guilford, and Section III’s Morrisville-Eaton.
“I felt we did some really good things on offense and defense,” Jasper said of the scrimmage. “We were able to score multiple times on Morrisville and UV. We struggled a little bit against B-G, but we were able to throw it well. It was encouraging because we weren’t running our entire offense.”
Tim Mattingly, B-G’s head coach, came away from that same scrimmage with positive thoughts as well. “I was satisfied with the way it went, and we executed better than I thought we would,” Mattingly said.
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Just a quick note: I will be phoning Stan Foulds, first-year head coach of UV-Edmeston, quite a bit over the next two months. Not once will I be disappointed waiting for Mr. Foulds to answer. Foulds has perhaps the best ringback tone I have ever heard. It’s a verse from Boston’s “Foreplay/Long Time” off the group’s seminal debut album released in 1976. Growing up, Boston was one of my favorite bands, and that ringback tone brings back fond memories.
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Many sports enthusiasts point to this weekend as their favorite time of the sports season. If you’re not able to check out some of the local games, head to WCDO, 100.9 FM Friday night and Saturday afternoon. A good source reported to us that one-time local broadcaster, Harry Graves, is returning to the booth. The local football radio schedule for Friday: Whitney Point at Norwich, 6:50 p.m., WCHN, 970 AM; B-G at Unadilla Valley-Edmeston, 6:45 p.m., WCDO, 100.9 FM; Oneonta at Greene, 6:50 p.m., WZOZ, 103.1 FM; Delhi at Unatego, 6:45 p.m., WDHI, 100.3 FM; and Corning at Owego, 6:45 p.m., WEBO, 107.9 FM/1330 AM.
For Saturday: Sidney at Walton, 1:15 p.m., WCDO 100.9 FM/1490 AM and WDLA, 92.1 FM/1270 AM.
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For a look at our five local games, please read on:
