CHENANGO FORKS – In two games this season, Chenango Forks’ starting quarterback Casey Lanave has not thrown a single pass. Except for a halfback option pass in week one against Windsor, the Blue Devils have completed eschewed any attempts to move the ball through the air.
Forks head coach Dave Hogan smiled when he was asked if his coaching staff contemplated throwing a pass in Saturday’s 26-6 win over Norwich. “It certainly crosses our minds, but it’s another thing to pull the trigger on it,” Hogan said.
Why would his team need to throw the ball when his rushing attack remains brutally efficient and effective? Lanave executed the option offense to perfection along with fullback Jim Miller. Miller and Lanave softened up the Norwich defense rushing for 101 and 89 yards respectively. Those two gave way to speedy tailbacks – and twin brothers – Tyler and Ryan Lusht near the goal line. Tyler Lusht scored on runs of 4, 3, and 4 yards, and Ryan Lusht interceded on the third Forks score rambling in from eight yards out.
Chenango Forks finished with 284 yards on the ground, while keeping the Tornado defense busy all afternoon. The only men on the field longer than the NHS defense were the five officials. “We really played a pretty good first half, and I thought we had a pretty good defensive plan,” said Norwich second-year coach, John Martinson. “In the second half, they really hurt us off tackle, and we knew they were going there. That’s the thing, you know where someone’s going, and you still have diffiuclty stopping them.”
Norwich spotted Chenango Forks a six-point halftime lead when Ryan Lusht capped a 12-yard drive on a four-yard caper. Miller, whose running never ventured beyond the two guards on opposite sides of the center, grabbed sizable chunks of yards during the excursion to set up the TD.
Norwich stayed within a touchdown forcing a fumble that was recovered by Grant Brightman, holding Forks to its lone three-and-out of the game, and then stopping a fourth-and-five late in the first half.
The Tornado’s momentum picked up early in the third quarter thanks to a brilliant individual effort on special teams by junior Seth Thomsen. Thomsen fielded a punt at the 17. He caught the ball on the left side, cut up to the right, shed a Forks tackler, then raced into open space down the left side for the tying score. Norwich missed the extra point to remain tied.
The momentum for the visiting Purple and White lasted a mere moment. Ryan Lusht nearly broke the ensuing kickoff for a score returning it 55 yards to the NHS 32. Forks’ usual cast of characters – Lanave, Miller, Lusht, and Lusht – roughed up the Tornado defense with steady gains, and the lead was Chenango Forks’ once more after aTyler Lusht three-yard run.
Norwich failed to gain a first down on its next two possessions, and in fact, did not have a first down in the second half until its last drive of the game when both clubs had their reserves on the field.
Lanave broke a 47-yard run to the Norwich 12 on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Ryan Lusht upped the host’s lead to 14 two plays later. Before the Chenango Forks starters took a seat, the offense went 55 yards for its last score, that TD coming from Tyler Lusht.
Norwich had minus-four yards of offense in the second half until amassing 62 yards on its final drive, one that ended with a lost fumble. For the game, Norwich totaled just 98 yards. “No doubt, our offense struggled today,” Martinson said. “They had nine guys in the box, and we tried to throw the ball a couple of times later in the game. You saw what happened there on the bootleg (a sack of quarterback Thomsen). They have a stingy defense and make you earn every inch on the field. We just weren’t able to execute today.”
Norwich has a short week of practice as it plays at Vestal Thursday night.
Scoring by Quarters
NHS 0 0 6 0–6
CFks 0 6 8 12–26
Scoring Summary
CF: Tyler Lusht 4 run (kick failed)
