Through the first three weeks of the season, some – not all – of the area’s teams have found themselves in early-season division games. No games are more important than the intra-division, and without exception, every game this week has divisional implications. Without further hesitation, we jump into the five area games this weekend:
Greene (0-0, 2-1) at Unadilla Valley-Edmeston (0-0, 2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Greene romped past UV-Edmeston a season ago by a whopping 61-0, and that came was halted early in the fourth quarter. No doubt, tonight’s game on the Storm’s home turf will not resemble last season’s rout.
“They’ve won two of three games, and they had an opportunity to win the other game,” said Greene coach Tim Paske. “They’re definitely a much different team from last year. They’re more motivated, and you see a difference in how they come off the ball and how they get after it.”
The Storm defense has made marked improvements defensively, and is allowing just 97 rushing yards a game. By contrast, the Trojans have the best rushing offense at 306 yards per game. “We have some veteran guys up front, and we think there are things we can take advantage of,” Paske said. “If we stick to the basics, we like our game plan.”
Greene has the area’s second leading rusher, Kurt Shear, who has 423 yards, and quarterback Keegan Cerwinski has 278 yards on the ground. The rest of offense is capable of putting up good numbers, too, Paske said.
UV-Edmeston won last week with special teams and defense. It managed just 100 yards of offense against Spencer-Van Etten, but a punt return for a score by Cody Homann provided the difference.
Oxford (1-1, 2-1) at Deposit-Hancock (0-1, 0-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Oxford has gone into must-win mode after suffering a heart-breaking one-point overtime loss to Delhi last Friday. “We’re prepared and it comes down to execution and getting over that emotional loss,” said Oxford coach Mike Chrystie.
In the Eagles, Oxford faces a winless team that was battered and blown out by an improving Walton club. Deposit-Hancock is in its first year as a merged team, and is still working out the kinks, Chrystie said. “If anyone can take over a program with rival communities playing together, Terry Raymond (Deposit head coach) can do it,” Chrystie said. “They got thumped a little by Walton, but we know Terrry will have his team prepared to play.”
Oxford eschewed the running game last week in the second half after averaging just two yards per carry against Delhi. Instead, the Blackhawks found a passing game capable of putting up big yards and making even bigger plays. “We want the balance on offense,” Chrystie said. “I don’t think going into a game where you have to throw the ball 30 times, that that’s a good recipe for success. We did grow last week, and we took some positives out of the passing game.”
Susquehanna Valley (0-0, 3-0) at Norwich (0-0, 1-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
Last year, Norwich narrowly escaped with a 6-0 win at Susquehanna Valley. The Sabers are off to a fast start this season winning all three games and averaging over 30 points per game while doing it. Norwich, though, has just four touchdowns through three games, and is averaging less than 150 yards of offense per game.
“We’ve gone back to Norwich football and we’ve focused more on scrimmaging each other and toughening ourselves up,” said Norwich coach John Martinson. “We’ve talking about using our pads on both sides of the ball, staying on blocks, and finishing tackles.”
