The opponent this week for Norwich (1-1) tonight is longtime rival Chenango Forks (2-1), a school the Purple Tornado have not beaten since the 1999 Class B championship team routed the Blue Devils. The focus, though, isn’t just preparing for the Blue Devils, but restoring the physical brand of play for which NHS is known. Sidney consistently beat Norwich at the line of scrimmage last week in a 12-6 win over Norwich, and the NHS coaching staff took notice.
“It came down to the basics: We didn’t block or tackle well last week,” said Norwich coach John Martinson. “We saw that as coaches, and it was something we had to work on. We want to be more physical up front in running our base offense, and everyone needs to take personal accountability. We’ve had a good week of practice, and I expect the kids will play hard.”
Chenango Forks is no longer a rival to Norwich in the Class B ranks, but it is the marquis program in Section IV over the past 10 years “They have a fantastic program, and we’ve had a difficult time beating them,” Martinson said “Forks doesn’t rebuild, they reload (every year). They are tough in the red zone and play great defense.”
The Blue Devils rebounded from a 21-0 loss to Greene with a 21-7 win over Chenango Valley last weekend. Senior fullback Lukas Aston is the key to the offensive attack, Martinson said. “Their entire offense is based around him,” Martinson said of Aston.
Quarterback Zach Jeske is dangerous running and throwing the ball, and the stable of dangerous backs includes Jacob Green, Kyle Fleicher, and Ethan Cook. “We’ll have our work cut out for us, but we need to take care of the ball and play Norwich football,” Martinson said.
Hamilton/Morrisville-Eaton (1-1, 1-2) at Sherburne-Earlville (2-0, 2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
With the exception of the second half in its opening game – and mostly the final quarter – Sherburne-Earlville’s defense has remained stingy, and is allowing on average less than 100 yards rushing per game. In Hamilton/Morrisville-Eaton, the Marauders face a team that may prefer a spread passing attack over a strong running game. “They’re a decent club, and the like to throw it around,” said S-E head coach, Mike Jasper. “They have played both of their league opponents tough, so we can’t take them lightly.”
The Marauders are coming off one of their most important division wins in several years winning at Mount Markham to move to 2-0 in division play. With four regular season games left – three in division play – S-E likely needs to win two of those three contests to earn a Section III playoff bid. “We’re not looking past this game at all, and to reach our goal, we need to win these games one week at a time,” Jasper said.
S-E is led by its three starting rushers Cory Musician (241 yards), Austin Jasper (215 yards), and Derrek Ferris (137 yards). Quarterback Randy Briggs is completing 50 percent of his passes and has thrown two TD passes.
B-G (1-0, 2-0) at Deposit-Hancock (0-1, 1-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Deposit-Hancock lost to Walton last week in its division opener in convincing fashion, but that may not be the best indicator of the Eagles. Walton is perhaps the cream of the crop in Class D this year, if not all of New York State. “Walton will be tough for everyone, but I think (Deposit-Hancock) is capable of putting points on the board, and I anticipate it being a tough game,” said B-G coach Tim Mattingly. “They’re better than last year, and they have better numbers out for the team.”
Deposit-Hancock enjoyed most of its success against B-G last year throwing the ball, and Mattingly expects more of the same.
The Bobcats, though, can counter with their own potent passing game that is an able complement to an already effective rushing attack. Junior Corbin Palmer has five TD passes in two games throwing for 340 yards. The B-G running game, meanwhile, is also averaging close to 260 yards per game. “We’re much more balanced, and overall, we’re probably a little bit better than last year,” Mattingly said.
