Groton (5-1) has not played an official game in three weeks. It squared off in an exhibition game last week against Schuylerville, and received a forfeit one week earlier against Thomas Edison. Will that give B-G (5-2) the competitive edge heading into tonight’s Class D playoff opener? “I really think that both teams are pretty evenly matched,” said B-G coach Tim Mattingly. “We’ll do our stuff, and see what happens.”
Groton is not the same club that beat B-G two years ago in the Class D playoffs. It lost to Oxford, 28-20, in week two, and in the game against Schuylerville, the final score reported was an outrageous 67-7 loss for the Indians. “We’re not looking at their game last week,” Mattingly said. “They have a quick running back, a quarterback who can throw, and good receivers. Defensively, they are physical with aggressive linebackers.”
The Bobcats’ number one key will be to re-establish running back Jake Mazzarella. Mazzarella was averaging over 170 yards rushing per game the first six weeks, but was held to 30 yards and a season-low 10 carries against Windsor. “The bottom line is that we have to establish Jacob and the running game,” Mattingly said. “We’ll mix it up on offense, but we’ll need to be successful running the ball if we want to win this game.”
Greene (5-2) at Norwich (4-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
If tonight’s meeting is anything like the first time these two clubs met, it should be an entertaining affair as the Tornado finish up their home schedule. In that contest in 2007, the Tornado were stopped on a fourth-and-one at the one-yard line late in the fourth quarter in a 16-15 Trojans victory.
Since that win, Greene’s program has continued to flourish with a pair of Section IV finals appearances, and last week it clinched the program’s eighth straight winning season, one of the longest current streaks in the section. “We’re very impressed with how well Greene executes. They are fast, physical, and tough,” said Norwich coach John Martinson. “We expect a physical game, and we’ll need to be more aggressive this week on both sides of the ball.”
While Greene is coming off a 22-8 road win over Whitney Point, the Tornado have back-to-back home losses to Maine-Endwell and Chenango Valley by a combined 84-21 score. Those losses, however, came to the number one ranked Class B team in the state (M-E), and the two-time defending Section IV Class B champion. “We look at last week’s game (against Chenango Valley) as an aberration,” said Greene coach Tim Paske. “The film I have seen, Norwich is much better than that. They have a lot of good skill kids, and they can do almost what they want to do on offense.”
On the line for Greene is another win over a school in a larger classification. For Norwich, a win would generate some momentum as it heads toward a Class B playoff appearance next week. “Overall, our team is excited about playing Greene. It’s our senior night and final home game,” Martinson said. “We must learn from our past two games, but look ahead at what opportunities are in front of us.”
Delhi (3-4) Unadilla Valley (3-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
