At first glance, looking at the body of work logged by our six Chenango County football teams, nothing appears to jump off the page, so to speak.
Greene, for the third time in four years, registered the best overall record, yet failed to make the Class C playoffs. Down the line, B-G recorded its seventh straight winning season and third playoff appearance in four years. As you dig a little deeper, you’ll realize that the makeup of this year’s ballclubs – and the 24 all-star selections on our pages today – are more the blue-collar, under-the-radar individuals constantly nipping at your heels.
Here’s one statistic that reveals the competitiveness: For only the second time since all six grid outfits joined the Section IV Football Conference in 1995, every team recorded at least four victories. Aside from the Bobcats, Norwich made the playoffs a fourth straight year, and Sherburne-Earlville qualified for the Section III playoffs for the first time since leaving Section IV over a decade ago. Every club was in position to have a winning season, and all but one club had a chance to reach the playoffs as late as week seven.
None of the ballclubs was tearing it up offensively week after week, nor was any team playing defense like Chicago’s famed “Monsters of the Midway.” What we did see was steady production, and some record-breaking individual efforts at three schools.
Returning all-star, Oxford senior Paul Wonka, broke his school’s all-time rushing mark in week seven, and in his final game wearing a Blackhawks uniform, established a new all-time Chenango County rushing mark finishing his career with 3,726 rushing yards in 32 career games.
Perhaps the biggest surprises were B-G senior fullback Jake Mazzarella and Unadilla Valley quarterback Kurt Haycook. Mazzarella, following a long line of great B-G backs, set a new single-season school rushing record, and he did so on the final drive of his career totaling 1,365 yards, while rushing for a county-best 18 scores. “For whatever reason, we’ve continued to have running backs come in and do a great job for us,” said B-G coach Tim Mattingly, who has had four different running backs rush for over 1,000 yards over the past six seasons.
Haycook never started a varsity game at quarterback until this year. He proceeded to set a Unadilla Valley record throwing for 953 yards and 13 scores, while also completing better than 51 percent of his passes. Haycook’s quarterback rating of 135 (based on the NCAA computation method), was 30 points better than any other starting quarterback in Chenango County.
While not a record performance, Oxford receiver Andrew Golden became the first person in 14 years to record as many as 40 catches in season. (The last person to do it was Oxford grad Ronny Smith). Golden’s 87 career catches, according to our statistics, is second in Oxford history behind Smith.
Golden and Wonka are two of nine returning all-stars. Making it two straight appearances in this issue are B-G’s Austin Bauerle and Corbin Palmer; Norwich’s Grant Brightman and Kyle Edwards; Austin Jasper of Sherburne-Earlville; and Unadilla Valley’s Justin Hofer and Kody Homann.
New faces not already mentioned are Greene’s Dan Treadwell, Garrett Huttleston, Trevor Flohr, Chris Kehoe, and Cole Browning; Keagan Franklin, Ryan Hayes, and Mike Oralls of Norwich; Brett Hufnagle of Oxford; and Unadilla Valley’s Richie Conklin and Alex Avolio.
All-Star selections this year were based on our observations of Chenango County players and the recommendations of area head coaches. Players who do not receive a varsity letter from their team are not eligible for the all-star squad. Below we have summarized the seasons of our two-dozen all-stars.
Teams listed Alphabetically
Bainbridge-Guilford
Jake Mazzarella, sr., running back, 5-foot-9, 185 pounds
In his first and only full-time season as a starting running back, all Mazzarella did was establish a new Bainbridge-Guilford single-season rushing record. In his first three games this season, Mazzarella had over 600 yards and eight touchdowns, and he finished with 1,365 yards and 18 touchdowns, both area-best totals. Mazzarella broke the record on his team’s final drive of the season, and capped off his career with a short touchdown run. “He just came into the year in great shape,” said B-G coach Tim Mattingly. “He has tremendous breakaway speed, and is just a physical runner. He really did exceed all of our expectations this season.”
Austin Bauerle, sr., tight end 6-foot-2, 215 pounds
Bauerle was far and away Bainbridge-Guilford’s leading receiver, but he was also a tremendous blocker on the offensive line helping his team average a county-leading 225 yards rushing per game. He finished with 19 catches for 281 yards with a pair of TD receptions. On defense, Mattingly said, he was also a team leader at defensive end. “He has a great set of hands and is such a good route runner,” Mattingly said. “If you throw it anywhere near him, he can make that catch. He did a great job for us on both sides of the ball, and showed tremendous leaderhip this year.”
Corbin Palmer, sr., defensive back/quarterback, 5-foot-10, 165 pounds
Not only was Palmer the quarterback on offense, he was also, arguably, the quarterback of the Bobcats’ defense. In addition to his pass coverage responsibilities, Palmer had a nose for the ball, and was consistently in on tackles. Palmer also directed the only offense that rushed for over 2,000 yards and passed for over 600 yards during the season. He completed 42 percent of his passes and threw for seven scores. “He did as good a job of running our offense as anyone I’ve coached,” Mattingly said. “He is a disciplined, smart kid, and he’s also tough.” Palmer threw for TD passes in seven of nine games, and had a season-best 126 yards passing in a victory over rival Oxford.
B-G honorable mention: Bobby Holden, sr., defensive line; Timmy Walts, sr., offensive center.
Greene
Dan Treadwell, sr., RB/DB, 5-foot-9, 165 pounds.
Treadwell, who had all of 15 carries his junior year, became the Trojans’ leading rusher in 2012 finishing with 561 yards, scoring six TDs and averaging 7.9 yards per carry. This from back who never carried the ball as many as 10 times in a game until the final two games of his career. “He did a little bit of everything for us, and he did them all well,” said Greene coach Tim Paske. Treadwell had three special teams touchdowns returning two kickoffs and one punt return to paydirt, had a team-high five interceptions, and caught seven passes. Over his three-year varsity career, he had 15 interceptions, the most of any player in Paske’s 10-year coaching tenure. Treadwell finished with nine touchdowns and seven two-point conversions leading the Trojans with 68 points. “He was huge for us and a special player this year,” Paske said.
Trevor Flohr, sr, offensive guard 6-2, 186 pounds
Certainly not the largest offensive lineman for Greene, Flohr made up for that with strength, speed, and technique. He had 38 pancake blocks – better than four per game – and as an inside defensive tackle, registered 67 defensive tackles. A three-year starter, Flohr was a true unsung hero who was rewarded with the “FOOL Award,” which stands for Fraternal Order of Offensive Lineman. “He has a motor that doesn’t stop,” Paske said. “On the offensive line, he loves to pull and does a lot of the trap stuff. He was a guy we definitely liked to run behind...he was a great kid to coach. He’s a team player, and will do anything for you.”
Garrett Huttleston, sr. offensive guard, 6-foot, 278 pounds
A veteran offensive lineman and two-year starter for the Trojans, Huttleston was a key component in the Trojans’ ability to push the line surge forward. He had 32 pancake blocks, and was a workhorse in the trenches either as a pulling guard or straight ahead power blocking on simple dive plays. “Garrett helped open a lot of holes for us,” Paske said. “He’s another guy who loved to pull or kick out the defensive end, and another guy who is tough to replace. He’s one of those gentle giants, but once the lights are on, he flips and switch and becomes an animal.”
Chris Kehoe, sr., center, 6-0, 260 pounds
A four-year starter on the offensive line at center, Kehoe was the most experienced of an already veteran offensive line, and led a powerful offensive line with 39 pancake blocks. Kehoe performed at a high level all season despite coming off a broken leg the previous spring. “He was a great leader up front for us and captain the past two years,” Paske said. “He took a lot of pride in his snaps, and rarely did we have a fumbled snap. When defenses gave us an odd look up front, the key for us was Chris handling the nose. He was able to handle the opponent’s nose, and had a heck of a final year for us.”
Cole Browning, sr., linebacker, 5-11, 185 pounds
Every successful team has a player like Cole Browning on it. It’s someone who can fill in competently at any position, and perform the duties unselfishly and with pride. Browning was asked to play tight end and running back on offense the first part of the season, and finished the last three games as the starting quarterback. On the other side of the ball, Browning moved between defensive safety, linebacker, and even defensive end. “He is someone who always sacrificed for the team, and did whatever was needed to be done,” Paske said. “He was an all-around player for us and had a great attitude.” Browning averaged nearly eight tackles per game, he forced three fumbles, was in on a couple of sacks, and had a fumble recovery. “He is someone who truly believes in the team concept,” Paske said. “He’s a positive kid, and the younger kids all look up to him.”
Greene honorable mention: Mike Beckwith, sr.; Trevor Parrish, sr.; Lane Whittaker, sr., Joel Roselle, jr.; Jeremy Flohr, sr.
Norwich
Kyle Edwards, sr., running back, 6-foot-3, 175 pounds
The world “versatile” comes to mind when describing Edwards, a returning all-star pick for Norwich. Edwards led Norwich in rushing yards, receiving, returned punts, and was the team’s punter averaging well over 35 yards per kick, with 12 punts pinning opponents inside the 20. Defensively, he was third in tackles and led in interceptions. In the win against Oneonta, Edwards put together Norwich’s single-best individual performance of the season rushing for 112 yards, catching 100 yards worth of passes, and returning a punt 66 yards for a touchdown. “He a great leader with a great work ethic,” said Norwich coach John Martinson. “He could do everything for us, and he helped us become more two-dimensional on offense.”
Grant Brightman, sr. linebacker, 5-foot-11, 215 pounds
Norwich’s preeminent defender the past three seasons, Brightman was hobbled the last six games with a severe ankle injury. After missing a pair of games, Brightman returned over the final four games playing almost exclusively defense – and on good leg. “He was still our second tackler, and remained our anchor on defense,” Martinson said. “He was very intense and knowledgeable player, who brings great confidence and assurance to his teammates, no matter what side of the ball he’s on.”
