Football
Owego 20, Norwich 12
OWEGO – Norwich's hopes at a sixth straight playoff appearance did not take a hit Friday, but its confidence possibly did.
The Tornado offense was blanked over the final two quarters Friday night as Owego avenged last year's defeat to NHS.
Stavlon Canavan ran for a three-yard touchdown with three minutes left in the second quarter to push the Indians in front for good, 14-12.
The Indians added an insurance score in the fourth when C.J. Bergmann punched through the Norwich defense from one yard out.
Not only was Norwich held off the scoreboard in the second half, the offense was barely seen on the field as Owego dominated the time of possession. "It was some ridiculous time of possession advantage for them," said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie.
Chrystie said his team simply struggled to sustain drives. "We didn't have a lot of three-and-outs, but there were a lot of four- and five-play drives. We couldn't sustain anything, and credit goes to Owego. They clogged up the middle, and our guys just need to do a better job of executing to free people up."
Norwich senior running back Mike Oralls and the NHS offensive line seemed to have a handle on the Owego defense early on. Oralls scored on a two-yard run in the first quarter, and Oralls’ second TD run, a 15-yard jaunt, gave Norwich a 12-7 lead.
Oralls finished with 172 yards on 23 carries, and he nearly had a third score in the third.
After a big Oralls run took Norwich inside the Owego 10 with a first-and-goal, Norwich's drive stalled as Owego stuffed the Tornado at the two. NHS attempted a 20-yard field goal for the one-point lead, but had the kick blocked.
Owego rushed for just 102 yards on 33 carries. While Indians quarterback Logan Neira threw for 124 yards, Norwich intercepted Neira four times. Jordan Vinal had two picks, and Matt Parrella along with Everett Thompson intercepted one apiece. Junior Nick Murphy led the Norwich defense with seven tackles, one sack, and 1 1/2 tackles for a loss. Vinal, Adrian Hoffman, Cole Rifanburg, and Thompson were also key contributors to the defense.
"They had some success running the ball, but overall, we did a good job on defense," Chrystie said. "The time of possession was in their favor, and we just put too much pressure on our defense."
Norwich hosts Maine-Endwell Friday. The Spartans won their 40th straight game beating Susquehanna Valley Saturday.
Score by quarters
Nor. 6 6 0 0–12
Owe. 0 14 0 6–20
Scoring Summary
First quarter
N: Mike Oralls 2 run (kick failed).
Second quarter
O: Logan Neira 11 pass to Eric Larrabee (Dan Wolfe kick)
N: Oralls 15 run (run failed)
O: Stavlon Caravan 3 run (Wolfe kick)
Fourth quarter
O: C.J. Bergmann 1 run (kick failed)
Team Summary
N O
First downs 8 16
Rushes-yds 39-186 33-102
Passing yds 0 124
Comp-att-int 0-4-1 12-22-4
Punts-avg 4-4 3-33.3
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties, yds 5-45 3-20
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (N) Mike Oralls, 23-172; Cole Rifanburg, 10-15; Alec Weaver, 4-1; Team, 1-0; Jacob Perrone, 1-(-2). (O) Stavlon Canavan, 16-77; Pat Nagle, 2-17; CJ Bergmann, 2-13; Patrick Bibrey, 4-5; Dan Wolfe, 1-0; Logan Neira, 8-(-10).
Passing: (N) Cole Rifanburg, 0-4-1, 0 yds, (O) Logan Neira, 12-22-4, 124 yds, TD.
Receiving: (O) Will Gladney, 2-36; Stavlon Canavan, 4-31; Eric Larrabee, 2-26; CJ Bergmann, 1-7; Patrick Bibrey, 1-5; Pat Nagle, 1-2.
Dryden 28, Oxford 7
OXFORD – Dryden running back Stuart Stahlman and Dryden's entire front line were too much for Oxford to handle as the Lions beat their second Chenango County football team in as many weeks Friday evening.
Stahlman ran for three touchdowns and 210 yards against the Blackhawks (1-1). Stahlman capped his day - and raised Dryden's lead to four scores - when he dashed outside and down the sideline for a 92-yard TD scamper.
"We had our team well prepared for what they do and had guys in position, Dryden was just more physical," said Oxford coach Jeff Newton. "Dryden's coaches played it smart. We stopped their option early. After that, they turned to power football and just ran it down our throats."
Despite trailing by four scores, Oxford showed some spunk in the fourth quarter driving for a touchdown late in the game. Nik Neer capped a scoring drive with an 11-yard run. Neer had 113 yards rushing and 49 yards receiving to highlight the Oxford offense. "Our kids never gave up, and that's a big difference from last year," Newton said. "They're giving it their all for four quarters."
Oxford plays Whitney Point this week.
Score by quarters
Dry. 7 8 6 7–28
Oxf. 0 0 0 7–7
Scoring Summary
D: Stahlman 3 run (kick good)
D: McKernan 50 pass to #2 (two-point run good)
D: Stahlman 45 run (pat failed)
D: Stahlman 92 run (kick good)
O: Nik Neer 11 run (Neer kick)
Individuals statistics
Rushing: (O) Neer 10-113; Simpson, 12-45; Trenton Lyons, 2-24, Gonzalez, 1-2. (D) Stu Stahlman, 24-210; Decker, 8-12; Joyce, 9-69; Marsh, 4-19; McKernan, 2-19; #10, 1-20; #20, 1-5.
Passing: (O) Angelo Gonzalez, 2-14-3, 49; Barry, 1-1-0, 11 yds. (D) McKernan, 1-1-0, 50 yds, TD.
Receiving: (O) Lyons 1-11, Neer 2-49. (D) #2, 1-50 yds.
Unatego 21, Greene 6
OTEGO – Greene's excellent defensive performance against one of the premier Class D offenses in Section IV went for naught in a loss to Unatego Friday.
Unatego quarterback Josh Feyerabend ran for a first-quarter TD, and added a pair of TD tosses to Ryan Marszal. The last throw to Marszal made it a 21-0 game with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Greene controlled the clock for much of the first quarter picking up six first downs. "We turned it over twice in their territory in the first quarter," said Greene coach Dave Gorton, who noted that one of those turnovers led to a Unatego score. "It was an evenly played game overall, we just made some mistakes on offense that set us back."
Greene quarterback Josh Harrington scored on a one-yard keeper in the fourth quarter, and later in the quarter, Greene drove to the Unatego three only to suffer its most critical turnover of the game.
Unatego finished with just 65 yards rushing, and Feyerabend threw for 151 yards, but was picked off twice. "There were a couple of times on defense where we didn't do what we wanted on third down, but for most of the game, it was outstanding," Gorton said.
Score by quarters
Gree. 0 0 0 6– 6
Unat. 7 8 6 0–21
First Quarter
U: Josh Feyerabend 5 run (Josh Feyerabend kick)
