CHENANGO COUNTY – What a year for Chenango County Football.

Norwich finished with a 7-3 record and appeared in the Section IV Class B final. Sherburne-Earlville, Greene, and Harpursville-Afton all made it to their class semifinal games. Bainbridge-Guilford beat Walton for the first time nearly 50 years and almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the craziest game head coach Israel Lormier has ever been a part of or watched. Oxford and Unadilla Valley went through rebuilding seasons, but have prepared themselves for better seasons next year.

Norwich started off the season with an 3-0 record before taking its first loss to a tough Susquehanna Valley Saber squad on one of the hottest days of the fall sports season. That three game win streak that kicked off the season included a 13-12 win over the heavily favorites Maine-Endwell Spartan team. After defeating the Warriors of Chenango Valley, the Purple took on the defending state runner-up Chenango Forks. It was then they were handed their second loss of the season as Forks was a lot to handle. The Tornado finished the regular season with a win over Windsor on the road. They turned around and played the Black Knights the following week for the first round of sectional playoffs. As the two-seed, Norwich hosted the play-off game and eliminated Windsor for the playoff win. For the next game, even though the team was the higher seed and had home field advantage, the Tornado was again the underdog against M-E in the Section IV semifinal game. Norwich jumped to an early lead with two quick touchdowns, but the Spartans gained momentum at the end of the half which they carried into the second half. In one of the craziest finishes of the season, Norwich sealed the victory on a defensive stop and secured a spot in the Class B final against the defending champ Forks. That is where their season came to an end as Forks was too much to handle and the Blue Devils – who would make it to this year’s State Championship game, losing 28-14 to Pleasantville – were able to score six first half touchdowns. The Purple accomplished a great deal this season under the helm of head coach Mike Chrystie, who will lose 12 seniors this year. Norwich will still have their standout running backs next season along with their quarterback, who had big shoes to fill in the third game of the season due to an injury that sidelined their starter for the rest of the season.

Sherburne-Earlville had a tough start to their schedule as they immediately played powerhouse Dolgeville and followed with a tough Canastota team. After the 0-2 start, the Marauders turned their season around, winning their next game by a large margin over Adirondack (51-0). Taking that drive, Sherburne-Earlville grabbed victories over Clinton, Holland Patent, West Canada Valley and locked up a spot in the Section III Class C playoff picture with an exciting win over Little Falls. In the first round of playoffs, the Marauders faced off against Jordan-Elbridge, a team described by head Coach Ed Holmquist as “a team like no one they have faced earlier in the year.” Sherburne-Earlville proved to be the better team, taking down J-E in dominating fashion, winning 31-19 and giving the program their first ever Section III playoff win. Heading into the next round, S-E knew it wasn’t going to be an easy road. They faced the undefeated one-seed General Brown. General Brown overpowered the Marauders, not allowing Sherburne-Earlville to score until late in the game, ending their historical season in the semifinal round. The 2017 6-3 Marauders will lose 11 seniors and will rely heavily on their young returners for the 2018 season.

The Greene Trojans finished their year with a 5-3 record but not before making it to the Class D semifinal game against a tough Sidney Warriors team. Greene started off their season on the road against Class C Odessa-Montour. The Trojans took a loss but turned the next game into a road win over Groton. In week three, they faced Warriors and gave them the toughest test Sidney had faced early in the season. Taking a 28-22 loss in the contest, Greene didn’t go out with a fight. The Trojans grabbed a four game win streak following the loss. The opponents that received their losses during the four wins: Moravia, Harpursville-Afton, Oxford and Deposit-Hancock in the first round of playoffs, leading them to face the Warriors in the semis. In a close 14-6 loss, Greene proved that they could hang with the toughest in the league. Greene loses four seniors that produced big numbers for them this season but will have strong program still with the youngster coming through the program.