CHENANGO FORKS – For the third straight meeting between the Chenango Forks Blue Devils and the Norwich Purple Tornado, Chenango Forks put 49 points on the board as they went on to defeat Norwich 49-21 Saturday afternoon.
The Tornado elected to receive the kickoff to start the game. Looking like the team that played Windsor the week prior, Norwich took their opening drive in for six points as Eric Conant sprinted 48 yards down the sideline for the score.
Following the kickoff, Forks drove for 71 yards to the Norwich one yard line before being stopped on fourth and goal by the Tornado. After making the big stop, Norwich was unable to score and had to punt the ball away.
Chenango Forks’ Lucas Scott capitalized on the Norwich three-and-out to punch it from six yards away with no time left on the clock in the first.
The next Tornado drive is where the game changed.
On third down, Norwich quarterback Thomas Parrella threw the ball down the field to what he thought was an open Norwich receiver but the Blue Devils’ Jake Topa snuck in to make the interception at the Forks 40 yard line.
The turnover resulted in another touchdown for Scott, this time for nine yards out.
Seizing the opportunities from two more second quarter turnovers by Norwich, Chenango Forks finished the half with a 28-7 lead.
Out of the break, Scott caught a 21 yard pass for his fourth score of the game. He capped off his big day with a fifth touchdown on a 37 yard run with 3:37 to go in the third quarter, giving his Blue Devils a 42-7 lead.
During their next drive, Norwich took the ball down to the half yard line and called Drew Walsh’s number to drive the ball over the goal line for their second score of the game. On the play, a Chenango Forks player got their helmet on the ball to force a fumble but the Tornado’s Jahlil Jones fell on top of it to secure the six points for Norwich. Kicker Matt Giglio sent the extra point through the uprights, making the score 42-14.
Following another Fork score, Norwich back Seth Wessels came into the game and scored one final touchdown for the Purple Tornado with 20 seconds remaining in the contest to show a score of 49-14.
Forks’ Scott finished the day with 170 yards on 25 carries as Forks ended the afternoon with a total of 484 yards on offense.
Norwich’s Conant carried the ball seven times for 83 yards yard on the ground. Two of his carries were for 47 yards and 33 yard gains. Walsh, his counterpart in the backfield ran for 67 yards on 14 attempts.
Parrella completed three passes for 30 yards. J.T. Vinal caught one of those three passes for 16 yards while teammate Eli Rodriguez had to catches for a total of 14 yards.
Norwich moves to 1-1 and will look to rebound before Friday night when they host long-time rival Oneonta. Last year was the first time in 80-plus years the two teams did not see each other on the schedule because the Yellowjackets were classified as a Class C school. This year, they return to Class B. The game will kickoff at 7 p.m. in Norwich.
Chenango Forks 49, Norwich 21
Norwich 7 0 0 14 – 21
