SECTION IV FOOTBALL: STATE-RANKED FORKS ROLLS PAST NEWARK VALLEY, 40-3 (24 PHOTOS) (2024-09-28)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
BINGHAMTON — Fresh off an impressive win to end Tioga’s 43-game win streak last week, state-ranked Chenango Forks continued to roll Saturday, posting a 40-3 Section IV Football Conference victory over Newark Valley.
The Blue Devils, ranked third in the state in the latest Class C poll, scored twice on the ground and twice through the air in the game’s first 12 ½ minutes to improve to 4-0 overall.
“Forks is a very good team,” NV coach Ted Hardenstine said. “They're a very, very good team and they're a much better team than we are right now, and that was evident right from the start. We weren't able to hang with them.”
Newark Valley came into the game with a few players banged up.
“We got a lot of experience for our young guys,” Hardenstine said. “Unfortunately, we weren't able to have enough guys to be able to play a JV game this week so we were able to dress some of them to fill out our roster for today. A lot of those guys got their first varsity experience here and got to feel what it feels like to play on a Saturday afternoon in front of a larger crowd at a big stadium so that was a good experience for a lot of them.”
The Cardinals had to make a few lineup changes as well, most notably running back Jackson Hoover moving under center and tight end Gabe Merrill running out of the backfield.
“We had a few different injuries and we had to either move guys from position or put JV guys there,” Hardenstine said. “We moved some guys' positions around so that we could try to make it work. I think both of them stepped up and I'm proud of them both, doing a good job playing in a position they haven't had as many reps at.
“We knew going into the year that we didn't have very much depth, so we've been cross-training people at different positions the whole year to be ready for situations like this.
“You only have so many reps in a day that you can get in so that's been one of the things that's been a challenge for us the whole year is because of that. We have to be in a scenario where if one guy goes down that might shift two or three guys around. And if you get two or three guys go down, that's a whole lot of people shifting around.”
With a downpour greeting both teams early in the contest, Finn Stark scored on runs of seven and 35 yards on Forks’ first two possessions, at 8:28 and 2:40 of the opening period. Liam Spalek converted the first PAT kick, but a slippery ball on the second attempt left the Devils with a 13-0 lead.
Stark would intercept Jackson Hoover’s pass on the first play of the ensuing possession and Forks quarterback Sam Paske would hit Brysen Fry with a 38-yard touchdown pass on the next play. NV’s Tim Wojtysiak blocked the kick, but the CF advantage was 19-0 with 2:17 left in the first quarter.
Paske connected with Tate Bender for a 36-yard TD pass on the first play of the second quarter and Spalek’s kick made it 26-0.
The Cardinals went three and out on their first possession of Q2, then Bender scored on a 39-yard run two plays later to push the Devils’ Homecoming game lead to 33-0.
Newark Valley began moving the ball, but coughed up the rock at the Forks, but the defense stepped up as Jack Blomberg and Merrill came up with two key defensive plays apiece on the Devils’ next possession.
NV controlled the pigskin for the final 6:18 of the half, driving 73 yards in 12 plays to get on the scoreboard. Josh Benjamin split the uprights with a 32-yard field goal, ending Forks’ bid for a third consecutive shutout.
The Cardinals picked up four first downs during the march, three coming on Logan Rhodes runs and the other on a Hoover keeper.
Forks scored on its opening drive of the second half, taking the ball 68 yards in 13 plays. The PAT kick made it 40-3.
The Cardinals managed 124 yards on offense, all on the ground. Rhodes had 10 carries for 36 yards, Hoover had seven for 28 and Merrill added seven for 18. The rest of the backfield was made up of sophomore Troy Stebbins (5-23), and freshmen Kenny Slater (2-15), Karmine Cataloni (1-2) and Travis Payne (1-2).
Forks finished with 367 yards on offense, 312 coming on the ground. Bender rushed five times for 64 yards, and Stark and Bartlow carried the ball three times each, for 56 and 40 yards, respectively. Paske completed all three of his passes for 55 yards.
NV (1-3) hosts Susquehanna Valley (1-3) next Saturday in its final non-division game of the season. Hardenstine is hoping his team can be ready to compete for a Homecoming victory.
“We have to be playing tougher-nosed football. We’ve got to be more physical at the point of attack. We’ve still got to take care of the football better. We’ve got to have our running backs running with a sense of purpose, hitting the hole and believing in it.
“We don't need to get too crazy … sometimes you get to this point of the year and you start kind of putting in the window dressings or whatever they call it, where you start adding in a few things. We're not there yet. We have to still just focus on our fundamentals and the basics of our offense, and doing a better job doing that. Hopefully, we'll get a little healthier, and we can get some guys playing a physical brand of football, and hopefully we'll be able to put together a better performance for Sus Valley next week.”
——————
PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
Print Friendly Version
