Norwich knows how to do homecoming
Norwich knows how to do homecoming, and tonight, the Tornado faithful will enjoy a super-sized celebration thanks to the vision of the athletics department and the help of countless volunteers. Aside from an expanded parade to precede the football game, all of the Tornado varsity sports teams will receive recognition and a grand entrance onto the newly-turfed Ulrich Field. And, by the way, there is a longtime rival ready to meet the NHS gridders – Oneonta – to top off the evening. For those unable to take in the contest in person, Frontier Communications High-Speed Internet subscribers can take in the game on an exclusive webcast by logging on to www.ESPN360.com.
“There is a lot going on,” said Norwich coach John Pluta. Pluta’s Tornado club is coming off what he called a “disappointing loss” to Chenango Forks a weekend ago. The Tornado suffered a pair of costly penalties in the fourth quarter that contributed to two stalled scoring drives in a 14-6 defeat. “We’ve had some pretty tough losses, but our kids are hanging in there and they’ve had a solid week of practice,” he said.
Despite the hoopla surrounding and preceding Norwich’s seventh contest this season, Pluta said he team has resolved to remain focused on an opponent that is much better than its 2-4 record. “They are a good team, but had some injuries early in the year,” he said. “They have everyone back and have some game-breakers back. They’ve also played good defense all year.”
Brendan Pidgeon returned to the Yellowjackets lineup last week and ran for 136 yards and one score in a 12-7 win over Susquehanna Valley. Oneonta’s defense also allowed just 64 yards rushing, and nary an opposing team on its schedule this season has eclipsed 200 yards rushing. That includes games against Windsor, Chenango Forks, Johnson City, and Unatego, who have a combined 20-4 record this season.
Norwich running back Chris Mattingly broke the 600-yard rushing mark for the third straight season in last week’s game, and he needs 90 yards to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark for his three-year varsity career.
The Tornado defense is also yielding just 15.3 points per game this season and 259 yards a game, a one-TD improvement in scoring defense, and nearly 50 yards better per game in total yardage surrendered on that side of the ball. Perhaps the 3-3 record does not do Norwich justice in a division that has as much parity as any in Section IV. “Our division is so tight and has good football,” Pluta said. “I don’t think we’re surprising anyone in our division. Maybe people on the outside didn’t think we’d be as competitive, but we knew we’d be solid and play hard each week.”
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The Norwich contest is one of five on the slate this week. In a battle of local rivals, Oxford travels to Bainbridge-Guilford tonight, while Greene is in action hosting Lansing this evening. Saturday, UV-Edmeston makes the trip to Harpursville, and Sherburne-Earlville is at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill. Here are capsules of this week’s games:
Oxford (3-3) at Bainbridge-Guilford (4-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
A slim playoff opportunity remains for the Bobcats, who have gone in twos with their wins and losses. After winning the first two and dropping the next two, B-G has beaten Harpursville and Hancock the last two weeks. “They have been up and down somewhat, but they are still in the playoff hunt and I’m sure their coaching staff is telling them they need to win this game,” said Oxford coach Mike Chrystie.
The Blackhawks’ defense has improved significantly since back-to-back losses to Harpursville and Walton in weeks two and three. The past three weeks, the run defense is giving up under 80 yards a game. Offensively, the running offense has averaged over 230 yards per game.
On the B-G side, it has the area’s second leading rusher, Dustin Ross, second leading passer, Chris McGinnis, and second leading receiver, Dylan Whitaker. The Bobcats are not short of weapons on offense, and it is a quicker, more aggressive team overall than last year’s B-G team. “The one thing our coaching staff noticed was their team speed,” Chrystie said. “On defense, B-G gets off its blocks well and pursues to the ball. We need another great team game.”
Lansing (5-1) at Greene (4-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
In a rematch of last year’s Class C playoff semifinals, the Trojans look to avenge last year’s 14-0 loss to the Bobcats. Unlike a year ago, Lansing does not enter the contest with an unblemished mark. Unatego racked up 38 points in a 20-point victory, the same Unatego club that beat the Trojans 26-8 early in the season.
Lansing is led by returning quarterback Vince Redmond, who is 46-for-80 with 817 yards and 10 TD passes through six games. Teagan Baressi, a 6-foot-4 transfer from soccer, has a team-high 15 catches for 360 yards and five touchdowns. Kyle Sweazey and Brian Milliman also have double-digit catches for a balanced offense that makes you cover the width of the field. They have averaged throwing the ball 20 times in many of their games, and they have been pretty effective with it,” said Greene coach Tim Paske. “They have a balanced offense. Sometimes they go with the run, and other times the pass. They tried the power running game against Unatego – and it worked – but they fell behind and had to air it out.”
The Trojans are coming off an overtime loss to Trumansburg and need to win one of their last two games to return to the playoffs a second straight season. “We had five starters back (most who play two ways) from last year and we had a lot of guys new to varsity who have stepped up and improved,” Paske said. “With a tight game last week, that will help us. It was an intense game and we still control our own destiny.”
UV-Edmeston (3-3) at Harpursville (2-4), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Harpursville just happens to be in one of the toughest divisions top to bottom, so its improvement this season isn’t as noticeable. Despite a 2-4 mark, the Hornets are a prolific running team with explosive backs and an offense that can put points on the board. Joe Nieto averages nearly 10 yards a carry and tops the running back list with 624 yards. Fullback Todd Terpstra has 394 yards and four scores, and the Hornets average 22 points a game on offense.
The Storm have found their offense the past two weeks putting 74 points on the board after scoring just 30 points the first four games. Defense has remained the one constant as UV-E has allowed eight points or less the last four games.
On offense, Jordan Williams starts at quarterback and is coming off a three-TD performance (two rushing, one kickoff return). Senior fullback Tom Giordano is showing signs of his 2006 form with 90-yard rushing games the last two weeks and four touchdowns.
Sherburne-Earlville (2-4) at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (5-1), 2 p.m.
The Red Devils pinned a 40-12 loss on the Marauders a year ago, and this V-V-S club appears more balanced then years past. Quarterback Doug Doolen has two games in which he threw three scores leading his club to impressive wins over Holland Patent and South Jefferson during a current four-game winning streak. Zach Jensen tops the receiving corps, and running back Mike Jones is coming off a season-best 179 yards last week in a win over A-P-W. “They are as big as dinosaurs up front,” said S-E coach Mickey James. “It’s nothing fancy (the running game). It’s mostly counters and traps on the inside.”
Sherburne-Earlville, while out of the postseason mix, boasts the Class B East’s top rusher in senior Billy Northey. Northey is also far and away the leading rusher in Chenango County with 1,035 yards on the season. He is on pace to rush for over 1,500 yards, which would likely set a single-season rushing mark for the Marauders.
“There is a lot going on,” said Norwich coach John Pluta. Pluta’s Tornado club is coming off what he called a “disappointing loss” to Chenango Forks a weekend ago. The Tornado suffered a pair of costly penalties in the fourth quarter that contributed to two stalled scoring drives in a 14-6 defeat. “We’ve had some pretty tough losses, but our kids are hanging in there and they’ve had a solid week of practice,” he said.
Despite the hoopla surrounding and preceding Norwich’s seventh contest this season, Pluta said he team has resolved to remain focused on an opponent that is much better than its 2-4 record. “They are a good team, but had some injuries early in the year,” he said. “They have everyone back and have some game-breakers back. They’ve also played good defense all year.”
Brendan Pidgeon returned to the Yellowjackets lineup last week and ran for 136 yards and one score in a 12-7 win over Susquehanna Valley. Oneonta’s defense also allowed just 64 yards rushing, and nary an opposing team on its schedule this season has eclipsed 200 yards rushing. That includes games against Windsor, Chenango Forks, Johnson City, and Unatego, who have a combined 20-4 record this season.
Norwich running back Chris Mattingly broke the 600-yard rushing mark for the third straight season in last week’s game, and he needs 90 yards to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark for his three-year varsity career.
The Tornado defense is also yielding just 15.3 points per game this season and 259 yards a game, a one-TD improvement in scoring defense, and nearly 50 yards better per game in total yardage surrendered on that side of the ball. Perhaps the 3-3 record does not do Norwich justice in a division that has as much parity as any in Section IV. “Our division is so tight and has good football,” Pluta said. “I don’t think we’re surprising anyone in our division. Maybe people on the outside didn’t think we’d be as competitive, but we knew we’d be solid and play hard each week.”
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The Norwich contest is one of five on the slate this week. In a battle of local rivals, Oxford travels to Bainbridge-Guilford tonight, while Greene is in action hosting Lansing this evening. Saturday, UV-Edmeston makes the trip to Harpursville, and Sherburne-Earlville is at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill. Here are capsules of this week’s games:
Oxford (3-3) at Bainbridge-Guilford (4-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
A slim playoff opportunity remains for the Bobcats, who have gone in twos with their wins and losses. After winning the first two and dropping the next two, B-G has beaten Harpursville and Hancock the last two weeks. “They have been up and down somewhat, but they are still in the playoff hunt and I’m sure their coaching staff is telling them they need to win this game,” said Oxford coach Mike Chrystie.
The Blackhawks’ defense has improved significantly since back-to-back losses to Harpursville and Walton in weeks two and three. The past three weeks, the run defense is giving up under 80 yards a game. Offensively, the running offense has averaged over 230 yards per game.
On the B-G side, it has the area’s second leading rusher, Dustin Ross, second leading passer, Chris McGinnis, and second leading receiver, Dylan Whitaker. The Bobcats are not short of weapons on offense, and it is a quicker, more aggressive team overall than last year’s B-G team. “The one thing our coaching staff noticed was their team speed,” Chrystie said. “On defense, B-G gets off its blocks well and pursues to the ball. We need another great team game.”
Lansing (5-1) at Greene (4-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
In a rematch of last year’s Class C playoff semifinals, the Trojans look to avenge last year’s 14-0 loss to the Bobcats. Unlike a year ago, Lansing does not enter the contest with an unblemished mark. Unatego racked up 38 points in a 20-point victory, the same Unatego club that beat the Trojans 26-8 early in the season.
Lansing is led by returning quarterback Vince Redmond, who is 46-for-80 with 817 yards and 10 TD passes through six games. Teagan Baressi, a 6-foot-4 transfer from soccer, has a team-high 15 catches for 360 yards and five touchdowns. Kyle Sweazey and Brian Milliman also have double-digit catches for a balanced offense that makes you cover the width of the field. They have averaged throwing the ball 20 times in many of their games, and they have been pretty effective with it,” said Greene coach Tim Paske. “They have a balanced offense. Sometimes they go with the run, and other times the pass. They tried the power running game against Unatego – and it worked – but they fell behind and had to air it out.”
The Trojans are coming off an overtime loss to Trumansburg and need to win one of their last two games to return to the playoffs a second straight season. “We had five starters back (most who play two ways) from last year and we had a lot of guys new to varsity who have stepped up and improved,” Paske said. “With a tight game last week, that will help us. It was an intense game and we still control our own destiny.”
UV-Edmeston (3-3) at Harpursville (2-4), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Harpursville just happens to be in one of the toughest divisions top to bottom, so its improvement this season isn’t as noticeable. Despite a 2-4 mark, the Hornets are a prolific running team with explosive backs and an offense that can put points on the board. Joe Nieto averages nearly 10 yards a carry and tops the running back list with 624 yards. Fullback Todd Terpstra has 394 yards and four scores, and the Hornets average 22 points a game on offense.
The Storm have found their offense the past two weeks putting 74 points on the board after scoring just 30 points the first four games. Defense has remained the one constant as UV-E has allowed eight points or less the last four games.
On offense, Jordan Williams starts at quarterback and is coming off a three-TD performance (two rushing, one kickoff return). Senior fullback Tom Giordano is showing signs of his 2006 form with 90-yard rushing games the last two weeks and four touchdowns.
Sherburne-Earlville (2-4) at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (5-1), 2 p.m.
The Red Devils pinned a 40-12 loss on the Marauders a year ago, and this V-V-S club appears more balanced then years past. Quarterback Doug Doolen has two games in which he threw three scores leading his club to impressive wins over Holland Patent and South Jefferson during a current four-game winning streak. Zach Jensen tops the receiving corps, and running back Mike Jones is coming off a season-best 179 yards last week in a win over A-P-W. “They are as big as dinosaurs up front,” said S-E coach Mickey James. “It’s nothing fancy (the running game). It’s mostly counters and traps on the inside.”
Sherburne-Earlville, while out of the postseason mix, boasts the Class B East’s top rusher in senior Billy Northey. Northey is also far and away the leading rusher in Chenango County with 1,035 yards on the season. He is on pace to rush for over 1,500 yards, which would likely set a single-season rushing mark for the Marauders.
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