Some area football teams now fighting for their playoff lives
We’re just getting over the hump of this year’s football season as tonight’s action commences the fifth weekend of gridiron action.
At this point of the season, some area teams are already fighting for their playoff lives. Bainbridge-Guilford, with two last-minute division losses in the last three weeks, if fighting against mathematical probabilities, and needs to upend Oxford on the road. Oxford, meanwhile, needs to win the rest of its games, and hope that the tiebreakers line up favorably.
In Class B, Norwich can gain a stronghold on repeating as division champions with a home victory over Chenango Valley. The Tornado already beat the only other team in the division with a winning record, but may find the Warriors a much more difficult task.
Unadilla Valley-Edmeston, since joining Section IV division play in Class C, has never talked playoffs at this point of the season. The Storm’s last winning season was six years ago playing an independent schedule, and UV-E has just one Class C, Division V win – and that was last week against Greene. Sidney invades UV-E territory tonight, and brings with it a high-powered offense along with an unbeaten record. “We want to be aggressive, get some defensive stops early, and set the tone,” said Storm head coach Stan Foulds.
Greene stumbled at UV-Edmeston last week, but can get back on track tonight against winless Unatego. Lastly, Sherburne-Earlville has never made the Section III football playoffs, but can make serious inroads toward ending that drought with a win on the road Saturday afternoon in Clinton.
Below are a look at this week’s games:
Sidney (4-0) at Unadilla Valley-Edmeston (3-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
For arounds two-thirds of its existence as a football program, Unadilla Valley-Edmeston has not played games within Section IV conference play, and not once in those other years have the Storm competed on the field in a game with division and playoff implications.
Coming off a 14-7 division win over Greene a week ago, UV-E finds itself in the position of playoff contender, and it entertains offensive powerhouse Sidney tonight. The Warriors and quarterback Dylan Umbra are among the highest scoring teams in Section IV. Umbra has back-to-back 300-yard passing games, and led his team to an impressive 50-26 win over Delhi last year. “Take nothing away from their quarterback and team,” said UV-E coach Stan Foulds. “The quarterback has a heck of an arm and he runs tough. They look pretty good.”
Foulds knows his defense has quite a chore to slow down the Umbra-led Sidney offense, and no team has had much more than limited success in containing the Warriors. “We have to be really aggressive, stay at home, do our jobs, and our guys need to know who they have in coverage,” Foulds said.
Foulds has taken note of the varying amounts of success other teams have had this season against Sidney. Walton played a good defensive first half against Sidney, and Delhi was able to move the ball effectively against the Warriors’ defense. “This is just another huge game,” Foulds said. “They’re getting bigger and bigger every week. They (the team) believe and they’re pumped. They know what winning tastes like, and they’re building on it.”
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Bainbridge-Guilford (2-2) at Oxford (3-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Bainbridge-Guilford eliminated Oxford from postseason contention last season. In all likelihood, the loser of tonight’s contest at Oxford will be eliminated from Class C postseason play.
“Oxford is very physical and they’re more athletic than they have been in the past,” said B-G coach Tim Mattingly. “They pound the ball right at you. We have to stop their run, but Wonka (John) is a good passer, and it looks like Golden (Andrew) is their number one target.”
The Bobcats counter Oxford with the area’s top rusher, Dakota Vandermark, who has 610 yards and six scores. Billy Holden complements Vandermark as a powerful inside runner.
In a way, the two clubs are mirror images with Oxford’s Paul Wonka cast in the role of Vandermark, and Booker Davis as Holden. Wonka had a career-high 208 yards and three scores last week. “It’s going to be quite a battle and tough,” Mattingly. “They’re a good team – disciplined and athletic.”
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Chenango Valley (1-0, 3-1) at Norwich (1-0, 2-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
It was last year’s CV-Norwich game – rescheduled to Greene High School due to bad weather – that allowed Norwich to clinch the Section IV, Class B Division III title. The Warriors enter tonight’s contest with just one loss – a 20-0 setback to Chenango Forks. Norwich can count Forks as one of its two conqueror as well, and this game could ultimately determine which team wins the division title, and which one is fighting for a playoff spot. “We’re expecting a dog fight,” said Norwich coach John Martinson. “We saw them play Oneonta last week, and they execute extremely well. They seem to be extremely patient with the run versus what they did in the past. We’ve focused all week on stopping their running game.”
Chenango Valley’s top rushers are Joshua Kilts and Adam Greene. Quarterback Kevin Cox is throwing for over 98 yards a game, and had two of his six TD passes last week against the Yellowjackets. Greene also picked off two Oneonta passes that he returned for touchdowns.
Norwich is coming off its best all-around performance in which the offense put up a season-high total of 400 yards. “It’s almost like last year,” Martinson said. “We started slow, and it took a while to get into any type of rhythm. We were able to mix the run and the pass, and that was the key to our game last week.
“We want to be balanced and keep (their defense) guessing.”
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Unatego (0-4) at Greene (2-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
By all appearances, this annual division rivalry appears to be a mismatch. Unatego has slumped to a winless start, and is giving up nearly 40 points a game while scoring just over 10.
“They’ve played some tough teams, and all of the teams they’ve played have winning records,” said Greene coach Tim Paske. “This is a good rivalry game, and we’ve always had some good battles with them.”
Paske’s first order of business this week in practice was keeping a handle on the ball. Between fumbles and mishandled kickoffs, Paske said the ball was on the ground eight different times in a 14-7 loss to UV-Edmeston. “Our guys are realizing the importance of every possession. Our goal is to win each play. Once we win that, it becomes a series, then a quarter, and on from there.”
The bright side for Greene is that its defense has shown marked improvement over the past two weeks giving up just one offensive TD in that time, and no rushing scores since week one. “The defense has been solid, we just need to take care of the little things to be successful,” Paske said.
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Sherburne-Earlville (1-3) at Clinton (1-3), Saturday, 2 p.m.
The aim for the Marauders this season was making its first Section III postseason appearance. Since an opening-game loss to Canastota in which its scored twice, S-E has scored all of one touchdown over the last three weeks, and it was blanked by highly regarded Westmoreland a week ago. Beating Clinton on the road this weekend would give the Marauders a second division win, and improve their playoff chances dramatically.
“The last few years have all been one-touchdown contests,” said S-E coach Mike Jasper of the Clinton matchup. “I expect the same this year. The team that makes fewer mistakes will win the game. This is an important league game, and we want to gain some momentum heading into the rest of the league schedule.”
S-E is averaging just 171 yards of total offense per game. The defense, aside from the opening loss to Canastota, has held firm allowing just over 11 points game over the last three. “The defense has been sound, we just have to find the endzone and get rid of the mistakes that have cost us the last two weeks,” Jasper said.
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Area games on the radio this weekend
Friday, Oct. 1: Chenango Valley at Norwich, 6:50 p.m., WCHN, 970 AM; Sidney at UV-Edmeston, 6:45 p.m., WCDO, 100.9 FM/1490 AM; Owego at Waverly, 6:45 p.m., WEBO, 107.9 FM/1330 AM.
Saturday, Oct. 2: Walton at Chenango Forks, 1:20 p.m., WDLA, 92.1 FM/1270 AM; Seton Catholic Central at Delhi, 1:20 p.m., WDHI, 100.3 FM; Dryden at Oneonta, 1:20 p.m., WZOZ, 103.1 FM.
At this point of the season, some area teams are already fighting for their playoff lives. Bainbridge-Guilford, with two last-minute division losses in the last three weeks, if fighting against mathematical probabilities, and needs to upend Oxford on the road. Oxford, meanwhile, needs to win the rest of its games, and hope that the tiebreakers line up favorably.
In Class B, Norwich can gain a stronghold on repeating as division champions with a home victory over Chenango Valley. The Tornado already beat the only other team in the division with a winning record, but may find the Warriors a much more difficult task.
Unadilla Valley-Edmeston, since joining Section IV division play in Class C, has never talked playoffs at this point of the season. The Storm’s last winning season was six years ago playing an independent schedule, and UV-E has just one Class C, Division V win – and that was last week against Greene. Sidney invades UV-E territory tonight, and brings with it a high-powered offense along with an unbeaten record. “We want to be aggressive, get some defensive stops early, and set the tone,” said Storm head coach Stan Foulds.
Greene stumbled at UV-Edmeston last week, but can get back on track tonight against winless Unatego. Lastly, Sherburne-Earlville has never made the Section III football playoffs, but can make serious inroads toward ending that drought with a win on the road Saturday afternoon in Clinton.
Below are a look at this week’s games:
Sidney (4-0) at Unadilla Valley-Edmeston (3-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
For arounds two-thirds of its existence as a football program, Unadilla Valley-Edmeston has not played games within Section IV conference play, and not once in those other years have the Storm competed on the field in a game with division and playoff implications.
Coming off a 14-7 division win over Greene a week ago, UV-E finds itself in the position of playoff contender, and it entertains offensive powerhouse Sidney tonight. The Warriors and quarterback Dylan Umbra are among the highest scoring teams in Section IV. Umbra has back-to-back 300-yard passing games, and led his team to an impressive 50-26 win over Delhi last year. “Take nothing away from their quarterback and team,” said UV-E coach Stan Foulds. “The quarterback has a heck of an arm and he runs tough. They look pretty good.”
Foulds knows his defense has quite a chore to slow down the Umbra-led Sidney offense, and no team has had much more than limited success in containing the Warriors. “We have to be really aggressive, stay at home, do our jobs, and our guys need to know who they have in coverage,” Foulds said.
Foulds has taken note of the varying amounts of success other teams have had this season against Sidney. Walton played a good defensive first half against Sidney, and Delhi was able to move the ball effectively against the Warriors’ defense. “This is just another huge game,” Foulds said. “They’re getting bigger and bigger every week. They (the team) believe and they’re pumped. They know what winning tastes like, and they’re building on it.”
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Bainbridge-Guilford (2-2) at Oxford (3-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Bainbridge-Guilford eliminated Oxford from postseason contention last season. In all likelihood, the loser of tonight’s contest at Oxford will be eliminated from Class C postseason play.
“Oxford is very physical and they’re more athletic than they have been in the past,” said B-G coach Tim Mattingly. “They pound the ball right at you. We have to stop their run, but Wonka (John) is a good passer, and it looks like Golden (Andrew) is their number one target.”
The Bobcats counter Oxford with the area’s top rusher, Dakota Vandermark, who has 610 yards and six scores. Billy Holden complements Vandermark as a powerful inside runner.
In a way, the two clubs are mirror images with Oxford’s Paul Wonka cast in the role of Vandermark, and Booker Davis as Holden. Wonka had a career-high 208 yards and three scores last week. “It’s going to be quite a battle and tough,” Mattingly. “They’re a good team – disciplined and athletic.”
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Chenango Valley (1-0, 3-1) at Norwich (1-0, 2-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
It was last year’s CV-Norwich game – rescheduled to Greene High School due to bad weather – that allowed Norwich to clinch the Section IV, Class B Division III title. The Warriors enter tonight’s contest with just one loss – a 20-0 setback to Chenango Forks. Norwich can count Forks as one of its two conqueror as well, and this game could ultimately determine which team wins the division title, and which one is fighting for a playoff spot. “We’re expecting a dog fight,” said Norwich coach John Martinson. “We saw them play Oneonta last week, and they execute extremely well. They seem to be extremely patient with the run versus what they did in the past. We’ve focused all week on stopping their running game.”
Chenango Valley’s top rushers are Joshua Kilts and Adam Greene. Quarterback Kevin Cox is throwing for over 98 yards a game, and had two of his six TD passes last week against the Yellowjackets. Greene also picked off two Oneonta passes that he returned for touchdowns.
Norwich is coming off its best all-around performance in which the offense put up a season-high total of 400 yards. “It’s almost like last year,” Martinson said. “We started slow, and it took a while to get into any type of rhythm. We were able to mix the run and the pass, and that was the key to our game last week.
“We want to be balanced and keep (their defense) guessing.”
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Unatego (0-4) at Greene (2-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
By all appearances, this annual division rivalry appears to be a mismatch. Unatego has slumped to a winless start, and is giving up nearly 40 points a game while scoring just over 10.
“They’ve played some tough teams, and all of the teams they’ve played have winning records,” said Greene coach Tim Paske. “This is a good rivalry game, and we’ve always had some good battles with them.”
Paske’s first order of business this week in practice was keeping a handle on the ball. Between fumbles and mishandled kickoffs, Paske said the ball was on the ground eight different times in a 14-7 loss to UV-Edmeston. “Our guys are realizing the importance of every possession. Our goal is to win each play. Once we win that, it becomes a series, then a quarter, and on from there.”
The bright side for Greene is that its defense has shown marked improvement over the past two weeks giving up just one offensive TD in that time, and no rushing scores since week one. “The defense has been solid, we just need to take care of the little things to be successful,” Paske said.
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Sherburne-Earlville (1-3) at Clinton (1-3), Saturday, 2 p.m.
The aim for the Marauders this season was making its first Section III postseason appearance. Since an opening-game loss to Canastota in which its scored twice, S-E has scored all of one touchdown over the last three weeks, and it was blanked by highly regarded Westmoreland a week ago. Beating Clinton on the road this weekend would give the Marauders a second division win, and improve their playoff chances dramatically.
“The last few years have all been one-touchdown contests,” said S-E coach Mike Jasper of the Clinton matchup. “I expect the same this year. The team that makes fewer mistakes will win the game. This is an important league game, and we want to gain some momentum heading into the rest of the league schedule.”
S-E is averaging just 171 yards of total offense per game. The defense, aside from the opening loss to Canastota, has held firm allowing just over 11 points game over the last three. “The defense has been sound, we just have to find the endzone and get rid of the mistakes that have cost us the last two weeks,” Jasper said.
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Area games on the radio this weekend
Friday, Oct. 1: Chenango Valley at Norwich, 6:50 p.m., WCHN, 970 AM; Sidney at UV-Edmeston, 6:45 p.m., WCDO, 100.9 FM/1490 AM; Owego at Waverly, 6:45 p.m., WEBO, 107.9 FM/1330 AM.
Saturday, Oct. 2: Walton at Chenango Forks, 1:20 p.m., WDLA, 92.1 FM/1270 AM; Seton Catholic Central at Delhi, 1:20 p.m., WDHI, 100.3 FM; Dryden at Oneonta, 1:20 p.m., WZOZ, 103.1 FM.
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