The opponent this week for Norwich (1-1) tonight is longtime rival Chenango Forks (2-1), a school the Purple Tornado have not beaten since the 1999 Class B championship team routed the Blue Devils. The focus, though, isn’t just preparing for the Blue Devils, but restoring the physical brand of play for which NHS is known. Sidney consistently beat Norwich at the line of scrimmage last week in a 12-6 win over Norwich, and the NHS coaching staff took notice.
“It came down to the basics: We didn’t block or tackle well last week,” said Norwich coach John Martinson. “We saw that as coaches, and it was something we had to work on. We want to be more physical up front in running our base offense, and everyone needs to take personal accountability. We’ve had a good week of practice, and I expect the kids will play hard.”
Chenango Forks is no longer a rival to Norwich in the Class B ranks, but it is the marquis program in Section IV over the past 10 years “They have a fantastic program, and we’ve had a difficult time beating them,” Martinson said “Forks doesn’t rebuild, they reload (every year). They are tough in the red zone and play great defense.”
The Blue Devils rebounded from a 21-0 loss to Greene with a 21-7 win over Chenango Valley last weekend. Senior fullback Lukas Aston is the key to the offensive attack, Martinson said. “Their entire offense is based around him,” Martinson said of Aston.
Quarterback Zach Jeske is dangerous running and throwing the ball, and the stable of dangerous backs includes Jacob Green, Kyle Fleicher, and Ethan Cook. “We’ll have our work cut out for us, but we need to take care of the ball and play Norwich football,” Martinson said.

Hamilton/Morrisville-Eaton (1-1, 1-2) at Sherburne-Earlville (2-0, 2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
With the exception of the second half in its opening game – and mostly the final quarter – Sherburne-Earlville’s defense has remained stingy, and is allowing on average less than 100 yards rushing per game. In Hamilton/Morrisville-Eaton, the Marauders face a team that may prefer a spread passing attack over a strong running game. “They’re a decent club, and the like to throw it around,” said S-E head coach, Mike Jasper. “They have played both of their league opponents tough, so we can’t take them lightly.”
The Marauders are coming off one of their most important division wins in several years winning at Mount Markham to move to 2-0 in division play. With four regular season games left – three in division play – S-E likely needs to win two of those three contests to earn a Section III playoff bid. “We’re not looking past this game at all, and to reach our goal, we need to win these games one week at a time,” Jasper said.
S-E is led by its three starting rushers Cory Musician (241 yards), Austin Jasper (215 yards), and Derrek Ferris (137 yards). Quarterback Randy Briggs is completing 50 percent of his passes and has thrown two TD passes.

B-G (1-0, 2-0) at Deposit-Hancock (0-1, 1-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Deposit-Hancock lost to Walton last week in its division opener in convincing fashion, but that may not be the best indicator of the Eagles. Walton is perhaps the cream of the crop in Class D this year, if not all of New York State. “Walton will be tough for everyone, but I think (Deposit-Hancock) is capable of putting points on the board, and I anticipate it being a tough game,” said B-G coach Tim Mattingly. “They’re better than last year, and they have better numbers out for the team.”
Deposit-Hancock enjoyed most of its success against B-G last year throwing the ball, and Mattingly expects more of the same.
The Bobcats, though, can counter with their own potent passing game that is an able complement to an already effective rushing attack. Junior Corbin Palmer has five TD passes in two games throwing for 340 yards. The B-G running game, meanwhile, is also averaging close to 260 yards per game. “We’re much more balanced, and overall, we’re probably a little bit better than last year,” Mattingly said.

Unatego (0-1, 2-1) at UV-Edmeston (0-0, 1-2) Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
UV-Edmeston picked up its first win of the season last week, and for the first time this season, said head coach Brian Banks, the entire starting lineup is healthy.
Banks has viewed film on Unatego, and looks at the Spartans as an improved team over last year, especially considering last week’s near-miss, a 25-19 overtime loss to Greene. “Talking to other people who have played or seen them, I think (Unatego) is right on par with a lot of the other teams in our league,” Banks said. “Everyone is fairly close, and I think we have a good chance. If we minimize mistakes, we have a shot.”
UV-Edmeston has not had trouble scoring points averaging over 24 per game, and what it did better in the 23-6 win over Windsor was stop the run. Unatego’s offense is centered around the running and throwing of quarterback Tyler Butler. Butler had two TDs against Greene a week ago. “We only have one senior starter on each side of the ball – and it’s the same person,” Banks said. “We are a little green in spots, but these games are giving us good experience.”

Dryden (0-0, 2-1) at Greene (2-0, 3-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
After winning back-to-back league games, the Trojans take a break from their intradivisional battles when they host Dryden tonight.
Dryden was victimized by five TD passes in a 55-0 loss to Waverly a week ago. Before that, the Dryden defense had allowed 14 total points in winning its first two games. “They’re pretty big up front and they’ll try to run a power game and pound you off the ball,” said Greene coach Tim Paske. “They also have a spread look, so it’s pick your poison.”
The Trojans play back-to-back games against larger schools (Oneonta follows next week). Despite their “small school” status, Paske believes his team has a bullseye on its back. Beating Chenango Forks by three touchdowns likely created the perception of Greene as a “team to beat.”
“We need to rise up to the occasion every week, because everyone will give us their best shot,” Paske said. “We can’t take days off, we just need to make ourselves better players than we were yesterday.”
Greene has given up a lot of yards through the air, mainly because teams have found little to no success running the ball. All that extra time in pass coverage has led to six interceptions through three games. “We really haven’t given up the home run (in pass defense),” Paske said. “We’ve tried to keep everything underneath, and come up and make the tackle.”

Oxford (1-0, 2-1) at Walton (1-0, 2-0), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Since its slow start to last season, Walton has been on a roll, and this year’s team has all the makings of another championship contender. The Warriors return much of last year’s Section IV championship team, and are led on offense by quarterback Dalton Kaminsky. Of course, Walton has that endless stable of capable running backs. “What Walton does better than anyone else is that the backs don’t finish going backward and are always finishing their runs going forward,” said Oxford coach Ray Dayton. “They finish behind their pads, and (the backs) just continually make the right steps. It’s like watching a machine firing on all pistons.”
And this year’s Walton team is not strictly run-based. Kaminsky is strong-armed and presents an able complement to an already potent running game. Dayton says that the key to slowing Walton is winning up front and reading the correct keys. It’s obviously a statement that is easier said than done, especially when you look at the 280-plus wins for Walton head coach Jim Hoover. “They’re number one in the state for a good reason,” Dayton said. “We look at it as a great opportunity for our guys to play the best in the state.”