Norwich (2-1) entertains Windsor (4-0) tonight in its division opener, and despite the Black Knights’ winless record, Norwich coach John Martinson is taking is opposition quite seriously.
“We’re treating this as a playoff week,” Martinson said. “They’re 0-0 in the division, and we’re 0-0. I told our kids, the season begins on Friday.”
Windsor has had trouble putting points on the board through four weeks, and is averaging well under 10 points per game. On the list of Windsor’s conquerors is Chenango County’s own, UV-Edmeston. “I think Windsor is pretty similar to last year,” Martinson said. “They’re pretty big up front and have some good backs. I think they will try to play power football against us.”
Norwich has won the last two meetings between these clubs, the first a 29-28 overtime win that led to an NHS division title. Norwich went into that game with Windsor as a winless team and an underdog. “We don’t want to get caught in a trap of looking at a team’s record,” Martinson said “They can give us trouble with their running game.”
After beating Chenango Forks last week, Norwich settled in for the week ahead by Tuesday. “We learned a a tough good lesson (losing to ) Sidney,” Martinson said. “It will be an emotional weekend with homecoming, and our number one job will be to play football.”

Oxford (2-2) at Bainbridge-Guilford (3-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
Bainbridge-Guilford, guided by sixth-year head coach Tim Mattingly, has had Oxford’s number the previous four years. The Bobcats defeated the Blackhawks in each of those years, and the only loss for Mattingly to Oxford came in his first year as head coach of his alma mater. Not coincidentally, Oxford’s last win over Bainbridge-Guilford – in 2006 – was the last time the Blackhawks finished the season with a winning record.
Through four weeks of the season, Bainbridge-Guilford is unbeaten and sporting a spiffy top-20 Class D ranking in the latest state poll. That ranking may not mean much come game time for this long-standing rivalry.
“I’ve seen Oxford play a couple of times, and they’re good,” Mattingly said. “Paul Wonka (Oxford junior) is the real deal at running back. He’s a game-breaker, and he can break it for a long run at any given time.”
With 654 rushing yards through four games, Wonka has already far surpassed his rushing total of last year, but he is not the only concern for B-G. “They have some pretty good athletes, and they’re quick and physical,” Mattingly said. “The Golden (Andrew) kid is a big target at receiver, and their quarterback (Jody Smith) throws a nice ball.”
The Blackhawks were outmuscled at the line of scrimmage last week against Walton, and Mattingly hopes his club will do the same. His Bobcats average nearly 240 yards rushing per game. Behind junior quarterback Corbin Palmer, the B-G passing game is also a viable threat.but The running game, led by senior Billy Holden, remains the club’s bread and butter offensive staple. “We’re going to try to keep doing what we have been doing the last three games,” Mattingly said. “We do have the advantage of being able to throw it a little bit. We may have to (throw) to loosen them up.”

S-E (3-1) at UV-Edmeston (1-3), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Sherburne-Earlville rides a three-game winning streak into UV-Edmeston Saturday afternoon in this non-league intersectional game. While the Marauders have long since made Section III their home, these two schools are certainly not strangers. “It’s like a crosstown rivalry,” said S-E coach Mike Jasper. “Some of the kids know each other, and some of them may even be related.”
In recent games, S-E has imposed its will on each side of the ball. It allowed only 44 yards of total offense in last week’s victory over M-E/Hamilton. UV-Edmeston, meanwhile, has had intermittent success with just one win in four games. The Storm possess big-play ability on offense led by junior backs Kody Homann and Justin Hofer along with senior quarterback, Brandon Miles. How well those three play may depend on the play of the Storm’s offensive line. “(UV-Edmeston) is a little different team than what we’ve seen the past couple of weeks, and the style is similar to a lot of the Section IV teams,” Jasper said. “It’s a nice switch up for us. We’ll need to be physical and we expect a hard-nosed game. It’s their homecoming game, so we expect them to be fired up.”
The Marauders are led on offense by backs Cory Musician, Devven Ferris, and Austin Jasper. All three are averaging at least 65 yards rushing per game.

Greene (4-0) at Oneonta (1-1), Saturday, 2: 30 pm.
Oneonta returned to the field after a two-week absence to defeat division rival Chenango Valley, 35-31. Bryce Wooden carried 35 times for 194 yards, and the burly fullback has 59 carries in two games. “It’s no secret they like to feature Wooden,” said Greene coach Tim Paske.
Wooden provides the grit and muscle, whereas Anthony Delgado sprinkles in the flash to the Oneonta attack. Delgado returned the opening kickoff last week for a touchdown, and also had a long TD reception. Oneonta has kickoff returns for scores in each of its two games.
“They’re a big, physical team,” Paske said. “They went toe to toe with CV right to the end, and they lost a tight ballgame to Vestal. This will be a real good test for us.”
Greene is coming off its most impressive win to date rolling past Dryden, 48-6. The Trojans controlled the game with a stout running game, and look to do the same against Oneonta. “Based on what (Oneonta) did against CV, I think they’ll put nine or 10 up in the box and dare us to throw. If they want to stop us, they’ll have to stop the run. We practice throwing the ball every week, but we like to pick and choose where we throw.
“We’re playing up a level again, and that’s always interesting. We lost to them the opening game last year, so I expect we’ll be motivated to play.”