Anything can happen in sports
Although Oxford fans may not fully agree, the Blackhawks’ 40-39 loss to Deposit-Hancock Thursday, Oct. 30, is a perfect example of why I love sports.
You never know what is going to happen.
CBS television staple, “Survivor,” has spawned dozens upon dozens of so-called reality shows where real people are placed in real-life situations. Alas, nearly every one of those real-life situations is contrived or manufactured, and ultimately, hours and hours of footage is edited into a drama-inducing one-hour weekly show.
The protagonists, real men and women like you and me, are complicit in these farces.
With sports, what you see is what you get. You may not see a cliffhanger where you curse the program because you have to wait until next week’s show to find out how Jimmy or Susie resolved their conflict.
But you will often see a nail-biter that has you screaming at the top of your lungs...and there will be a resolution.
Back to Oxford’s football game.
I often wonder why teams with nothing to play for, other than pride, schedule a meaningless week nine game. Deposit-Hancock lost the previous week in the Class D playoffs – badly to Tioga – and had about five starters out of the lineup.
Oxford, meanwhile, was coming off its first victory in four games. With a .500 record, it could have packed up the jerseys and pads, and called the first season under head coach Jeff Newton a success.
The Blackhawks won just a single game in nine offerings in 2013, and in most of those games, it wasn’t close to competitive. The 2014 Oxford version was much improved, that despite a number of young players seeing starting minutes, and rampant injuries on the offensive and defensive lines.
The game was scheduled for a Thursday evening, instead of Friday, and the only explanation I heard for that was a potential conflict with Halloween trick-or-treaters on the ensuing night.
Two other local teams, Bainbridge-Guilford and Unadilla Valley, had games scheduled on Thursday as well, but the game times and sites of those football games conflicted with my schedule. (My stepson had his final Norwich modified football game of the season, and I couldn’t miss that!).
I knew I would be cutting it close with the modified game ending around 6:30 p.m. I rushed (within the speed limit, of course) down Route 12 to Tony Abbott Field (née Blackhawks Stadium), and made it just as the teams were lining up for the opening kickoff.
Oxford scored on its opening drive, but there was nothing good about the rest of the half for the hometown Blackhawks. The first two quarters reminded me of my most recent viewing of Oxford two weeks earlier – the bad parts.
In that game, Oxford lost to Harpursville-Afton, 24-21. If not for 14 penalties and multiple turnovers, the Blackhawks would have likely walked away with the victory – and a playoff spot.
The auspicious beginning turned sour for Oxford lickety split. The Eagles scored with ease to counter Oxford’s touchdown, and benefited from the Blackhawks’ misdeeds and mistakes the rest of the half.
Oxford threw one interception in the first half that led to a D-H score, and in the last minute of the half, Deposit-Hancock’s Ronnie Ballard returned an interception for a touchdown. That last score was the fourth straight for the visiting club to make it 28-6.
My photographer, Frank Speziale, was covering the game as well. He took the memory card out of his camera with the game’s photos, handed it to me, and told me, “this game is over.”
The number of times Frank has told me that same line is innumerable. Usually Frank is right, but on this occasion, he left a couple of quarters too soon.
Anyone else that left early, you missed a dandy.
Deposit-Hancock scored on the opening drive of the third quarter raising its lead to 34-6. I left the sidelines retreating for the warmer confines of the press box. At that point, I was swayed to Frank’s opinion, and resolved to tabulate stats the rest of the way. My story line was just about set: “Deposit-Hancock routs Oxford in season finale.”
If this game story wasn’t my lead for the Friday, Oct. 31 paper, I probably would have followed Frank to the exit. The pressbox was only slightly warmer than the great outdoors (a heatless pressbox? Really Oxford?), but the game supplied plenty of heat the rest of the way.
I won’t recount the details of the game, (check out the game story online http://www.evesun.com/news/stories/2014-10-31/20266/Oxfords-stirring-comeback-falls-short/), and summing it up, the comeback reminded me of the Buffalo Bills’ 32-point comeback against the Houston Oilers in January, 1993.
I don’t have a record of the greatest comebacks I’ve seen in high school football, and technically, this was not a true comeback as Oxford never regained the lead, and lost by one point.
As far as perseverance and resilience, Oxford’s second-half performance last Thursday ranks among the great team efforts I have ever witnessed in over 19 years covering Chenango County sports.
Anything can happen in sports, and I am glad I was in Oxford Oct. 30, 2014 on a night the game meant little – except to the players.
You never know what is going to happen.
CBS television staple, “Survivor,” has spawned dozens upon dozens of so-called reality shows where real people are placed in real-life situations. Alas, nearly every one of those real-life situations is contrived or manufactured, and ultimately, hours and hours of footage is edited into a drama-inducing one-hour weekly show.
The protagonists, real men and women like you and me, are complicit in these farces.
With sports, what you see is what you get. You may not see a cliffhanger where you curse the program because you have to wait until next week’s show to find out how Jimmy or Susie resolved their conflict.
But you will often see a nail-biter that has you screaming at the top of your lungs...and there will be a resolution.
Back to Oxford’s football game.
I often wonder why teams with nothing to play for, other than pride, schedule a meaningless week nine game. Deposit-Hancock lost the previous week in the Class D playoffs – badly to Tioga – and had about five starters out of the lineup.
Oxford, meanwhile, was coming off its first victory in four games. With a .500 record, it could have packed up the jerseys and pads, and called the first season under head coach Jeff Newton a success.
The Blackhawks won just a single game in nine offerings in 2013, and in most of those games, it wasn’t close to competitive. The 2014 Oxford version was much improved, that despite a number of young players seeing starting minutes, and rampant injuries on the offensive and defensive lines.
The game was scheduled for a Thursday evening, instead of Friday, and the only explanation I heard for that was a potential conflict with Halloween trick-or-treaters on the ensuing night.
Two other local teams, Bainbridge-Guilford and Unadilla Valley, had games scheduled on Thursday as well, but the game times and sites of those football games conflicted with my schedule. (My stepson had his final Norwich modified football game of the season, and I couldn’t miss that!).
I knew I would be cutting it close with the modified game ending around 6:30 p.m. I rushed (within the speed limit, of course) down Route 12 to Tony Abbott Field (née Blackhawks Stadium), and made it just as the teams were lining up for the opening kickoff.
Oxford scored on its opening drive, but there was nothing good about the rest of the half for the hometown Blackhawks. The first two quarters reminded me of my most recent viewing of Oxford two weeks earlier – the bad parts.
In that game, Oxford lost to Harpursville-Afton, 24-21. If not for 14 penalties and multiple turnovers, the Blackhawks would have likely walked away with the victory – and a playoff spot.
The auspicious beginning turned sour for Oxford lickety split. The Eagles scored with ease to counter Oxford’s touchdown, and benefited from the Blackhawks’ misdeeds and mistakes the rest of the half.
Oxford threw one interception in the first half that led to a D-H score, and in the last minute of the half, Deposit-Hancock’s Ronnie Ballard returned an interception for a touchdown. That last score was the fourth straight for the visiting club to make it 28-6.
My photographer, Frank Speziale, was covering the game as well. He took the memory card out of his camera with the game’s photos, handed it to me, and told me, “this game is over.”
The number of times Frank has told me that same line is innumerable. Usually Frank is right, but on this occasion, he left a couple of quarters too soon.
Anyone else that left early, you missed a dandy.
Deposit-Hancock scored on the opening drive of the third quarter raising its lead to 34-6. I left the sidelines retreating for the warmer confines of the press box. At that point, I was swayed to Frank’s opinion, and resolved to tabulate stats the rest of the way. My story line was just about set: “Deposit-Hancock routs Oxford in season finale.”
If this game story wasn’t my lead for the Friday, Oct. 31 paper, I probably would have followed Frank to the exit. The pressbox was only slightly warmer than the great outdoors (a heatless pressbox? Really Oxford?), but the game supplied plenty of heat the rest of the way.
I won’t recount the details of the game, (check out the game story online http://www.evesun.com/news/stories/2014-10-31/20266/Oxfords-stirring-comeback-falls-short/), and summing it up, the comeback reminded me of the Buffalo Bills’ 32-point comeback against the Houston Oilers in January, 1993.
I don’t have a record of the greatest comebacks I’ve seen in high school football, and technically, this was not a true comeback as Oxford never regained the lead, and lost by one point.
As far as perseverance and resilience, Oxford’s second-half performance last Thursday ranks among the great team efforts I have ever witnessed in over 19 years covering Chenango County sports.
Anything can happen in sports, and I am glad I was in Oxford Oct. 30, 2014 on a night the game meant little – except to the players.
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