Mike Chrystie didn't know the last team to beat Maine-Endwell, and we didn't either. Thanks to an assist from Press and Sun Bulletin sportswriter, Kevin Stevens, we have the answer to that query: Whitesboro beat the Spartans on Nov. 10, 2010 in the Class A state quarterfinals.
Since that time, the Spartans have run off 47 straight victories winning three section and state titles along the way. Four of those 47 wins have come in meetings with the Purple Tornado.
"It's just an awesome number," Chrystie said of Maine-Endwell. "They've set the standard, not just in Section IV, but for New York State. The run they've had is remarkable and unbelievable."
When Chrystie was a standout football player for Oxford - and he played on three Class D championship teams himself - Chenango Forks set a standard that Chrystie thought would never be matched in Section IV. The Blue Devils went to four straight state finals winning two state titles. "What Forks did was remarkable, but what Maine-Endwell is doing now, I don't know if we'll ever see another run like it,” the NHS coach said.
Chrystie respects what Maine-Endwell has done, and the task of beating the Spartans Saturday at 3 p.m. at Ty Cobb Stadium is a daunting one, indeed. Norwich is in the midst of its own winning streak – six games – the program's longest since 2004 when it won eight straight before losing to...yes, Chenango Forks, in the Class B championship game.
"We're playing with a lot of confidence right now," Chrystie said. "The kids really believe they can win, more so than any of the previous times we have played Maine-Endwell over the past three years. We're not going into this game trying to keep it close, we're going in to win a section title."
Norwich fell to the Spartans in week three, 42-7, but did have some early success. Cole Rifanburg ran for a first-quarter touchdown, but after that, it was all Maine-Endwell.
Norwich 1,000-yard back, Michael Oralls, was held to a season-low 48 yards rushing, and Maine-Endwell advanced its total on the scoreboard with generous sprinklings of big plays.
Drew Gallagher dashed 75 yards for a score late in the first quarter, Gallagher threw a 38-yard TD pass to Michael Palmer, and Gallagher hooked up with Palmer on another long pass to set up a third score.
Those three big plays - two passes, one run - accounted for nearly half of Maine-Endwell's 334 total yards. Chrystie was encouraged by the fact that Maine-Endwell was forced to punt six times. On the flip side, Norwich punted six times itself and turned the ball over four times.
"We made some mistakes the first time we played them, and the score got out of hand with those three or four big plays," Chrystie said. "We can't give up the big plays (Saturday), and we need to keep the ball in front of us."
Maine-Endwell was able to pull away for the victory using its second- and third-string quarterback. In recent weeks, starter Kyle Balmer – injured in the first meeting with Norwich – has taken the snaps under center, and his presence adds another dimension to an already potent Spartans offense.
"He's an athletic guy that can get to the edge," Chrystie said of Balmer. "You can see with his decision-making that the (M-E) offense is crisper."
For Norwich, since the week three loss to M-E, few teams in Section IV have been better on offense. Norwich has outscored opponents 210-89 scoring 35 points per game and winning by an average margin of better than 20 points per game.
Two of those six wins came against teams that were likely favored (Susquehanna Valley and Johnson City), so Norwich has shown its ability to be quality football teams, and is in position to win its first Section IV championship in 15 years.
"We've proven we're a good football team, and we know Maine-Endwell is good," Chrystie said. "Absolutely we will have to play well to win. We are playing to win the game, and that's why we're showing up Saturday."

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