With a quick turnaround on its home turf, the Nottingham football team evened its record at 1-1 — and did the same thing to Fowler.
The Bulldogs’ 33-24 victory over the Falcons on Saturday proved the lone highlight of a weekend where both Corcoran and Henninger suffered defeats at home after season-opening road wins.
Nottingham and Fowler were both working off short weeks, because they had played on a Sunday (Sept. 6) in the annual Kickoff Classic at the Carrier Dome, with contrasting results.
Struggling from the start, the Bulldogs lost, 40-20, to Fulton, but the Falcons pulled out a 6-3 win over Jamesville-DeWitt when quarterback Kelvin Amparo found London Odister at midfield, and Odister sprinted to the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown pass with 1:23 left.
Thus, it was Fowler that came into the game with some momentum — but with Jawan Simmons working under center, Nottingham would turn that around.
On its first possession, the Bulldogs scored, Simmons going two yards for the TD. Fowler pulled back within 7-6 when it blocked a Nottingham punt near the end zone and Jamal Reed fell on it in the end zone.
But Simmons wasn’t fazed at all. Instead, he went deep and found his favorite receiver, Sean Adams, for a 69-yard TD strike, then went 21 yards to Adams for another score in the second period as the Bulldogs took a 20-6 lead to the break.
When Simmons scored in the third quarter on a one-yard plunge, Nottingham pushed the margin to 26-6, but the Falcons were not done.
Amparo kick-started the comeback, scoring on the four-yard run. In the fourth quarter, Amparo connected with Jamal Reed on a 69-yard TD pass of his own, and Josh Cruz made it closer by returning a Bulldog fumble 10 yards for another score.
Each of those times, though, the Falcons could not make their conversion attempts, so Nottingham clung to a 26-24 edge. Not until Simmons hit Charles Gary on a 15-yard TD pass, and Josh Feldman made the ensuing extra point, could the Bulldogs feel safe.
Corcoran had crushed Central Square 53-0 in its Sept. 4 opener, and was favored to make it 2-0 against RFA, who had lost its opener to Utica Proctor — but the Cougars took a 20-12 defeat that was in doubt until the end.
However, the Black Knights did not cooperate, seizing a quick 7-0 lead on Kyle Kimball’s two-yard TD run (he finished with 123 yards on 19 carries), and staying in front when the Cougars missed an extra point following Chao Porch’s 62-yard scoring sprint.
Down 14-6 in the fourth quarter, Corcoran pulled back within two when Tyquan Mahon scored from 12 yards out, but the tying two-point conversion attempt got stopped.
As time wound down, Corcoran drove into RFA territory, with one more chance to win it. But Anthony DeJean stepped in front of a pass and returned the interception 43 yards for a touchdown to clinch RFA’s win.
A day later, Henninger (who beat Cicero-North Syracuse 27-10 in its opener) ran across CBA and, just like when the two long-time powers met 12 months ago, the Brothers prevailed, this time by a 35-6 margin.
Through a sloppy first half, both sides saw big plays wiped out by ill-timed penalties. Trailing 7-0 at halftime, Henninger appeared to come to life when, early in the third quarter, Shawn Bryant hit Richard Neal on a 59-yard pass, setting up Langston Lambert’s one-yard TD run.
But the Black Knights missed the tying conversion and, less than a minute later, Fajri Jackson took off on a 59-yard sprint down the left sideline to the end zone, igniting a 28-point outburst by the Brothers in that third period.
Jared DePalma, who already had a 14-yard TD reception, broke the game’s biggest play, a 95-yard scoring run through a gaping hole on the left side. He added a second TD reception, as Tyler Hamblin threw 33 yards to him, then added an 18-yard scoring pass to Yosh Karbowniczak just before the period ended.
Lined up in the same Class AA-2 division, Henninger and Corcoran meet each other on the Cougars’ home field to start league play this Friday at 6 p.m., renewing a great city rivalry. Fowler visits Cortland, while Nottingham plays at Oswego.
