Just because it was the home opener, and just because it was facing a Class C opponent, did not mean that the Chittenango football team was making it easier for itself. Not with its 2-0 neighbors from Canastota serving as the guests.
And the Raiders did everything right at the start – yet it could not sustain it as the Bears, relying on a patient ground game and stout defense, prevailed by a score of 13-7.
Putting up a new quarterback – Greg Jasek, replacing Devin Christopher – against the tough Canastota defense, Chittenango immediately faced problems as Jeff Merrell intercepted Jasek’s first pass and returned it to the Bears’ 30-yard line.
A short drive followed, and on fourth-down-and-goal Raiders quarterback Alex Foster plowed into the end zone from six yards out and put his team up 7-0.
Going to the air again on its next possession, Jasek got unlucky as the pass got tipped – and Canastota’s James Mason grabbed it.
But in what proved to be a them for the rest of the night, the Bears’ defense held, and when it got the ball back next time, old-fashioned football took over.
This meant lots of Luke Bicknell, who carried the ball 10 times in 13 plays on a 72-yard march, including the last nine yards for the touchdown that, combined with Zach Drake’s extra point, made it a 7-7 tie.
Chittenango caught a break when, on a long Raiders drive to end the half, Zach Zupan scored on a 12-yard run – but a penalty wiped out. The Bears made a crucial fourth-down stop, and it remained 7-7 at the break.
Bicknell and the Bears’ offensive line returned for more pounding in the third quarter. They handled most of a 12-play, 68-yard drive as Bicknell’s second TD, on a three-yard run, pushed Chittenango in front. Overall, Bicknell had 29 carries for 132 yards.
For the rest of the night, the Bears’ defense did a superb job thwarting any Canastota comeback, recovering two fumbles and getting a spectacular, diving interception from Brendan Galek down the stretch.
Zupan again led the Raiders on the defensive side, recording 15 tackles as Foster ran four times for 48 yards and completed eight of 13 passes for 98 yards.
A few miles to the east on Route 5, Oneida, who routed Chittenango 32-13 a week earlier, made it back-to-back home triumphs at Duncan Field, this time pasting South Jefferson by a 49-14 margin.
Big plays led to both of the Indians’ scores in the first half, starting with a blocked punt deep in Spartan territory in the opening period that led to Chris Chesebro’s five-yard TD run a couple of plays later.
Though a penalty negated Matt Mosack’s 75-yard interception return for a TD in the second quarter, the pick stood, Mosack still returned with a 19-yard option run that set up Chesebro’s second score, again a five-yard run.
Not satisfied with a 14-0 halftime edge, the Indians put the game away with a second-half explosion aided by South Jefferson’s generosity, as the Spartans turned the ball over four times on this night.
Chesebro’s third TD came on an 11-yard run. Mosack went to the air and found Eric Riley on a 28-yard TD pass to make it 28-6 after the Spartans finally got on the board.
Amid a 22-point fourth quarter, Matt Barlow found the end zone on a 43-yard run, while Patrick Tayntor converted on a seven-yard run and Tyler Mallinder found Jimmy Moyer for a nine-yard scoring pass.
Tayntor led the Indians with 71 rushing yards. Mosack, with 68 yards on the ground, wasn’t far behind as he passed just five times, but completed three of those passes for 89 yards.
Oneida steps out of league play next Friday to visit Mount Markham, as does Chittenango as Homer, from Class B West, brings its 2-1 mark to Bear Country. Canastota is back home to face Clinton.
