At least the Chittenango football team knows that, if necessary, it can count on its defense to keep things close if things are not going well on the other side of the ball.
That might prove the biggest takeaway from Friday night’s season-opening 12-8 victory by the Bears over Syracuse’s Institute of Technology Central, played on the turf at Nottingham High School.
Breaking in a new offensive backfield and a new starting quarterback in Brian Lamaitis, Chittenango did put together a first-quarter scoring drive, capped when Lamaitis found Jacob Burgan in the end zone from 10 yards out.
But that was the Bears’ lone touchdown of the night. In fact, the only other time it got close to the goal line, ITC made a defensive stop, and Chittenango had to settle for Keith Spurgeon’s 20-yard field goal.
Still, this was enough points to get through because the Bears’ defense continued to stymie the Eagles, shutting them out in the first half to preserve a 10-0 advantage.
And when ITC did draw close in the third quarter on Jujuan Cousins’ five-yard TD run and subsequent two-point conversion, Chittenango maintained its poise, and even recorded a safety in the final period.
This is the first of two straight road games for the Bears, who go to Westhill next Friday at 6:30. The Warriors also opened its season with a road win, prevailing 28-13 at Cortland, and the winner here will go to the top of the early-season Class B West division standings.
