CHITTENANGO – Anyone venturing to see the Chittenango football team in the 2024 season should be prepared for lots of points. The ability to prevent the other side from doing the same will likely determine the Bears’ fate.
In going 5-4 a season ago, Chittenango topped 40 points on five occasions, but also surrendered a lot, all the way to its first-round Section III Class B playoff game where it was outscored 51-46 by Carthage.
At least at the outset, this fall might not prove any different, with the Bears needing to put up a lot in order to outlast a tough Bishop Ludden/SAS side 38-36 in last Friday’s opener.
The fun started with Seamus Gardner throwing deep and finding Chayse Ostrander for a 77-yard touchdown, foreshadowing a first half where Robbie Pierce scored on a seven-yard run and Kyle Wehrlin found the end zone from 24 yards out.
However, led by quarterback X/Zavion Streiff, Ludden/SAS kept touch, only trailing 24-14 at halftime and then catching up as the second half wore on.
Other than Pierce’s second TD on a six-yard run, Chittenango found itself quieted until a late drive that Gardner put together that resulted in the winning points when he went five yards to Edward Geer.
Throwing just six times, Gardner completed five of those passes for 103 yards. Wehrlin gained 70 yards on 13 carries and led the defense with four tackles as Geer, Matt Montclair, Mason Corlis and Sean Eiffe had three tackles apiece.
Chittenango now sets its sights on this Friday’s game, a trip to the north country for a playoff rematch with Carthage that kicks off Class B competition for the Bears.
