Chenango Forks Tops Maine-Endwell in Section 4 Showdown
It was like a showdown in the old Wild West. Two gunslingers ready for a long-awaited toe to toe battle. When the day ended Chenango Forks had the edge posting a 24-14 victory over Maine-Endwell. Both teams were ranked in the top five in New York State by the New York State Sportswriters Association. The Forks came in number one and the Spartans ranked number three in the state.
With the win The Forks moves to 8-0 while the Spartans are now 7-1. Jeremiah Allen carried in from four yards out with 3:57 left in the first quarter to give the Blue Devils a 6-0 advantage. The two-point conversion failed to keep it at 6-0. Maine-Endwell quarterback Joe Mancini countered on a keeper from three yards out and after the two-point try failed the score was knotted at 6 each.
Allen came right back for the Blue Devils when he broke behind the secondary and raced in for a TD from 77 yards out. With the score 12-6 in favor of Chenango Forks Matt McDonald scored on a counter sweep from 23 yards out to make it 18-6 in favor of The Forks.
Josh Chandler rambled in from 38 yards out and when quarterback Mancini scored on the two-point try the Spartans pulled to within an 18-14 deficit. But the Blue Devils scored with :15 left on the second quarter clock when quarterback Jake Topa fired a 10-yard touchdown strike to Matt Paske to make it 24-14 Chenango Forks. That closed out the first half.
In the second half both defenses played tough and at times heavy, blowing rain made holding onto the ball a challenge. Neither team could score in the last two quarters and the final ended up 24-14 in favor of the Blue Devils.
Both teams will play semifinal round playoff games next weekend with Chenango Forks hosting Norwich and Owego visiting Maine-Endwell. Should both the Blue Devils and Spartans emerge victorious they would meet for the Section 4 Class B Championship at Union-Endicott on Saturday, November 3rd at 3:00 P.M.