The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Oneida makes comeback win
Clark reels in game-winner from Chevier
The Blue and Orange defeated Chittenango in Class B showdown.
ONEIDA, N.Y. » In its first four drives against Chittenango during Friday’s Section III Class B East showdown, Oneida reached Bear territory but came away empty handed.
On Oneida’s last possession of the night, they came away with the go-ahead score.
With storms approaching and 1:22 left in a 14-14 contest, Oneida capped a 56-yard drive with a 10yard touchdown pass fromsenior Ryan Chevier to sophomore Jordan Clark, adding a two-point conversion for a 22-14 lead with less than ten seconds remaining.
Chittenango’s ensuing desperation gadget play was bottled up, and Oneida held on the for the win, moving to 4-0 on the season.
“We fought through adversity this whole year. Today was just another example. We’ve had all sorts of adversity whether it be injury or a death in our football family. Every week, there is some sort of adversity, and every week these kids rise to the occasion,” Oneida head coach Jason Fuller said before touching on the logistics needed to move the game to Vets Field and then move the time up due to weather. “It was a citywide effort. I was proud to be a part of it, just to see the community come out and support these
boys.”
Chittenango took its first drive the distance, converting a key fourth down in Oneida territory. On 2ndand-goal, Chittenango senior Brian Lamaitis broke the goal line on a quarterback sneak to put the Bears up 6-0. A Francis Cerio twopoint conversion made the lead 8-0.
Oneida took its first drive into Chittenango territory, alternating runs between Bruce Joslyn and Lukas Albro to the Bears’ 30yard line. The hosts went for it on fourth down, but a false start penalty made it 4th-and-10. Lukas Albro’s fourth down pass to Vinny Leibl fell incomplete, and the Bears took over on downs.
The Bears were forced to punt on their next possession, and Oneida again drove into Chittenango territory. A fumbled snap killed that drive, giving the Bears the ball deep in Oneida territory. Fuller’s defense got the ball right back for the offense however, forcing a Chittenango turnover on downs.
For the third straight drive, Oneida stalled in Chittenango territory. Albro had a big play down the left sideline, and at the end of the play, a skirmish broke out between the two teams. Once the dust has settled, penalty yardage was tacked onto the Albro run to give Oneida 1stand-10 at the Chittenango 17-yard line. Again, the Chittenango defense held, forcing an Oneida turnover on downs when Chevier’s pass to Ty D’Arcangelis fell incomplete.
Heading into the halftime break, Oneida trailed 8-0.
Out of the break, Oneida went right to work. Albro and Chevier took turns rushing the ball, moving the chains from the Oneida 43-yard line down to the Chittenango 21. A false start penalty on third down threatened to spoil another Oneida drive, but Zander Farr busted a 27-yard run on 3rd-and-7 to cut into the Chittenango lead. Chevier hit Leibl for the two-point conversion, and things were all knotted up at 8-8.
“Chev[ ier] delivers dimes,” Leibl said of his quarterback.
The Oneida crowd’s cel- ebration was short-lived however as Chittenango needed less than two minutes to find an answer. After a big Griffin Furco catch moved the Bears to the Oneida 20-yard line, Lamaitis threw a 20-yard touchdown to Keith Spurgeon for a 14-8 Bear lead.
After the two teams traded possesions, Oneida answered with a big play of its own. Following a Bears punt, Albro took a handoff near midfield and jetted 54 yards to tie the contest at 14-14 with 9:58 left in the fourth quarter.
“Our blocking came out strong and we got them on the fake reverse,” Albro said. “I just took it to the house.”
Chittenango was forced to punt on its next possession, and Oneida took its ensuing drive down to the Chittenango 8-yard line, but the Bears again held strong, forcing a fumble to keep the contest tied at 1414.
The two teams continued to trade defensive stand af- ter defensive stand until Will Merrell’s interception of a Lamaitis pass set Oneida up on their own 44yard line with 1:22 to go in the contest. Fresh off his pick, Merrell reeled in a 20-yard pass from Chevier to move Oneida into Chittenango territory with 1:17 left. Chevier found Leibl two plays later for another Oneida first down. Four plays later, withOneida facing fourth-and-10, Chevier hit Ty D’Arcangelis for another first down at the Chittenango 10-yard line to set the stage for Clark’s big score and the win.
“I see Chev[ier] roll out to the left and throw it up to Clark, and it was go time from there,” Leibl said of the game winner.
Chittenango head coach Kurt Kielbasa credited Clark for making the big play in a tightly-fought contest.
“Two good teams, playing 48 minutes of football. Kidmade a great play in the end zone. We had it covered. He just made a good catch,” Kielbasa said. “We had our opportunities. We did not take advantage of them.”
With the win, Oneida is 4-0 and tied with rival Vernon-Verona-Sherrill for first place in the Class B East, while Chittenango drops back to 2-2.
Heading toward the second half of the season, Oneida’s senior class knows what it will take to keep the momentum rolling.
“We haven’t been undefeated in a while, and it’s because of character,” Albro said.
“Working hard and just foot on the pedal,” Leibl added.