The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Rivals Oneida, VVS go head-tohead
Opportunistic Red Devils open new stadium with victory
There was a lot riding on Friday’s Section III Class B regular season finale between Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and Oneida.
After back-to-back losses to Camden and then Chittenango, the Red Devils needed a win over their longtime rival to guarantee themselves a spot in the postseason.
Oneida, with a postseason bid already guaranteed, was looking to spoil VVS’ first Friday Night Lights game at the new Sheveron Stadium.
Oneida scored the first touchdown in front of a packed, electric crowd in Verona.
VVS, though, christened its new gridiron with a convincing 41-18 win over the visitors.
Alex Oliver rushed for a pair of scores and threw for two more. Travis Decker reeled in a pair of 15-yard touchdown passes, and the Red Devils locked down a spot in Section III Class B playoffs.
“Number one, we beat Oneida. Two, we opened up on the turf, and three, we kept our season alive. We just need to do what we can and just make a run from here,” said Alex Oliver.
“We really needed to,” Decker said of the win. “It’s all we could think about. We wanted to smash them. We wanted to get this win. After the two losses, we really needed it to get to playoffs. It motivated us. It really got our heads back in the game.”
The Red Devil defense forced five Oneida turnovers, converting those miscues into five touchdowns, including a pick-6 by Alex Kipp late in the fourth quarter for the exclamation point.
“Our defense stood up to them when we needed it to,” VVS head coachGaryOliver said, complimenting Matt Ciotti and Cade Decker for their effort on that side of the ball.
The ending may have been what the Red Devils were looking for, but the first possession was rough. Oneida forced a 3-and-out, and VVS fumbled the snap, setting Oneida up with a short field.
Bruce Joslyn cashed in fromfour yards out and the visitors led 6-0.
VVS threw an interception on their next drive, but Oneida fumbled the back two plays later deep in their own territory. VVS converted the turnover into points on a tough Alex Oliver run, and with a good extra point, the Red Devils went up 7-6.
Oneida coughed the ball up again on its next drive, and Andrew Rossi jumped on it for another VVS turnover. The hosts quickly turned the Oneida miscue into a 15-yard passing touchdown from Oliver to Decker on the second play of the second quarter and the Red Devils extended their lead to 14-6.
“He’s got hands of gold,” Alex Oliver said of Decker.
Oneida crept back within two following an explosive, 37-yard run down the left sideline by Steven Barrett. The visitors couldn’t level things on the 2-point conversion attempt, and VVS stayed on top 14-12.
With its lead cut to two, VVS responded by engineering another scoring drive. Oliver and Jevit Cumber alternated carries to move the Red Devils down the field. A 6-yard completion from Oliver to Jacob Horodnick kept the chains moving and set VVS up with 1st-and-10 from the Oneida 11-yard line. Cumber picked up two yards on the first down carry before Oliver bruised his way into the endzone for a 9-yard TD and a 21-12 home team lead.
Oneida advanced the ball to midfield on its next possession, searching for a score with less than two minutes remaining until the intermission, but Decker intercepted a pass to set the Red Devils up with possession near their own 40-yard line. 28 yards and a handful of Oliver rushes later, VVS’ senior quarterback heaved a ball to Decker in the end zone, drawing a pass interference f lag on Oneida.
With a fresh set of downs and less than 30 seconds on the clock before the half, Oliver found Decker down the seam for another touchdown and a 28-12 lead.
Trailing by a pair of scores, Oneida refused to fold. Behind a three-headed ground attack featuring LucasAlbro, Jordan Clarke and Barrett, the visitors rushed their way down the field to a second half touchdown by Barrett to pull within 28-18.
Oneida forced a VVS turnover on downs on the hosts’ ensuing possession, but a few plays later, with Oneida facing 3rd-and- 6 fromtheir own 38-yard line, Oliver picked off a pass to close the third quarter.
Up two scores at the beginning of the fourth, the Red Devils made sure Oneida did not get any closer. Tyler Rotach added a rushing touchdown on VVS’ next drive for a 35-18 lead, and Kipp iced it with the pick-6 a few minutes later for the 41-18 victory.
“I think it’s awesome,” Gary Oliver said of opening the new field with a victory. “They’ll be able to talk about this the rest of their lives. The win being overOneidamakes it more special, especially afterOneida scored first. These kids did not miss a beat.”
Both teams conclude the regular season at 5-2 in the Class B East and a playoff spot guaranteed ahead of Sunday’s sectional seeding meeting.
The two rivals are now dead even in the all time series, 33-33-4.