Chenango Forks Football- 2003 Season

2003- Intro

The 2003 Chenango Forks football team, as was previously mentioned, had few expecting a return to the state title game. Returning only a handful of players who had even seen starting action during the senior laden 2002 team and facing a difficult schedule with teams such as Elmira Free Academy, Bainbridge Guilford Afton, and Oneonta, a division title would be difficult to come by, let alone a sectional title, or a chance at state title glory.

(All information on this blog is adapted from the fantastic website http://www.forksfootball.com/main.html. The website has information on almost every Chenango Forks game from 2001 to the present, and includes statistics, news articles, pictures and more. All credit goes to the owner of the website for usage of the statistics and pictures and their affiliated sources)

The 2003  Chenango Forks Football Team

2003- Offense

With the graduation of Matt Juriga and Chris Spencer, the Blue Devils turned to Junior QB Tim Batty to lead the Forks option offense. Batty, who had seen action all over the field on offense as a Sophomore, was a capable passer as well as a game breaking runner. He also handled punting and kicking duties on special teams. His favorite target in the passing game was 6’2 Tight End Zach Vredenburgh, who caught 9 touchdowns on the year. Rounding out the offense was indefatigable Senior fullback Joe Babcock, who rushed for 1398 yards on 288 carries good for 3rd best in program history at the time…without a single fumble, The offense as a whole was solid, if not spectacular, scoring just 22 points per game, while rushing for 2558 yards (213 per game) and passing for 678 yards (57 per game) 

Tim Batty was a do-it all-player for the 2003 Blue Devils squad, playing QB, Safety, Punter, and handled kickoff and field goal duties

2003- Defense

The defense, again, was where the 2003 squad found its strength. Joe Babcock was arguably more effective a linebacker as he was a battering ram on offense, finishing with 180 tackles, the best in program history for a single season. Other notable defenders from the 2003 squad included Batty at safety; cornerbacks Jason Chier, Ben Farnham and Tim O’Branski, defensive end Vredenburgh, and huge sophomore defensive tackle Matt Faughnan (6’2, 268). As a team, the 2003 defense was even stingier than its 2002 predecessor, surrendering just 92 points all season (7 points per game) while allowing only a single opponent to score more than 14 points. The team allowed more yardage per game (193 total per game) but the 7 points per game surrendered is hard to argue when it comes to terms of overall effectiveness

The stingy 2003 defense was led by the linebacking of Joe Babcock, (#37) who set a program record with 180 single season tackles

2003- Results

Speaking of results, I have been constantly reminding readers how unlikely it was for a team that lost so much talent to be even in contention for a playoff berth. But somehow, some way, this team actually surpassed the mark set by its predecessors; a 13-0 season with a 16-0 win in the state title game against Rye. The Blue Devils first state title did not come easy, as the road there was full of close and tense games; a 14-0 over Norwich in week 2, a 28-21 comeback win in a shootout with Elmira Notre Dame, a 13-7 squeeze past Whitney Point in the sectional semifinals, a 12-7 last minute win against Westhill in the state quarterfinals, in which Batty connected with Vrendenburgh on a 42 yard touchdown with 25 seconds left to go, all capped off by a shutout against a Rye team in the state finals which had averaged 32 points per game in its undefeated season prior to meeting the Blue Devils. Somehow, the plucky team which methodically grinded its way to that, which the two previous teams were so close to doing, prevailed. And with a majority of starters returning from the undefeated state championship team, the future was looking even brighter.

The 2003 squad celebrates the schools first ever state title