2006- Intro
Fresh off of its 5th straight state
championship appearance, the 2006 edition of the Blue Devils faced stiff
challenges to its crown as the king of Section 4 football ; a week one trip to
class A Maine Endwell, and a week 2 visit from class A’s Corning East.
Additionally, the team would visit its inter-divisional rivals Chenango Valley,
Norwich, and Windsor all on the road. It would take a supreme effort to remain
unscathed and have a chance to head to an unbelievable 6th straight
state championship.
The 2006 Chenango Forks Football Team
(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)
2006- Offense
For
the 2nd year, the offense broke in a new Quarterback, this time
Senior Bryan Lance would call the signals for the Blue Devils option offense.
At fullback, Senior Joe Nicholson returned, but was sidelined with an injury
midway through the year, to which Junior Nick Stephens stepped in and played.
At the halfback position Senior Dylan Warner and Junior Joe Aston started,
while the offensive line was headed by massive Senior Josh Cary (6’6 315). The 2006
squad scored 267 points on the year (22 points per game) rushed for 2506 yards
(251 per game) and once again struggled through the air, completing just 15
passes all season for 270 yards (27 yards per game) Warner was also a very
capable field goal kicker, booting 7 field goals, including 2 which ended up as
game winners.
Dylan Warner (#25) was a field goal specialist, kicking 7 field goals on the year, including 2 games winners, like this one in the season opener against Maine Endwell
2006- Defense
The 2006 defense was solid , but again not as spectacular
as its earlier counterparts. There were several returning standouts, including
defensive end Nicholson, defensive tackle Josh Cary, and safety Bryan Lance.
Some new players who stepped up and played well included linebackers Jake
Reynolds and Joe Aston, and nose guard Bob Phelps. The defense allowed 115 points all season (9.5 per game), 1118 yards rushing (112 per game) and 939 yards passing (94 per game)
Cornerback Nick Stephens (#21) celebrates CF's last minute, come from behind win against rival Chenango Valley. The 2006 game would be the beginning of a very close set of games between the rival schools
2006- Results
Facing one of the toughest schedules of the 2006 season,
the Blue Devils opened the season with a 19-16 win over Maine Endwell, a game
won by a Dylan Warner field goal with seconds to go. However, the next week
brought Chenango Forks 55 game win streak against Section 4 opponents to an
end, as Corning East, the eventual class A state champions, shut out the Blue
Devils on their home field 14-0 in a game that shocked many in Section 4. However, the Blue Devils rebounded to win 9 straight games, including a 14-9 last minute comeback win against rival Chenango Valley, a 29-12 win over Windsor in the Section 4 championship game, and a 3-0 shutout win via a Dylan Warner field goal in a driving rain over Cazenovia. However, the Blue Devils streak of title game appearances ended with a 26-21, last minute loss to eventual state champion Geneva in the state semifinal game. The 2006 squad finished 2nd in the final state rankings, placing 3 players on first team all state (Bryan Lance, QB, Joe Nicholson, DL, and Josh Cary, OL). The 2007 squad, however, would be motivated not only by the amount of returning players, but by being the first Chenango Forks team to not make it to the state title game in over 6 years, a fact they would seek to rectify as next season rolled around.
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