It took until Saturday for us to cover a full game this week - skipped out on OT of a Wednesday game, and caught just the 2nd half of a Friday game. One thing they all had in common - they were all close. Not necessarily good, but close. This one, though, was probably the best of the three. Plus the rain held off. That's good, right?
Well, NYM/Oriskany is what I would like to call a rivalry reborn... or renamed. The rivalry has never died, but this installment was the 1st annual.. wait for it... "Maraudskin Bowl". I need to touch on that before I get to the game. That's the worst name I've ever heard. I don't care if one team is the Marauders & one is the Redskins. APW & Pulaski have a name for their game - APW is the Rebels, Pulaski is the Blue Devils. That game isn't the Blue Rebel Bowl... it's another odd, but cool name. The Salmon Cup. Makes sense - Salmon River connection, fish hatchery in the area, yadda yadda. Maraudskin? Sounds like a skin disease... but I digress. To the game...
Oriskany started off the game looking MUCH improved from the other time I've seen them - a 47-0 beatdown at the hands of the aforementioned Pulaski. After forcing NYM into a turnover on downs, Oriskany used an 8 play, 66 yard drive to get on the board first, and in doing so, they took their first lead of the season. Sophomore QB Ethan Juarez hit Craig Whittaker for a 34 yard TD connection. In that drive, QB turned halfback Tyler Tarkowski had a 14 yard pickup on his first carry, but went down with what may have been a high ankle sprain - either that or lower leg issue. He tried to return, but didn't last more than a couple plays. This threw another sophomore, Shamis Lasher, into a larger role. Did it have an impact on the game? We may never know... the extra point - fun fact, the only attempted one of the day - was ugly enough not to have an alibi, but it went through to give Oriskany a 7-0 lead with 5:46 left in the 1st quarter. That lead, however, did not last long. On a free-flowing NYM ensuing drive that went 79 yards in 7 plays that took just over 2 minutes, QB Zach Griffith had easily his best drive of the game. He went 3/3 for 68 yards, including a 57 yard strike to Terry Nichols (the son of... Terry Nichols), and he had 3 rushes for 13 yards, including a 1 yard TD run on a bootleg that he might have been able to run in for a score if they were on the other 1 yard line. Only one on his side of the field. The 2-point conversion was good (another Griffith to Nichols hookup - as were all of them on the drive), which gave Mills an 8-7 lead with 3 and a half to play in the 1st. Teams traded 3 & outs for a few minutes before NYM struck again. On the play directly after a 43 yard punt return TD by Nichols was called back due to a block in the back, NYM running back Tevin Pham broke through everyone, ran through people's legs, under arms, the whole bit, and busted out for a 44 yard TD run. Another conversion was bueno, and Mills took a 16-7 lead with just .3 seconds showing in the 1st quarter. The Marauders outgained the Redskins throughout the 1st half, but their drives stalled with a pair of turnovers on downs & an interception in the 2nd, while Oriskany really just couldn't get the ball moving until late in the half - where they had a pass picked off themselves. The score remained the same at half, and through the end of the 3rd quarter, for that matter. Between 3 & outs, quickly stalled drives, and turnovers, that wasn't the most entertaining 12 minutes I've ever seen. Only 4 first downs in the 3rd - and one was because of a pair of offsides calls against New York Mills.
However, the 4th quarter picked up. Oriskany had its chances. Much like their Rt. 69 neighbor Whitesboro on Friday, they had great field position. In the 4th, their drives started at the Mills 36 and 28 respectively. After Ryan Lockwood forced a Griffith fumble, which was recovered by Ryan Enos of Oriskany, and a 19 yd completion from Juarez to Erik Buckingham, the Redskins looked ready. However, a holding penalty and a pass intercepted in the red zone by Terry Nichols switched that up. Juarez made up for it on the next drive, hitting Shamis Lasher for a 24 yard gain on 3rd & 14 to make it 1st & goal. Mills bailed the Redskins out twice in a row once there - first with a roughing the passer on an incompletion, and 2nd with a face mask on a 2 yard loss. However, Oriskany didn't do anything with it until 4th down, where Ryan Enos hit Devin Bryant on an option pass from 8 yards out. The conversion was good, making the score 16-15 in favor of NYM with over 4 minutes to go. The Marauders would make sure Oriskany didn't get another chance. NYM's offense, which had been incredibly stagnant throughout the 2nd half, got moving late, behind Pham's 22 yards on 5 carries and 2 first downs on the drive, along with Griffith's 2 completions for 17 yards and the game-clinching 1st down - a 9 yard completion to a covered Griffin Baur on 3rd & 8. New York Mills improves to 2-1 on the season, and Oriskany is still looking for their 1st W, dropping to 0-3.
QB Battle - Unofficially, I have Zach Griffith (NYM) at 14/31 for 163 yards and a pick. He also rushed 3 times for 13 yards and a TD (all on one drive). He was sacked 3 times for a loss of 34 yards, and lost a fumble in the process. For Oriskany, Ethan Juarez went 8/25 for 123 yards, a TD, and 3 picks; he also rushed the ball 12 times for 16 yards. Enos threw the other TD pass.
Everyone Else - Tevin Pham (NYM) rushed the ball 21 times for a total of 113 yards, including the 44 yard TD scamper. Terry Nichols (NYM) caught 6 passes for 84 yards. Shamis Lasher (Oriskany) had 26 yards on 11 carries - lost 6 yards in the 2nd half. He also caught the 24 yard pass to set up 1st & goal on their 2nd scoring drive. Craig Whittaker (Oriskany) was their leading receiver, catching 3 passes for 61 yards, including the opening TD. New York Mills outgained Oriskany, not including penalty or return yards, 251-189. However, neither had much doing in the 2nd half. Oriskany gained 73 yards after intermission, and NYM managed only 23. As a matter of fact, they were held to -16 before their final drive.
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