It had been 20 years since Oriskany football coach Dave Allen last won a varsity football game.
But it didn’t take him or his Oriskany Redskins long to get back on the winning track as they defeated Class D East rival Richfield Springs in a 38-6 rout on Saturday at Richfield Springs.
Sam Blaney rushed for 117 yards and scored two touchdowns on 13 carries and the Redskins’ defense forced seven turnovers to pick up the season-opening victory.
Oriskany senior quarterback Rhett Kristl also had three touchdowns, two rushing and one throwing, of his own. Kristl threw for 117 yards on 4-of-10 passing and connected with Kyle Cousin on two passes for 71-yards and a score.
Allen left from his coaching duties to spend more time with his family as assistant coach Bob Reid took over for him. Reid, who also stepped down because of family reasons at the end of last season, gave Allen the opportunity to get back into coaching the Redskins.
Oriskany jumped out to a fast 18-0 lead as they scored three touchdowns, including two rushing touchdowns, against their league rivals because of the strong offensive line play from Jake O’Neil, Connor McDonald, Tyler Tosti, Randy Vredenburg and Pete Lopez.
The Redskins’ defense was also impressive as they allowed only one touchdown to go along with their seven fumble recoveries from Garrett Gretchell, Cousin and Vredenburg, who each had two apiece, along with one from junior Brad Sahl.
Oriskany will look to continue to build on its good start when it hosts Class D East rival New York Mills on Saturday at 2 o’clock.
South Lewis shuts out Pulaski
Dylan Peebles rushed for 208 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries as South Lewis opened its season with a 37-0 Class C North road victory over Pulaski.
The stout Falcon defense didn’t allow a point and Anthony Manning and Mike Cobb each had an interception in the shutout. Cobb, who rushed for a touchdown, also caught two balls and had 35-yards receiving from quarterback Anthony Ripp, who completed 3-of-5 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. Ripp also had an 11-yard rushing score to give the visitors a 13-0 lead in the first quarter after a missed extra point attempt.
South Lewis lead 19-0 at the half but didn’t let up in the second half as Kyle Shafer had two rushing touchdowns as the Falcons pulled away for the victory.
Adirondack suffers setback
Little Falls senior Devin Mannuzza caught a game-winning 65-yard touchdown from quarterback Ryan Dawley in the closing minutes against visiting Class C East rival Adirondack as the Wildcats fell, 18-14.
Mannuzza caught five passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns as Little Falls rallied from a 14-12 first half deficit to come away with the tight victory. Adirondack running back Tom Egnaczwk tied the contest at 6-6 in the first quarter with a 23-yard rushing score and Scott Dunlop gave the Wildcats the lead with a 1-yard score of his own to close out the half. Dunlop also had seven tackles on defense as Craig Dittl lead all Wildcats with ten total tackles. Matt O’Rourke also had 66-yards rushing on six carries.
Adirondack will continue their road trip as they travel to Class C East rival Herkimer on Friday night for a 7 o’clock start.
