Football

Winnable opener eludes Yellowjackets

By RICHARD A. ROSS

A spate of penalties derails Eldred from road win

HANCOCK, NY — Eldred came to deliver a one-word message to the Hancock Wildcats: payback.

The Wildcats’ 22-6 defeat of the Yellowjackets last year still burned in the memories of many of Eldred’s veterans, and as the game began to unfold, it seemed like the Yellowjackets had all it needed to make that message register. The Eldred team mounted a staunch defense, eventually got good field position and recovered a number of Hancock fumbles.

So what happened?

Penalties, penalties, penalties. Eleven of them to be exact, totaling over 100 lost yards, one of which resulted in the call back of a touchdown pass from Nick McCormick to Jonathan Counts. While Hancock had its share of penalties too, some of which cancelled out big gains, Eldred took the brunt of the evening’s flying flags.

To their credit, Eldred’s defense did the job. Time and time again they contained Hancock, holding them scoreless during the whole first half and much of the second. Hancock looked out of synch and harried, committing fumbles, failing to complete passes and often being caught behind the line of scrimmage by Eldred’s blitzing defense.

Unfortunately, Eldred’s offense couldn’t capitalize and failed to mount a sustained attack. Time after time Eldred was unable to convert in third-and-long situations to gain that much-needed first down.

As the sun waned on a beautiful early evening of September 3, Eldred won the toss and elected to receive. Hancock got off a deep kick that receiver Kyle Ranne allowed to roll down to the seven-yard line, nearly resulting in a Hancock recovery. Eldred’s weak kick returning game would continue to be a problem throughout the night.

Poor field position hampered Eldred on its first three possessions, all of which ended up three and out, so the team had to rely on its defense to get the ball back.

It did just that.

Late in the first quarter Counts recovered a Hancock fumble. It wouldn’t be the last time the resilient junior would pounce on the ball. He was doing it all night. Taking over on the Eldred 34-yard line, McCormick completed a pass to Kyle Ranne who dashed 32 yards to the Hancock 34. A McCormick pitch out to Counts brought the ball to the Hancock 16, but once again the offense stalled. Taylor Diguid missed a 27-yard field goal and Eldred came up empty.

After holding Hancock again, Eldred finally hit pay dirt on its next possession when Counts took off on a six-right play for 62 yards for a touchdown with 11:12 remaining in the second quarter. Diguid’s extra point was good, giving Eldred a 7-0 lead, which they took into halftime. As the first half waned, Gang Green held off Hancock, which had a first and 10 on the Eldred 16-yard line but could not break through the Yellowjackets’ red zone defense.

Hancock coach Walt Smith’s reverberating halftime deliverance to his team fired them up. They roared out of the locker room for the second half, but it looked like Eldred was just as stoked to add to its lead.

Neither team could mount a sustained attack. Eldred recovered yet another Hancock fumble, but once again could not convert a first down. Late in the third quarter Hancock’s quarterback Jared Wormuth took off on an option play keeper from Hancock’s 30-yard line and blazed all the way to the Eldred 12-yard line.

At second and goal on the eight-yard line, Wormuth used the same play to score. Using the philosophy, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Wormuth used the same option keeper to score a two-point conversion, giving the Wildcats an 8-6 lead with 11:16 to go in the fourth quarter.

“That was a turning point in the game,” Eldred coach Frank Kean said in a post-game wrap-up. Eldred never retook the lead despite having several good chances.

On Eldred’s next possession, another long run by Counts gave Eldred a first-and-10 on Hancock’s 25. McCormick hit Counts on what appeared to be a go-ahead score only to have the play called back on a personal foul. Eldred ended up turning the ball over on downs.

After Brian Daboul recovered another Hancock fumble, Eldred took over on the Hancock 42. A chop block by an Eldred lineman pushed Eldred back 15 more yards, which caused Eldred to have to punt. Hancock fullback Dustin MacRabie then drove the stake in Eldred’s heart with a 73-yard run, which gave Hancock a 14-7 lead. Eldred faltered on its last possession.

After the game, Kean gathered his troops and told them, “You played really hard. Football is a part of life and sometimes things like this just happen.”

Kyle Schneider carried the ball 22 times for 124 yards. Counts had 12 carries for 126 and McCormick ran nine times for 29 yards. He completed four out of 10 passes. John Adams led Eldred’s defense with six and one-half tackles. George Fountain and McCormick each had five and one-half tackles for Eldred (0-1).

Eldred travels to Livingston Manor on September 11. A number of Manor players were on hand in Hancock to scout the Yellowjackets. Hancock (1-0) travels to Roscoe on September 11.