Football

Chester edges Eldred in non-league prelim

October 29 league match-up of Class D leaders looms large

By RICHARD A. ROSS

CHESTER, NY — For visiting teams, winning a game at the “Enchanted Forest”—Chester’s home turf—is a tall order. Not only is Chester tough at home, but strange things happen down there. Case in point: at a key moment in the October 7 game against Eldred, the lights went out on Eldred’s side of the field, but the game was allowed to continue in the semi-darkness.

Still, for Eldred’s head coach Frank Kean and his previously undefeated hive of Yellowjackets, this game was about proving that they could compete with the defending Class D champs.

They did more than that. They nearly won.

Though their five-game winning streak came to an end, Eldred regards the game as a solid indicator that they can win the league title by defeating Chester when the Hambletonians visit them on October 29. First up for Eldred though is a tough rematch with Livingston Manor-Roscoe (LMR) on October 14 at home under the lights. Kean and team are not looking past that game now.

But last weekend, it was Chester that was in their gun sights.

Chester got out to an early lead with a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter. Quarterback Bryan Vandermark hit Ruddie Montalvo on a 62-yard strike. George Festi ran off a 53-yard run for a second touchdown. That 14-0 lead was short-lived. Keying in on Mike Schmidlein, one of Section Nine’s premiere runners, Eldred’s defense blunted Chester’s main weapon.

Meanwhile, Eldred’s offense got on track.

First, Jonathan Counts took the ball in from the one and followed that up with a 19-yard gallop to help Eldred get within two at 14-12. With only 31 seconds left in the first half, Eldred’s quarterback Nick McCormick hit Mike Prunka with a 60-yard pass to put Eldred up 20-14 at the half.

Chester got back on top in the third quarter when Eldred’s defense allowed Chester’s Dave Malec to run around the right end for a 63-yard touchdown. That put Chester on top 22-20, but Eldred drove the ball right down the field to the nine-yard line. A perfect touchdown pass to Counts was dropped, and on fourth down, Eldred decided to settle for the go-ahead field goal.

After failing to use a dry ball, Eldred’s long snap dribbled back and was picked up by Patrick Kean. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to run and Chester maintained the two-point lead. Eldred’s defense proved stingy and when Chester went to punt from its own 16-yard line, the snap sailed over the punter’s head and out of the end zone for a safety. The third quarter ended in a 22-all deadlock.

Seeking to stuff the inside run, Eldred packed the box again, and Malec got loose to the outside abetted by the lack of lights and tacklers who didn’t wrap him up. His resulting escape was a 50-yard score. Vandermark converted on the two-point conversion and Chester took a 30-22 lead.

Eldred had one more chance but couldn’t convert, and Chester (6-0, 2-0 Class D) walked away with the win. Eldred, 5-1 (0-0 Class D), will now engage its league rivals LMR on October 7. They face Milbrook on October 15 and then Chester on October 22.

Eldred stat line: Jonathan Counts carried the ball 22 times for 108 yards and one touchdown; Nick McCormick completed four of 14 passes for 82 yards and one touchdown.

Chester stat line: Malec had eight carries for 189 yards and two touchdowns; Schmidlein had 16 carries for 70 yards; Festi had six carries for 61 yards and one touchdown. Vandermark completed two of six passes for 66 yards and one touchdown.