| | Richfield Springs’ LaMont McNair tries to break a tackle, Saturday, in a Class D East game against Oriskany at Oriskany Elementary School. McNair finished with 73 all purpose yards, but the Indians lost, 27-22. (Photo by Mike Root) | |
ORISKANY – Mike Sreca’s interception killed the Indians’ hopes, Saturday, as Oriskany held on for a 27-22 victory over Richfield Springs in a Class D East football game at Oriskany Elementary School. After the Indians’ defense stopped the Redskins (3-0, 1-0) when they needed to, Richfield had the ball on its own 26 yard line with 1:02 remaining. On the first play of the series, Garrett Getchell sacked Indians quarterback Dan Bloomfield. On the next play, Bloomfield threw a deep pass, but no Indians were in the area to make the catch. Sreca had to run down the field and caught the ball over his right shoulder. The senior defensive back returned the ball to the Richfield 41 yard line, and Oriskany only had to kneel on the ball for the victory. “That was a big play,” Redskins head coach Bob Reid said. “They were beating us on the pass that whole second half and a little bit in the first half as well. We knew they were gonna try to go deep to try to get the ball in the end zone at the end.” The Indians’ short passing game gave Oriskany fits all game, but the Redskins defended the long pass pretty well. Bloomfield completed 8 of 14 passes for 101 yards, but threw two interceptions. Richfield (0-3, 0-1) had 114 yards on the ground, led by Brad Lindsay’s 54 yards on 12 carries. The running game is what hurt the Indians, as the Redskins rushed for 302 yards, including 104 by Ryan O’Neil and 100 by Tom Rocker. Oriskany only threw four passes, all in the first half. “In the second half, our line seemed to be moving people off the ball a little bit better than we did in the first half, so it made some things click for us,” Reid said. “When our offensive line is moving people around, we get things done. We’ve got some really talented backs.” The Redskins’ offensive line is huge, averaging 245 pounds, and the Indians seemed to tire as the game went on. “With weak numbers, it’s kind of hard to get fresh bodies in there,” Hudson said. “We condition the heck out of them, but there’s only so much you can expect out of a young man for 48 minutes.” However, on their last defensive series, the Indians forced Oriskany to a fourth and 25 with 1:11 left in the game. “You think these guys are down, you think they have no gas left and they go ahead and do something like that,” Hudson said. “I just can’t say enough about these guys. I’m extremely proud of these young men.” Richfield trailed 27-14 before before Lindsay scored on a 6-yard run with 3 minutes left. The Indians converted the two-point conversion when Bloomfield’s pass found Alex Sovocool in the end zone. The 65-yard scoring drive was highlighted by a 16-yard reception by Sovocool and a 19-yard catch by LaMont McNair on fourth and three. Trailing 14-7, Richfield recovered its onside kick to open the second half. Taking advantage of good field position, the Indians marched 52 yards, scoring on a 10-yard keeper by Bloomfield. McNair had a 14-yard reception and a 10-yard run on the drive, and Sovocool had a 13-yard catch on a fourth and 11. Richfield capitalized on a 54-yard interception return by Jake Dolhun that put the Indians at the Oriskany 8 yard line for its first TD. Eric Ulinski ran the ball in from the 1 yard line on the third play to tie the score, 7-7. The Redskins had some big plays throughout the game that led to touchdowns. On its first possession, Oriskany was forced to punt but the Redskins recovered the kick when the ball hit Richfield freshman Clayton Domion in the back. That led to a 48-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 1-yard run by Rhett Kristl. A 50-yard flea flicker pass from O’Neil to Richard Malick allowed Oriskany to take a 14-7 lead on a 3-yard TD run by O’Neil. On the Redskins’ final touchdown, Rocker busted free for a 59-yard carry to set up a first and goal at the 5 yard line. Rocker scored on the next play. Oriskany’s other TD came on a 7-yard run by O’Neil. “Really, the story of the game, in my eyes, is they made a couple of big plays and we let a couple of big plays slip through our hands,” Hudson said. Richfield plays at Dolgeville, Saturday, at 2 p.m.
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