Scoreboard: Football Season Opener
For the 2014 Hornets, coming off of last year’s undefeated season, expectations remain high for another great year with a core group of returning seniors and juniors, and several underclassmen looking to make their presence known.
Mr. Garvey, story, Mrs. O'Keefe, photos, Chester, NY: The Hackley football team travelled north to what seemed like Pennsylvania farm country, but was just a mere one-hour drive to Chester, NY, to play the defending NY State Class D champion Chester Hambletonians, to commence the 2014 season. It seemed as if the whole town came out for the game, and there was great atmosphere in the air for a Friday night game to kick things off.
For the Hornets, coming off of last year’s undefeated season, expectations remain high for another great year with a core group of returning seniors and juniors, and several underclassmen looking to make their presence known. In the early stages, the players were more than up to the task, forcing Chester to an immediate three and out on the game’s first possession, as captain Milo Lempert led the charge with two tackles, and Jack Hogan sacked the quarterback. On Hackley’s first possession, senior quarterback Ryan Walker looked at ease connecting with Winston Britton on a quick 41-yard gain to the Chester 14 yard line on the first offensive play, followed by a pass to captain Dylan Garvey in the end-zone for the team’s first touchdown after only 3 minutes of play.
Lempert once again created havoc on Chester’s next drive, forcing a fumble on its first play with Britton recovering on the 40-yard line. Walker took over the offense fueling a 6-play drive with catches and runs by Anthony Roderick, Elijah Ngbokli, and Britton, who caught a 7-yard pass for the Hornets’ second touchdown of the game, making the score 12-0. Chester’s offense continued to stumble, achieving only two first downs in the first quarter, as Lempert and Hogan were all over the field, and Ngbokoli and senior captain Ilan Gressel making key tackles. Lineman Fesseha Michael and Clifford Joseph penetrated through the line making it tough for Chester’s offense to get in synch.
As the second quarter started, the Hornets began its longest drive of the game with a mix of runs by Ngbokoli, and passes to several Hornet receivers. The offensive line of Lempert, Gressel, Sumail Morton, Elijah Maynes, and James O’Keefe was providing sufficient protection to enable Walker to find open receivers. A pass to Nick Gutfleish took the Hornets to the 15-yard line, which was followed by a beautiful pass and catch from Walker to Jack Waterhouse for another Hackley touchdown. This time, the extra point by James Firpo was good making the score 19-0 at halftime.
By halftime, it was clear Chester had not yet shown its potential, though it had held the Hackley offense on three other drives, and toward the end of the half put together a 12-play drive that ended on a turnover on downs at the Hackley 6-yard line. While the Hornet linemen were holding their own, the Chester linemen’s size was beginning to take its toll.
Nonetheless, as the third quarter started, Hackley’s offense once again displayed its skill-position depth. A long pass to Hogan was followed by 4-straight running plays, culminating in Walker’s 9-yard scramble for the fourth touchdown of the game making the score 26-0. Chester’s highly touted quarterback came right back with a drive of its own, marching down the field in two-minutes to finally break into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. The seemingly unstoppable Hackley offense took over with Walker hitting Hogan again for two long gains, followed by Ngbokoli runs for another touchdown. Firpo’s booming extra point made the score 33-6. However, Chester’s offense found its rhythm, with a mix of runs and passes for a 9-play drive going 80 yards for its own touchdown. The defense was being tested, forcing Gressel, Garvey, and newcomer Javon Coleman to make secondary tackles, with Gressel and Ngbokoli stopping any long gains.
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For the Hornets, coming off of last year’s undefeated season, expectations remain high for another great year with a core group of returning seniors and juniors, and several underclassmen looking to make their presence known. In the early stages, the players were more than up to the task, forcing Chester to an immediate three and out on the game’s first possession, as captain Milo Lempert led the charge with two tackles, and Jack Hogan sacked the quarterback. On Hackley’s first possession, senior quarterback Ryan Walker looked at ease connecting with Winston Britton on a quick 41-yard gain to the Chester 14 yard line on the first offensive play, followed by a pass to captain Dylan Garvey in the end-zone for the team’s first touchdown after only 3 minutes of play.
Lempert once again created havoc on Chester’s next drive, forcing a fumble on its first play with Britton recovering on the 40-yard line. Walker took over the offense fueling a 6-play drive with catches and runs by Anthony Roderick, Elijah Ngbokli, and Britton, who caught a 7-yard pass for the Hornets’ second touchdown of the game, making the score 12-0. Chester’s offense continued to stumble, achieving only two first downs in the first quarter, as Lempert and Hogan were all over the field, and Ngbokoli and senior captain Ilan Gressel making key tackles. Lineman Fesseha Michael and Clifford Joseph penetrated through the line making it tough for Chester’s offense to get in synch.
As the second quarter started, the Hornets began its longest drive of the game with a mix of runs by Ngbokoli, and passes to several Hornet receivers. The offensive line of Lempert, Gressel, Sumail Morton, Elijah Maynes, and James O’Keefe was providing sufficient protection to enable Walker to find open receivers. A pass to Nick Gutfleish took the Hornets to the 15-yard line, which was followed by a beautiful pass and catch from Walker to Jack Waterhouse for another Hackley touchdown. This time, the extra point by James Firpo was good making the score 19-0 at halftime.
By halftime, it was clear Chester had not yet shown its potential, though it had held the Hackley offense on three other drives, and toward the end of the half put together a 12-play drive that ended on a turnover on downs at the Hackley 6-yard line. While the Hornet linemen were holding their own, the Chester linemen’s size was beginning to take its toll.
Nonetheless, as the third quarter started, Hackley’s offense once again displayed its skill-position depth. A long pass to Hogan was followed by 4-straight running plays, culminating in Walker’s 9-yard scramble for the fourth touchdown of the game making the score 26-0. Chester’s highly touted quarterback came right back with a drive of its own, marching down the field in two-minutes to finally break into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. The seemingly unstoppable Hackley offense took over with Walker hitting Hogan again for two long gains, followed by Ngbokoli runs for another touchdown. Firpo’s booming extra point made the score 33-6. However, Chester’s offense found its rhythm, with a mix of runs and passes for a 9-play drive going 80 yards for its own touchdown. The defense was being tested, forcing Gressel, Garvey, and newcomer Javon Coleman to make secondary tackles, with Gressel and Ngbokoli stopping any long gains.
On Hackley’s next possession, Walker was picked off on the first play, and momentum had clearly shifted. Chester’s offense started picking up yards on the ground, despite hard hits by Ngbokoli and Morton as the third quarter ended.
On the first play of the fourth, Chester scored on a 22-yard pass play, and just like that the score was 33-21. Hackley’s next drive was once again disrupted by a Chester interception, as its defense rushed more men making it difficult for Walker to have time to find open receivers. With Chester taking over at the Hackley 34 yard line, it was up to the defense to hold the fort. Defensive captains Gressel, Lempert, and Garvey all came up big, stopping Chester on the 19-yard line on fourth down. Hackley’s offense went three and out losing yards and forcing Firpo to punt from his own end zone. Chester’s offense once again took over, this time at the Hackley 28-yard line as the entire fourth quarter seemed to be played on the Hornets’ defensive side of the field. The Hornet defense held tight, with Chester gaining only 6 yards on four plays to turn the ball back over. The offense found its legs, with two runs by Ngbokoli helped by a Chester face mask penalty bringing the ball to the 46 yard line. From there, Coach Treglia called a surprise play action pass to a wide open Britton who outran the Chester D for the sixth touchdown of the game, making the score an insurmountable 40-21 with three minutes left in the game. Chester was able to score another touchdown, but a weary and exuberant Hornet’s team was able to celebrate an opening 40-29 win.
On the first play of the fourth, Chester scored on a 22-yard pass play, and just like that the score was 33-21. Hackley’s next drive was once again disrupted by a Chester interception, as its defense rushed more men making it difficult for Walker to have time to find open receivers. With Chester taking over at the Hackley 34 yard line, it was up to the defense to hold the fort. Defensive captains Gressel, Lempert, and Garvey all came up big, stopping Chester on the 19-yard line on fourth down. Hackley’s offense went three and out losing yards and forcing Firpo to punt from his own end zone. Chester’s offense once again took over, this time at the Hackley 28-yard line as the entire fourth quarter seemed to be played on the Hornets’ defensive side of the field. The Hornet defense held tight, with Chester gaining only 6 yards on four plays to turn the ball back over. The offense found its legs, with two runs by Ngbokoli helped by a Chester face mask penalty bringing the ball to the 46 yard line. From there, Coach Treglia called a surprise play action pass to a wide open Britton who outran the Chester D for the sixth touchdown of the game, making the score an insurmountable 40-21 with three minutes left in the game. Chester was able to score another touchdown, but a weary and exuberant Hornet’s team was able to celebrate an opening 40-29 win.
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