Horseheads opposes Elmira with an eye on perfect September of football
Horseheads is off to the program’s best start in 25 years after last week’s 49-21 dismantling of Norwich. The opportunity to beat rival Elmira in front of the Blue Raiders’ boisterous home crowd would make for an even sweeter September of football.
Game time is 7 p.m. Friday at Horseheads High School.
Horseheads (4-0) has averaged 47 points per game in beating Columbia, Fayetteville-Manlius, Corcoran and Norwich. The defense is giving up 20 per outing while coming up with big plays to contribute to the eye-popping scoring numbers.
Elmira (1-2) is coming off a 45-8 loss to defending Section 4 Class C champion Waverly. The Express also technically lost its opener, 14-8, to Liverpool when lightning cut short play after one quarter. In between Elmira topped Baldwinsville, 32-29.
A notable absence for the Express has been all-state fullback/defensive end Amir Williams, who hasn’t played since suffering a leg injury on the opening drive of the season.
The last time a Horseheads team was 4-0 was 1998. That group went on to a 6-0 record before losing to Vestal, then captured the program’s third consecutive Section 4 Class AA championship. Horseheads hasn’t won a sectional title since.
Waverly at Chenango Forks, 7 p.m. Fri.
The programs that met to decide last year’s Section 4 Class C champion will collide in what may be the third of four meetings between the two across two seasons.
Last November’s title game brought the Wolverines a 28-14 win at Forks and their first sectional championship since 2015.
Waverly, ranked ninth in Class C, is fresh off delivering Elmira that 45-8 jolt with quarterback Joey Tomasso fitting four scoring passes into a night he threw for better than 300 yards.
Forks has scored 94 points in its two games since being dealt an 8-0 home-field loss to Windsor. Last weekend, Walker Paske accounted for the Blue Devils’ first two TDs – receptions of 45 and 43 yards, respectively – in a 54-0 roll past Oneonta on the Yellowjackets’ turf. Forks possessed the ball for nearly 29 minutes and nine rushers teamed for 266 yards.
Chenango Valley at Windsor, 7 p.m. Fri.
Windsor’s Black Knights, assigned a No. 14 ranking in Class B, will attempt to make it a 5-0 record when Chenango Valley visits. This one marks the second of three consecutive home games for Windsor, with No. 3 coming Oct. 6 against top-ranked Maine-Endwell.
Winless Chenango Valley has mustered 19 points in three outings.
Maine-Endwell at Union-Endicott, 2 p.m. Sat.
The Maine-Endwell squad that permitted 12 points through two weekends was stretched to the utmost in last week’s 43-42 squeeze past Corning, which would earn support in some circles as the top 0-3 team in New York.
The Spartans’ Vinny Mancini turned his five rushes into 155 yards and his four TDs featured a 78-yard kickoff return.
Union-Endicott got by Vestal in Week 3 at Dick Hoover Stadium, 14-12, after yielding 98 points through its first two outings.
Sept. 29
Corning at Binghamton, 7
Elmira at Horseheads, 7
Norwich at Vestal, 7
Chenango Valley at Windsor, 7
Owego at Johnson City, 7
Waverly at Chenango Forks, 7
Susquehanna Valley at Sidney, 7
Delhi at S-VE/Candor, 7
Dryden at Lansing, 7
Cortland at Ithaca, 7
Oneonta vs. Watkins Glen/O-M at O-M, 7:30
More: Section 4 football Week 3: Horseheads, Waverly, Watkins Glen/O-M, U-E among winners
Sept. 30
Montrose, Pa., at Whitney Point, 1:30
Deposit-Hancock at Newark Valley, 1:30
Tioga at Walton, 1:30
Maine-Endwell at Union-Endicott, 2
Bainbridge-Guilford at Harpursville/Afton, 2
Eight-player
Sept. 29
Greene at Unadilla Valley, 7
Sauquoit Valley at Oxford, 7
Unatego at Groton, 7
More: It's apple picking season in NY. Was your favorite orchard hurt by late spring frost?
Sept. 30
Thomas A. Edison at Newfield, noon
Trumansburg at Moravia, 1
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Week 4 of Section 4 football offers smattering of intriguing matchups
