One down, one to go.
The Oneonta City Stallions inched closer to their first postseason appearance Saturday with a 58-32 victory at Watertown in the Northeastern Football Alliance.
Oneonta High graduate Noble Champen passed for 146 yards and three touchdowns for the Stallions, who can clinch the third and final NFA playoff berth with a victory over the Utica Yard Dawgs this Saturday at Hartwick College's Wright Stadium.
Both teams will head into the regular-season finale at 6:30 p.m. Saturday with 5-4 records. The winner will play at the Glove Cities Colonials (7-2) the following weekend for a chance to advance to the NFA East Division final against defending league champion Troy (8-0), which earned a first-round bye for the playoffs.
"It's dead-even, and that's the way we like it," said Stallions co-owner Tom Terry, whose fourth-year franchise fell, 28-15, to Utica earlier this season. "Clearly this is the first time we've ever had a game that actually meant something. We're in foreign territory, but our offense is really, really firing on all cylinders."
Champen's performance included a team-best 85 rushing yards and touchdown passes of 49 yards to Michael Mason, 25 yards to Jason Carnel, and 14 yards to Zach Blocker.
Mason and Blocker also contributed two touchdown runs apiece for Oneonta City, which capped the scoring with a 1-yard TD run by Jeremy Polemus late in the fourth quarter. Mason had six carries for 70 yards, highlighted by TD runs of 13 and 7 yards. Blocker rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries, including TD runs of 15 and 2 yards.
"This was the first game we had Mason and Blocker in the same backfield at the same time," said Terry, adding that one or the other had been absent because of other commitments. "Both of them, along with Champen, make our offense click."
Sidney graduate Jimmy Kazalski accounted for 10 points, going 7-for-7 in extra-point attempts and kicking a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Mason's 7-yard TD run opened the scoring as the Stallions scored on their first possession Saturday.
"We basically took the opening kickoff and scored," Terry said. "We went 65 yards for a touchdown and never looked back."
Unatego graduate Andrew Ruff recovered two fumbles and Bobby McKnight intercepted a pass for Oneonta City, which took a 31-14 lead into halftime.
Despite the loss, the Revolution (1-7) remained one game ahead of the last-place Cortland Bulldogs (0-8) in the NFA's six-team East Division.
Local Sports
Stallions win to close in on playoff berth
- Local Sports
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Mushtare to head OHS football program
Oneonta High has a new football coach, but he's not new to Oneonta nor is new to coaching varsity football. John Mushtare, an assistant varsity football coach at OHS the past six seasons, was recommended to replace Adam Hoover as the Yellowjackets head coach at a school board meeting Wednesday night.
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Vega gives OHS baseball a lift
Senior Jonathan Vega's walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning sent Oneonta High's baseball team into the Section Four Class B semifinals Thursday.
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C'town escapes with 3-2 triumph
A lefty made everything all right for the Cooperstown softball team Thursday. Christina Noto's RBI triple to left field with one out in the bottom of the seventh gave top-seeded Cooperstown a 3-2 home victory over No. 8 seed Thousand Islands in a Section Three Class C-1 quarterfinal.
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Downsville junior doubles up in track
Downsville's Antonio Gomes earned titles in the 100- and 200-meter races during Wednesday's Section Four Class D Track and Field Championships at Marathon.
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Section Four Tournaments
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Thursday's High School Results
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Bernstein starts strong at D-III nationals
Oneonta State senior Sean Bernstein had the fastest time in the 200-meter preliminaries and helped the Red Dragons' 400 relay team to a school record during the first day of the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
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Today's Datebook
- Thursday, May 23, 2013
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Bernstein's speedy ascent to conclude at nationals
To say Oneonta State senior Sean Bernstein is the fastest person ever with ties to The Daily Star's circulation area is difficult to quantify. But if there's been somebody faster in these parts, his identity has been well concealed.
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CV-S boys win Class D track title
Sparked by individual victories from Dustin Collins and Rory Davis, Cherry Valley-Springfield's boys won the Section Four Class D track meet Wednesday at Marathon.
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High School Results
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Hartwick lacrosse pair selected for all-star game
Hartwick College seniors Harry Hughes and Jake Cooper will represent the North Team during the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association/Lax World North/South game at 3 p.m. Friday at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pa.
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Area Sports Briefs
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Today's Datebook
- Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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Bauerle's 1-hitter leads B-G in Class C
Asked if he would say Tuesday's outing was Bainbridge-Guilford senior Austin Bauerle's best of the season, Bobcats coach Tim Mattingly replied, "Yes, I would." Bauerle struck out 15 and walked two in a one-hitter to lead the eighth-seeded Bobcats to a 2-1 Section Four Class C first-round baseball victory over visiting Spencer-Van Etten.
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Margaretville shocks No. 3 Milford in first round
Margaretville junior Colby Russo closed things out on the baseball diamond and on the stage Tuesday night.
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O-State senior an All-American in lacrosse
Oneonta State's Jimmy van de Veerdonk earned honorable mention All-America status in Division III from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association on Tuesday.
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High School Results
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Oneonta youngster wins pitch, hit & run competition
Oneonta resident Mariano Hernandez III finished with the highest points total during the Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run Sectional Competition, which ran Sunday at Damaschke Field in Oneonta.
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State Softball Rankings
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Mushtare to head OHS football program



