COBLESKILL, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Colin Pickering punched in the game-winning touchdown in overtime to lift Fonda-Fultonville to a 20-14 victory over Cobleskill-Richmondville Friday night, securing the Valley Hawks the Class C West Division title in the process.
This week’s NEWS10 Sports 1st & 10 “Game of the Week” pitted two 6-0 squads with 4-0 records in Class C West Division play against one another, with the winner securing the No. 1 seed for the West in the Section 2 playoffs. Both teams also boasted top-10 state rankings entering the matchup, with Fonda-Fultonville ranked fourth in Class C, and Cobleskill-Richmondville slotted seventh.
It was a defensive battle to start. Each side forced turnovers on downs in the early moments of the contest. Neither side was able to score in the opening frame, but the two offenses found a bit of a rhythm in the second stanza.
The Bulldogs opened the scoring when quarterback Cayden Cernauskas hit Eli Barr across the middle. Barr bounced off two defenders, spun past another and dove across the goal line for a 29-yard touchdown. Fonda-Fultonville would block the PAT to keep the score at 6-0.
The Valley Hawks answered right back on their next drive. Marching his team down the field and capping a scoring drive was quarterback Brayden Wassink, who connected with Henry Sweet from 11 yards out for a touchdown on fourth down. A converted PAT gave Fonda a 7-6 lead going into the locker rooms at halftime.
At the start of the game, Fonda won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Matt Oathout made that choice pay off in a big way, taking the opening kickoff of the third quarter 70 yards to the house for a touchdown to push the lead to 14-6.
The defenses for both sides would step up for much of the second half, making key stops throughout the third and fourth quarters. Perhaps the biggest stop in regulation was made by the Bulldogs late in the fourth. Still trailing by eight, they forced a Fonda-Fultonville punt that was blocked, setting Cernauskas and company up in Valley Hawks territory.
The C-R offense went to work, moving into the red zone and setting up a goal-to-go scenario with less than a minute remaining. On second and goal from the three-yard line, wide receiver Isaiah Butcher took a direct snap off the right side of the offensive line and won the race to the pylon, diving across for a touchdown that cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to 14-12.
After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Fonda-Fultonville moved the two-point conversion attempt to the one-yard line, C-R went with another direct snap to Butcher, who, this time, ran right up the middle for the game-tying conversion.
The game would go to overtime tied at 14-14, with Fonda-Fultonville once again winning the coin toss, and electing to play defense first. After a penalty set C-R back to fourth and goal from the 20, the Bulldogs broke out a trick play half-back pass, but Sweet was there for an interception to end the drive.
Fonda-Fultonville’s offense would get its chance, knowing that any points scored would win the game. After marching down to the goal line, Pickering punched in the game-winning score on fourth and goal. That touchdown not only clinched the division title for Fonda-Fultonville, but also made Pickering the program’s all-time leading scorer.
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