The
Diesel defeat Cortland 42-0First Home
Win and 2nd Shut-out in a Row
(Aug. 8, 2009) The Southern Tier Diesel Semi-Pro football team won their
second game of the season (2-4), recording an important victory over the Cortland Bulldogs (0-6) at Bradner Stadium in Olean,
New York.
After beating Rome 29-0 last week, the Diesel defense came up big again. Led by JR Bennion, Andy
Johnson, Scott Craker, Chad Hancock, Jerad Skiver, Stan Gilchrist, and several others, the Purple People Eaters forced a number
of turnovers and never allowed the Bulldogs inside the 30-yard line.
The offense was led by a stout line anchored
by C Kevin Kearney and great running by Donnie Moore, Fred Knight, and Cameron Wyatt. QB Shannon Knight threw for two TD
passes to Jason Folland, while Moore scored two via the run.
The Diesel scored on their first drive
(see video at right), as Moore (Bolivar) jetted for a 20-yard TD run, followed up by an extra point kick by Mike Torrey (Portville).
Torrey was 4 for 5 on XP kicks. Later in the 1st quarter, Knight hit Folland on a 16-yard pass for pay dirt. The Diesel
faked an XP kick and converted a 2-pointer with a pass from Knight to Cody Farrell to make it 15-0.
In
the 2nd quarter, another 16-yard pass completion from Knight to Folland, followed by Torrey, made it 22-0. The TD drive began
with a huge punt return by Bobby Meyer. Fred Knight ran in the last TD of the half from two yards out, thanks to an earlier
fumble recovery by Albert Doxey.
Moore scored from five yards in the 3rd quarter, after a fumble recovery
by Johnson. Moore and Knight each had over 100 yards rushing, while the team went over 300 for the game. In the first 5
games, the Diesel had a total of 422 yards on the ground.
During the 4th period, Wyatt scampered
into the end zone for a 17-yard run to finish the domination. Before that, Kyle Custerd intercepted a Cortland pass at the
5 to prevent the opponents from getting on the scoreboard.
Despite the rain, a nice crowd of fans
showed up to witness the big victory and the new lights on the far side of the stadium. Thanks went out to all the volunteers,
the Olean Huskies cheerleaders, and the City of Olean.
Next weekend, the Diesel play a 7:00 pm home game against the Buffalo Gladiators
(3-3). In the first game of the season, Buffalo won 34-7 at the University of Buffalo. The vastly-improved Diesel squad
should give the city boys a better game this time around.
