Jamestown Chiefs @ Southern Tier Diesel

June 11, 2011

By Jeff Madigan
Olean Times Herald   

    SALAMANCA - The last three meetings between the teams have been close, with no more than a touchdown separating them in any of the those games.
    The Southern Tier Diesel and the Jamestown Chiefs, the league's defending runners-up, played another close game Saturday night, as the Chiefs won, 16-14, at Veteran's Park in Salamanca.
    Exactly nine months ago, the Chiefs beat the Diesel in Salamanca, 13-12. The script for Saturday's game followed a similar suit.
    "It is a disappointing loss," Diesel linebacker and coach J.R. Bennion said. "We went back and forth with a good football team but we made a couple of key mistakes."
    In an attempt to boost a struggling offense, the Diesel switched quarterbacks before the game. Shannon Knight took over for John Evener, who completed just three passes and threw two interceptions in Week 1. The Diesel's offense did produce more points with Knight at quarterback, scoring six points in the first quarter and eight points in the fourth quarter. Knight finished 9-of-18 for 105 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while his brother Fred Knight ran 18 times for 101 yards.
    The Diesel scored on their opening possession, a 10-yard pass play from Knight to Jason Folland (5 catches, 45 yards, TD), which Bennion said was a team goal. The team couldn't protect its early 6-0 lead though.
    "We were hoping to build some momentum off that, and we didn't," Bennion said. "That's most disappointing."
    After yielding 16 second quarter points to the Chiefs on two pass plays and two successful two-point conversions, the Diesel did score in the fourth quarter, a 25-yard strike from Knight to Evener. The two-point conversion to Evener proved successful, but the game later ended 16-14.
    Through two games this season, the Diesel have allowed four passing touchdowns to no rushing touchdowns, something Bennion attributes to a lack of upfront defensive pressure.
    "We need more defensive line pressure," he said. "We have good linebacker pressure, but Jamestown was able to use quick, short passes to the outside. We didn't adjust well to their slot receiver (Gary Kum – 6 receptions, 83 yards, 1 TD)  making plays."
    Turnovers again hurt the Diesel, as two fumbles and an interception stifled drives. Meanwhile, the Diesel were the recipient of two fumble recoveries.
    The Diesel and Chiefs will play again, July 23 in Jamestown.
    Next for the Diesel is a trip to Waterloo to play the Finger Lakes Impact (2-0), Saturday night at 7 p.m. Last week, Finger Lakes defeated the Southern Tier Warriors, 42-0, the same Warriors team which beat the Diesel 15-0 in Week 1.
    "Finger Lakes is a very well-organized team said," Bennion said. "I can't say enough good things about how they run that program. They bring it hard on every play, and we will need to do the same."
    The Impact are new to the league, joining the West Division in March when the Niagara Falls Gamblers were voted out of the league.