Southern Tier Diesel @ Southern Tier Warriors

June 4, 2011

[ By Jeff Madigan ]
Special to The Olean Times Herald

    ODESSA – Before the Northeastern Football Alliance season began, some drastic shifting put the Southern Tier Diesel’s original season-opening opponent, the Cortland Bulldogs, in the league’s other division.
    When the North Country Warriors left the NFA, the Southern Tier Warriors, based out of Odessa/Montour, entered the league after their league, the NAFL, ceased operations. To make due with the geography, the Warriors slid into the West Division, moving the Bulldogs to the East Division.
    The Diesel traveled to Odessa June 4 to see which team is the true master of the Southern Tier. The Warriors won their inaugural NFA game, 15-0, at Odessa-Montour High School.
    “We made a lot of fundamental mistakes,” said Diesel linebacker and coach J.R. Bennion. “We played good football at times – we had good drives and played good defense – but four turnovers put our defense on the field a lot. Players got tired.”
    The Diesel still struggle with a small roster, and Bennion said the team is not deep enough to bring in reserves. Still, he preaches for the team to be mentally tough and to play through adversity. Despite a small roster, the team is still competitive.
    Proving Bennion’s note about good defense, the game was scoreless at halftime. Penalties affected both teams, as the Diesel had a 75-yard Fred Knight touchdown run erased on a holding penalty.
    “We have to clean up those mistakes,” Bennion said. “When we play clean football, our starting 22 (11 offense, 11 defense) is as good as anybody’s in the league. We’ll get back to work this week and get ready for Jamestown.”
    In the third quarter, the Warriors found the scoreboard on a 24-yard touchdown pass play off a no-huddle offense, for which Bennion said his team wasn’t prepared. A two-point conversion ensued, and the Warriors led 8-0 late in the third quarter. In the fourth, the Warriors piled on, adding a 10-yard touchdown to go up by the final margin of 15-0, a score which came just minutes after a Diesel fumble gave the Warriors good field position.
    The Diesel drove down the field and were deep in Warrior territory as time was winding down, but quarterback John Evener’s pass was intercepted near the goal line, and the Warriors ran out the clock.
    Warriors’ quarterback Coleman McCloskey had both touchdown passes.
    Knight led the Diesel offensively with 15 carries for 75 yards. On defense, Bennion had 10 tackles while Keith Adams recorded nine tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
    The Diesel and Warriors will meet again, July 16 at Bradner Stadium at 5:30 p.m.
    Next up for the Diesel is a ‘home’ game against the Jamestown Chiefs, who started their season with a 14-12 win over Buffalo. That game will be Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Salamanca High School. This is the second straight year the Diesel play a game in Salamanca, home to two Diesel players – Seth Hostuttler and Nick Bocharski.
    “We do that (play one game in Salamanca) to gain exposure,” Bennion said. “It’s a good rivalry, and it allows fans of both teams to come to the game.”
    Last year the teams played two close games - 7-0 and 13-12. The latter was played in Salamanca, when the Diesel blew a 12-0 lead and lost the game in the fourth quarter.
    “We want to bring the same type of game this week that we did then,” Bennion said. “It should be a good game.”
    This game, as well all Diesel home games, will be broadcast live on 105.9 WGWE-FM.