[ By Jeff Madigan ]
Olean Times Herald

    OLEAN – The Lyndonville Tigers used a run-heavy attack to defeat the Southern Tier Diesel, 42-6, in Northeastern Football Alliance action at Brander Stadium on Saturday.
    For the Diesel, it was their worst loss since the 70-6 defeat at Finger Lakes on June 18.
    “It’s very frustrating,” Diesel linebacker and coach J.R. Bennion said. “Turnovers hurt us again. Lyndonville had two big scores off turnovers.”
    The Tigers had four takeaways – three interceptions and a fumble. Overall, the Diesel have been victim of 18 turnovers in five games, a combination of poor decisions, a stagnant offense and mismanaged play calling.
    “Without a proper coaching staff, we’re not very organized on offense,” Bennion said.
    Lyndonville hit the scoreboard on its opening drive following a Diesel punt. The Tigers scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Joe Canzoneri. The two-point conversion was no good, giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter.
    Southern Tier fumbled on its next possession, leading to another Tigers touchdown. A 1-yard touchdown run by Saul Harrison and successful two-point pass gave the Tigers a 14-0 lead just one minute into the second quarter.
    The Diesel were forced to punt on the ensuing drive, but a fumble by Lyndonville on the punt gave the Diesel the ball in Tiger territory. It led to a touchdown, as quarterback Shannon Knight found John Evener for a 13-yard pass play midway through the second quarter. The conversion failed, and the 14-6 score lasted into the second half.
    Lyndonville started with the ball in the second half and increased its advantage to 22-6 following a Clay Johnson 9-yard touchdown run and subsequent two-point conversion. The Diesel had to punt, and following a long run by Bob Williams to get the Tigers within striking distance, Johnson found the endzone again, scoring from two yards out to give the Tigers a 28-6 lead in the waning moments of the third quarter.
    After the Diesel turned the ball over on downs, Lyndonville again stretched its lead, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Chris Chugg to Brad Ralph. Two points later, the game was 36-6 with 10 minutes left. On the next drive, Knight’s pass was tipped and intercepted, and defensive back Kyle Fiegel returned it 50 yards for a score. The 42-6 margin proved to be the final, as the Diesel had a pass in the endzone intercepted on its next possession following a 53-yard pass play from Shannon Knight to Seth Knight.
    In the second half, Lyndonville had four offensive possessions and scored touchdowns on three of them, only falling short on their last one, where they ran out the clock. The Diesel also had four possessions, and had three turnovers (two interceptions, turnover on downs). The Tigers outscored the Diesel in the second half, 28-0, after it was just an eight-point game (14-6) at halftime.
    “I don’t know why, but that was two different teams in the game,” Bennion said. “We were a different team in the second half. The players reacted differently, and there was more finger pointing. There was no team approach; it was just players working for themselves.”
    Rob Williams led the Tiger offense with 13 carries for 148 yards. Behind him, Harrison had 55 carries and a touchdown, while Johnson had 44 yards and two scores. Overall, the Tigers piled up 40 rushes for 300 yards while maintaining a limited passing game, connecting on just three passes for 36 yards.
    “We knew they were going to run,” Bennion said. “We worked on that, but they threw four competent guys at us. They were able to switch constantly and continue to bring in fresh legs.”
    Shannon Knight finished 7-for-19 for 113 yards while Jason Folland have five catches for 33 yards. Evener had two catches for 27 yards and the touchdown.
    Lyndonville won their fourth straight game and improved its record to 4-1 while dropping the Diesel to 0-5. The Tigers head to Waterloo on Saturday for a return meeting with the Finger Lakes Impact in a battle of the Top 2 teams of the NFA’s West Division.
    The Diesel return to Bradner Stadium this Saturday night to face the Southern Tier Warriors (1-5) at 5:30 p.m. Southern Tier lost to James­town last week, 18-13. Back in Week 1 (June 4), the Warriors – playing their first game in the NFA – won the Southern Tier battle by a 15-0 score.
    “We need to reduce the number of turnovers and sustain drives,” Bennion said. “When we’re turning the ball over, we’re doing it in the opponents’ territory. I don’t want to change how we’re playing against other teams. I want to change how we’re playing as a team, and that starts at practice.”
    This game, along with every Diesel home game, will be broadcast live on 105.9 WGWE-FM.