Southern Tier Diesel @ Lyndonville Tigers 

By Jeff Madigan

Olean Times Herald

            LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Tigers erupted on offense, posting a season-high 55 points in the regular season finale to defeat the Southern Tier Diesel, 55-8, in Northeastern Football Alliance action Saturday night at Pembroke Park.

            The game had some similarities to the July 9 meeting between these teams at Bradner Stadium in Olean, when the Tigers blew open the game in the second half, turning a 14-6 halftime lead into a final 42-6 score.

            The Tigers scored 20 points in the first quarter on Saturday and then added 14 apiece in both the second and third quarters. Lyndonville then added a fourth-quarter while also yielding one to the Diesel. In all, the Tigers scored eight touchdowns in what was a prototypical tune-up game for them as they prepare for the playoffs.

            The Diesel again played with just 19 players, as Bennion said at this stage of the season some players had basically quit as the losses and frustration piled up. All in all, some players didn’t want to make the trip to Lyndonville as the season wound to a close.
            “Numbers always taper off at the end of the season,” Bennion said. “Stuff wears on the guys and they quit. But I credit the guys who stayed around. The mental toughness they show through adversity and conflict says a lot about them.”

            Rob Williams rushed for 148 yards in the first meeting, and matched that total in the second one. Williams scored two touchdowns on Saturday, and was helped on the ground by 101 yards and three touchdowns from Clay Johnson. Johnson had two touchdowns back on July 9. Overall, the Tigers ran all over the Diesel, as in the two games they racked up 645 yards on 72 carries, nearly a nine-yard average per carry.

            “All they have is a running game,” Bennion said. “We came in knowing that, but their offensive line as a whole is probably the best we’ve played all season. They had five guys at running back they kept rotating in and out. They are, in all aspects of the phrase, a ‘blue collar team.’”

            Lyndonville also found some success through the air, as Williams completed 6-of-7 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Tigers signal callers finished 9-for-16 with 84 yards and one touchdown to one interception.

            Meanwhile, Diesel quarterback John Evener was forced to throw a lot, and he completed 17-of-33 passes for 146 yards with three interceptions. The Diesel could not get a run game going, as they rushed just 14 times for 30 yards (2.1 average). Donnie Moore led with 14 yards and scored Southern Tier’s lone touchdown. Bennion led the team defensively with eight tackles.

            “We couldn’t do a lot playing Iron Man football,” Bennion said. “It was 19 against 40. Offensively we couldn’t get anything going with our patchwork offense. We weren’t able to run on them like they ran on us.”

            The Tigers and Diesel/Hornell Dragons have now met 14 times since 2004, and the Tigers have won all 14 meetings by at least 15 points.

            Lyndonville’s season continues, as the Tigers host Jamestown (6-4) in a first-round playoff game on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The teams split their regular season meetings, each winning by single digits at home. The winner of that game will play at top-seeded Finger Lakes on Aug. 27 for the right to play in the league championship on Sept. 10.

            Meanwhile, the Diesel’s season ends at 2-8. On Saturday it was determined that the Diesel’s 23-0 loss to Buffalo a week prior had been ruled a forfeit in the Diesel’s favor after it was ruled that Buffalo used ineligible players. Bennion said he’ll accept the forfeit victory but he isn’t that concerned whether his team was 1-9 or 2-8.

            “On the field we were 1-9,” he said. “Yea, Buffalo used ineligible players to increase their playoff push but the game was played and we lost. It makes no difference to me what our record shows. I know I had a group of guys who worked their tails off in all 10 games.”

            The Diesel scored just 84 points to 305 points allowed in their 10 games. Factoring in the forfeit loss, the numbers become 86 and 282.

            The season isn’t officially over for a quarter of Diesel players – wide receiver Jason Folland, Bennion, inside linebacker Donnie Moore and defensive back Keith Adams – who have been invited to play in the NFA All-Star Game on Sept. 24 at Finger Lakes.

            After the All-Star Game, Bennion and the Diesel enter a long offseason where they hope to pick up some more players and a coaching staff before next season.

            “I really feel we are 6-8 players and coaches away from being a solid football team,” Bennion said.