Devils make big plays in win
OGDENSBURG — Ogdensburg Free Academy received outstanding senior leadership in posting a 40-6 win over Malone on Friday night in the Northern Football League interdivisional season opener.
Leading the seniors was quarterback Jared Morrow whose ability to make big plays off athletic scrambles triggered a 28-point second quarter as the Blue Devils won their 10th straight game against Section 10-Section 7 opponents.
But OFA Coach Matt Tessmer, who led OFA to a sweep of Class C honors last year, was most pleased with the ability of his first year starters to play like veterans against a highly regarded Huskie squad which dominated the Class A Division in 2009.
"The Dog Days of August were extremely tough and you guys all did the work," Tessmer said to his team afterward.
The game was delayed 45 minutes by thunder and lightning.
"Tonight it all paid off. Our excellent conditioning allowed us to play outstanding physical football," Tessmer said. "That was a big key to play physical football against a very good team."
The defending Class A champion Huskies' inability to move the against the Devils defense led to a lost fumble and pair low punt snaps which allowed OFA to travel short fields for three quick second quarter scores.
Fullback Kris Folsom bulled in from two-yards out with 11:14 left in the half after a Joel King fumble recovery. The first errant snap led to a spectacular scrambing touchdown by Morrow on a 4th-and- eight play that culminated with the QB going airborne over a wall of players and flipping into the end zone 1:18 later.
Morrow, who found King from 9 yards out for a first-quarter touchdown, threw his second TD pass of the game 3:34 before intermission scrambling to the outside and finding Owen Luckie down the middle of the field for 43 yards.
The Devils rounded out the scoring burst with a one-yard run by Folsom after Eric Barr raced 38 yards down the sideline with a perfectly executed screen pass. Barr followed with his fourth PAT kick of the half and then opened the second half with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
"I tell our young guys in practice and in games all of the time that you can't be intimitated and our young guys played great tonight," OFA's 6-5, 280-pound co-captain Nick TenEyck said.
Malone, which lost three starters to injury in the first half including starting quarterback Jordan Cosgrove, scored its only touchdown of the night when Mitch Gallagher pitched a 9-yard pass to Zachery Peck with 2:46 left. Halfback Darren Fullum also was carted off in the first half.
"Morrow is an outstanding quarterback and OFA played very well as a team but I was shocked at the way we played," said Malone coach Greg Marshall.
