WESTMORELAND — The ribbon was cut to open the refurbished stadium field at Westmoreland High School a week ago, but the Westmoreland/Oriskany Bulldogs gave it a fuller christening Saturday with their first football victory in front of a hometown crowd on their new artificial turf.
The Bulldogs (4-2, 2-1 D-2) rolled to a 48-6 victory over Pulaski’s Blue Devils (4-2, 4-2 D-2), leading 28-0 at halftime and adding a touchdown before Pulaski put up its first points in the third quarter.
“First win on the field,” said coach Jerry Fiorini, Westmoreland’s director of athletics. “We made a statement today. … We stuck to our game plan, followed it to a T.”
Quarterback Dylan Williams ran for four touchdowns and threw a scoring pass to Joe Papai for the Bulldogs; his 51-yard touchdown run capped the Westmoreland/Oriskany scoring in the fourth quarter.
“When they give us something we like, I don’t have to turn to the play sheet too much,” Fiorini said.
The Bulldogs gave Williams, Owen Smith, Gennaro Cacciotti and others room to run despite making late adjustments along the line. Jason Mayo, one of the team’s three seniors, was ruled out Friday, and junior Grant Brown stepped in for him at left tackle and “did more than we expected,” his coach said.
The Bulldogs had been beaten by Mexico Academy in their first game on the Westmoreland turf after opening the season with an overtime win over Sherburne-Earlville at home on Oriskany’s Bernie Block Field.
The new field is also a soccer home for the Westmoreland girls and Westmoreland/Oriskany boys who played a combined scrimmage on the field before last week’s football opener. The addition of lights and expanded seating will also enable Westmoreland to host marching band competitions.
After the game, the Westmoreland/Oriskany players and their cheerleaders gathered on the field for a photo to memorialize the first win.
The Bulldogs play their final two regular season games on the road, starting an October 16 trip to Port Byron.
New Hartford 41, Chittenango 12
The New Hartford Spartans remain unbeaten following a 41-12 victory Saturday over the Chittenango Bears.
Peyton Way scored three touchdowns, John Vitullo passed for two and ran for one, and Niko Martinez ran for three touchdowns for the Spartans (6-0, 2-0 B East) who led 14-0 in the first half and 41-6 before the Bears (3-3, 1-1 B East) capped the game’s scoring.
Martinez opened the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and Vitullo covered the same distance on his touchdown in the second.
Vitullo, who completed 13 of 23 pass attempts for a season-high 330 yards, threw touchdown passes to Way covering 58 and 51 yards in the third quarter. Martinez ran 7 yards for his second touchdown, and Way added a 91-yard touchdown on his only rushing attempt.
Way caught seven passes for 189 yards and also led the team in rushing yards.
New Hartford plays at home against Vernon-Verona-Sherrill on October 17, and Chittenango hosts Central Valley Academy the same night.
Whitesboro 43, Syracuse-Henninger 22
Whitesboro extended its win streak to five games Saturday with a 43-22 victory over the Henninger Black Knights.
Whitesboro (5-1, 3-0 A National) took a 14-0 lead on touchdowns scored by Mike Hill and Connor McDonald in the first quarter and never trailed.
Hill, McDonald and Giovanni Lang each scored two touchdowns for Whitesboro. Hill caught scoring passes from Frank Zupancic covering 25 and 56 yards. McDonald ran 65 yards for his first touchdown and 4 for his second, and Lang scored on runs of 6 and 8 yards in the second half.
Quazire Hawkins scored three times for Henninger, twice on receptions and once on an 89-yard run.Whitesboro plays at home October 17 against Watertown.
Elsewhere Saturday
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Football Bulldogs earn first victory on new Westmoreland field
Reporting by Jon Rathbun, Herkimer Times Telegram / Times Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
