Fowler’s Nyki Dewberry just watched in disbelief as his punt went sideways. Owego pounced. No Falcons pursued, and Ben Miller waltzed into the end zone.

It had already been all Owego to that point. The sideways punt just was the summation. Section III’s Public Service Leadership Academy at Fowler lost 56-14 to Section IV’s Owego on Saturday in the Carrier Dome.

Owego won the opening coin toss and elected to receive the ball. A big kickoff return was followed by a Tyler Phelps toss to Christian Sage in the right flat, who found the edge and sprinted for a 28-yard touchdown. After one play from scrimmage, Owego was off to a hot start.

When Fowler had the ball, positive yards were not as forthcoming. On one play, Dewberry rolled right and was eventually pushed back by multiple Owego defenders for a 24-yard loss on a sack. When the first quarter ended, Owego had two touchdowns. The Falcons had negative-32 yards gained.

It didn’t get much better for Fowler. The Indians got into the backfield at will. Dewberry was scrambling almost as soon as he received the ball on most plays, as the pocket constantly broke down.

“Our linemen, they weren’t playing smart in the first half,” Dewberry said. “They just be putting each other down, try and pick each other up, still putting each other down. Arguing. Soon as they argue they don’t want to block no more. So we just try to play through it.”

On the play that netted the most positive yards, Dewberry found space to the left side of the field and scrambled, picking up 20 yards. But Owego knocked the ball loose.

---

---

Down 42, the game seemed already decided and Fowler decided to simplify their gameplan. It scored twice in the second half. The Falcons ran all fly patterns, Dewberry said.

“We said we’re just gonna keep doing deep balls until somebody catches it,” Dewberry said.

That worked on a 35-yard Mikeese Robinson touchdown. Dewberry found him in the end zone on fourth-and-16. Two plays before the second Falcons’ score, Dewberry hit Trevon Northrup for a 40-yard gain down the middle of the field.

This season, Fowler is part of Section III’s developmental league, separate from the usual classes. The objective is for teams to try and build up their programs before returning to the usual classifications in seasons to come.

On Saturday, it was evident at the get-go that Fowler had the potential to benefit from a year of development. On many occasions, players were running on or off the field late, not quite sure who was meant to be in the game. Nine of the 26 players on the Falcons’ roster are seniors, while there are 11 sophomores and a freshman. Even as the game went on, though, development could be seen.

“We’re still happy with what we did,” Dewberry said. “We’ve just got to be coming out harder next week.”

Published on September 1, 2018 at 2:08 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3