October 22, 2006 New Hartford Bears @ Norwich Cyclones

The Norwich Cyclones proved to be more then the Bears could handle. The turning point appeared to be the final two minutes of the first half. The Bears were behind 6-0, it was 4th and 15 on the Bear 32 yard and the team elected to pass rather then punt the ball. The pass attempt failed giving the Cyclones the ball with excellent field position. The Cyclones passed for a TD, kicked the extra point and the half ended with the score Cyclones 14 Bears 0.

Norwich also controlled the second half. The score was 28-0 before Derek German score the Bear's lone touchdown to make the final score Cyclones 28 Bears 6.

Of course, the Bears felt bad about losing the game. However, they did have good year. They finished the regular season with a 4-1-1-division record and an overall record of 4-3-1. Best of all they are a great group of kids who got along well with each other and have a lot of pleasant memories of the time they spent together.

October 15, 2006 New Hartford Bears @ VVS Red Devils

The VVS Red Devils who scored 149 points and only allowed 12 while winning the Tri Valley Jr Midget 2A Divisional Championship with a 6-0 record proved to be more then a match for the Bears defense that did such a great job of shutting down the March Deerfield Thunder last week. The final score was Red Devils 35 Bears 6 with Sebastian Torres scoring the Bears only touchdown after the Red Devils were ahead 28-0.

The Bears finished the regular season with a 4-1-1 Division 2B record and an overall record of 4-2-1. Next week they will play another cross over game with either the Camden Blue Devils or the Norwich Cyclones who tied for second place in Division 2A with records of 4-1-1. It promises to be a good match up.

October 8, 2006 New Hartford Bears @ Marcy-Deerfield Thunder

The underdog New Hartford Bears played a very strong defensive game and came very close to upsetting the highly favored Thunder. Quarterback Ray Sardelli passed to Tim Murphy in the first half as the Bears took a 6-point lead. Excellent defensive line play shut the Thunder down for the entire first half.

The Thunder scored in the third and fourth quarter to take a 12-6 lead with just under 2 minutes left in the game. The Bears not give up. Ray Sardelli connected with Thomas Bateson on a 63-yard pass play to move the ball inside the Thunder 2-yard line. Two plays later Derek German ran the ball into the end zone to tie the score at 12-12. The Bears tried to score the extra point on a running play but were stopped inches from the goal line.

After the game, the coaching staff praised each and every player for their excellent performance against a very good team. The will have another very tough game next week when they play a cross over game with the 6-0 VVS Red Devils who captured one of the Jr Midget Division championships. Hopefully, the Bears will be able to rise up to the challenge.

October 1, 2006 Canastota Jr Midgets @ New Hartford Bears

Due to the heavy rains, this game was moved from the high school football field to the Perry Jr High School football field. Field conditions at Perry were far from ideal. Besides the muddy field and lack of bleachers for the fans, the concession sales had to be held in the school basement.

The Bears struck early when Thomas Bateson scored on a toss play around the left end. Neither team displayed much offensive power after that and the game ended with the score Bears 6 - Canastota 0.

The 4-1 Bears will play the 5-0 Marcy Deerfield Thunder this Sunday. The Bears must have a very serious week of practice and make marked improvement if they hope to give the Thunder a good game.

September 24, 2006 Rome Colts @ New Hartford Bears

The Bears played a very physical game to completely dominate today's game with the Rome Colts. Game captains Derek German, Sabastian Torres, Nick Mercurio, and Nick Dischaivo lost the opening toss. It turned out to be the only thing the Bears lost all day. Rome elected to receive the kick off. It was a good kick by Paul Sirianni and the defensive unit stopped the Colts on their own 41-yard line. From there, it was 4-plays and out for the Colts.

The Bears Offensive unit struck quickly when QB Raymond Sardelli threw a TD passed to Tim Murphy. The extra point pass from Sardelli to Nick Dischiavo was good and the Bears had a 7-point lead. Kelly Pylinski recovered a Colt fumble on the ensuing kickoff and the Bears were back on offense. They quickly scored again as Sardelli completed a TD pass to Sabastian Torres.

The Bear second unit played most of the second quarter as the defense continued to dominate the game. The first half ended with the score Bears 13- Colts 0 and the Colts without a single first down. Surprisingly the Colts refused to play the second half. The Colts simply left the field without the traditional post game hand shake or partaking in the post game refreshments. The apparant reason was the Colt coaching staff though the Bears should limit playing time of two players who were near the maximum weight limit. At a follow-up meeting with league officials it was ruled that the Colts were way off base and the Bears were officially awarded the victory.

Sunday, September17, 2006 The Bears @ Cazenovia Lakers

The Cazenovia Lakers beat the Bears by a convincing score of 28-6. Coach Mercurio said the Bears made several positive plays throughout the game, offensively and defensively, but, turnovers took away the team's momentum, every time. You can not turn over the ball as many times as we did and expect to win the game.Sabastian Torres scored the Bear's only touchdown on a kickoff return.

We must make a lot of corrections at practice this week. We must work on eliminating fumbles and turnovers. We are a much better team then the one that showed up to play the Lakers. We must be ready to prove it this Sunday against the Rome Colts.

September 10, 2006 Whitestown Braves @ New Hartford Bears

For the second week in a row Game captains Derek German, Sabastian Torres and Nick Mercurio won the opening toss and deferred to the other team. The Braves elected to receive the ball. Kyle Masi, Kris Martinelli, Kelly Pylinski, Derek German and Nick Mercurio lined up to the left of Bear kicker, Paul Sirianni. Ray Sardelli, Tim Murphy, Nick Dischiavo, Tom Bateson, and Sabastian Torres lined up to his left. A good kick and good kick coverage stopped the Braves on their 35-yard line. Thomas Bieganowski and Jim DeFazio entered the game to support the defense. It was 4-plays and out for the Braves.

The Bear starting offense had Ray Sardelli, Kelly Pylinski, Jim DeFazio, Thomas Bieganowski, Kris Martinelli, Paul Sirianni and Nick Dischiavo on the line. Tim Murphy, Sabastian Torres, Nick Mercurio and Derek German were in the backfield. Thomas Bateson was the messenger. The Bears drove the ball downfield to the Brave's goal line but fumbled the ball in the end zone and the Braves recovered it.

The Braves were unable to take advantage of the situation and once again it was four and plays and out. The Bears stuck quickly to score the first touchdown on the game on a pass from Derek German to Nick Dischiavo. Sabastian Torres plunged through line for the extra point and Bears had a 7-point lead.

On the next Bear possession Brian Lagrant, Anthony Talarico, Shannon Mahoney, Josh Shipley, Dustin Nicotera, Vadim Mikhalevich, Ben Herring and Evan Padula entered the game to support the offensive unit. The Bears scored a second period touchdown as Bieganowski, Sirianni, and DeFazio opened a huge hole in the line, Torres made a good lead block and Mercurio carried the ball in. Bateson score the extra point on a pass from German and the Bears had 14-point lead.

The second half was a defensive battle as neither team scored. Late in the fourth quarter the Bears punted the ball to get excellent field position. Bieganowski made an excellent snap, Sirianni made an excellent kick and the entire squad did an excellent job of punt coverage. Four plays later the Bears were back on offense but time expired before they could score and the game ended with the score Bears 14 Braves 0.

Game captains Derek German, Sabastian Torres and Nick Mercurio won the opening toss and deferred to the North Utica Raiders who elected to receive the ball. Kyle Masi, Kris Martinelli, Kelly Pylinski, Derek German and Nick Mercurio lined up to the left of Bear kicker, Paul Sirianni. Ray Sardelli, Tim Murphy, Nick Dischiavo, Tom Bateson, and Sabastian Torres lined up to his left. Raider runnng back, Devin Freeman received the kick and returned it to his own 45-yard line.

Thomas Bieganowski and Jimmy DeFazio entered the game to bolster the Bear defense. However, Freeman proved to be a very strong running back as he broke many tackles to lead the Raiders down the field for the first score of the game and a 6-0 Raider lead. The New Hartford defense stopped North Utica's extra point attempt by forcing and recovering a fumble at the snap.

The Bear offensive unit had Ray Sardelli, Kelly Pylinski, Jimmy DeFazio, Thomas Bieganowski, Nick Mercurio, Paul Sirianni and Nick Dischiavo on the line. Derek German, Thomas Bateson, Tim Murphy and Sabastian Torres were in the backfield. The teams traded several possessions of the ball as both teams played good defensive. A.J. Talarico, Shannon Mahoney, Joshua Shipley, Dustin Nicotera, Vadim Mihalevick, Ben Herring, and Evan Pedula really helped the team as they played error free football.

Late in the second quarter Tim Murphy had a long run to give the Bears a first down within the Raider 10 yard line. The Bears offensive line then gave Derek German excellent protection as he passed to Sabastian Torres to tie the game at 6-6. And as he passed to Nick Dischiavo for the extra point and a 7-6 Bear lead.

The second half was very exciting to watch. The third quarter was scoreless. In the 4th quarter the Bear defense blocked a punt to give the offense good field position. However, the offensive unit could not capitalize on the situation. When the trailing Raider offensive unit returned to the field with time running out, they were in a passing situation. The Bear defense was ready to meet the challenge. After they pushed the Raiders back with QB sacks and tackles for loss of yardage, they forced a QB fumble and Thomas Bateson recovered it in the end zone to put the Bears ahead 13-6. The extra point pass from Derek German to Nick Dischiavo was good and the game ended with the score Bears 14 Raiders 6.

After the game, Coach Mercurio congratulated the players for a well played game. He said each and every player should be proud of his contribution to the victory.

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