General Brown football overwhelmed by Chenango Forks in C regional: ‘Just wasn’t enough firepower’

The General Brown football squad was built to make a deep postseason run this season.

After they captured their second-straight Section III Class C crown last weekend, the Lions were poised to hit the trail to the state final.

General Brown, however, ran into a buzzsaw in the form of undefeated Chenango Forks of Section IV on Saturday in the Class C regional final at Vestal High School.

The Blue Devils went on to hand the Lions a 47-24 loss, ending their season in the process.

Coach Doug Black said Chenango Forks’ strong and tough approach, plus some postseason injuries for General Brown, spelled doom for the Lions.

The Blue Devils took a 20-7 lead into the halftime break.

“It was tough to match up with a team like Chenango Forks. We were physically outmatched,” Black said.

Senior Luke Dupee led General Brown with a touchdown run and a 45-yard field goal. Camden Thomas and Jackson Ward also had TDs.

“The kids fought hard today,” Black said. “It was all hands on deck with the injuries we had, but it just wasn’t enough firepower.”

General Brown capped its season with a 10-2 record.

“They played well this season. They got better each week,” Black said. “They came a long way to repeat as sectional champions. They had a great year.”

The Lions will lose 17 seniors to graduation, meaning that Black and his staff will start from scratch next season.

“We’ll piece things together and enter a rebuild,” Black said. “We knew this would be a good year for us, so that next year will be a battle.”

The Blue Devils, now 11-0 on the season, move on to the Class C state semifinals against Section VI’s Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton next weekend at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.

Chenango Forks is in search of its eighth state title and a potential 14th appearance in the title game.