Waverly tried to beat Chenango Forks at its own game, and it almost worked.

The Wolverines (0-1), who surged to their first playoff appearance this decade last season, dropped a 7-0 final to the perennial Section IV, Class B champions on the Blue Devils’ home turf.

Combining smash-mouth football with a well-executed option game, an improved Waverly outfit brings that same in-your-face style back home to face the Norwich Purple Tornado (1-0) tonight at 7 p.m.

“It was really a one-possession game,” said Norwich coach John Pluta, who watched Forks eke out yet another win over a Class B opponent. Chenango Forks has not dropped a game to a division opponent – or any Section IV Class B team – since the early part of this decade. “Waverly has a lot of veteran players back, and they stuck to their game plan against Forks. The thing about Chenango Forks is that they play great positional defense, and they are where they need to be.”

And therein is the rub for Norwich. “We need to play disciplined defense,” Pluta said.