SECTION IV FOOTBALL: WAVERLY RALLIES IN FOURTH QUARTER, STOPS TWO-POINT CONVERSION TO PRESERVE 23-22 WIN OVER UNION-ENDICOTT (21 PHOTOS) (2019-09-06)
Valley Sports ReportENDICOTT "” Eighth-grader Joey Tomasso threw a pair of fourth-quarter TD passes, and the Waverly defense came up with a stop on a two-point conversion in the final three minutes of the game to preserve a 23-22 season-opening win over Class A Union-Endicott here Friday night at Ty Cobb Stadium.
:This is a big win, it ranks right up there for our program," said longtime coach Jason Miller. "We had a big win against Corning going back 10-plus years, and we've had a couple big wins against (Chenango) Forks, but this ranks pretty high.
"We've talked about conditioning since Day 1," he noted. "We talked about conditioning in May when we started our workouts. This win is not about the last three weeks, this is about kids who have dedicated themselves since last November, especially throughout the summer.
"We worked three times a week on conditioning. We hired a trainer ... this is about being ready for a football game, and our kids played hard from the first snap all the way to the last snap.
"We have a lot of kids who had never played a varsity football game before tonight, but the guys who have shined tonight," added Miller. "It's a great start ... to start out like this is tremendously rewarding."
Waverly jumped ahead 2-0 midway through the first quarter when an errant snap sailed over the U-E punter's head and through the back of the end zone.
The Wolverines put together a short drive after the free kick, and senior Thomas Price punched it into the end zone from 1-yard out with 4:48 remaining in the first quarter. Junior Alex Gadow's PAT kick made it 9-0.
U-E got on the board on its next possession when Zach Pilarcek connected with Nick Coletti on a 10-yard TD pass with 1:19 remaining in the first quarter. Coletti tossed a conversion pass to Gavvan Shabazz to trim the deficit to 9-8.
Defense ruled the middle two quarters and Waverly maintained its one-point lead until Pilarcek found Aiden Thomas open on a 45-yard TD strike on the first play of the fourth quarter. Pilarcek's pass to Cole Rivelli on the conversion gave U-E a 16-9 lead.
Struggling to move the ball on the ground, Miller chose to put the ball in the air with his young QB, and Tomasso responded.
"There are so many contributing factors in a win like this, but (Joey Tomasso) certainly did what he needed to do," said Miller. "He's a cool cat."
Tomasso's first TD pass of his career was a 20-yard strike to senior Jalen McCarty with 8:26 remaining in the game. Gadow's PAT tied the game at 16-16.
After a defensive stop, Tomasso found McCarty again on a 62-yard scoring play with 4:33 remaining. Gadow's kick again split the uprights to give the Wolverines a 23-16 lead.
"Joey had a great ball on the post corner for the first touchdown," said Miller. "U-E had gone man, and we checked to a hitch-post corner, and he hit Jalen (McCarty) with a beautiful ball.
"Later the fourth quarter, we checked to a seam ball," noted Miller. "He hit (Jalen) perfectly down the seam, and Jalen just outran everybody.
"They were just two very big throws," he added. "And, the offensive line did an outstanding job protecting him "” no sacks."
Tomasso finished the game completing 13 of 27 pass attempts for 220 yards and two TDs. McCarty hauled in three receptions for 113 yards and two TDs, while senior Scott Woodring had four catches for 69 yards, and senior Ethan Stotler had four catches for 26 yards.
Less than two minutes later, Pilarcek found Coletti open for a 37-yard TD to pull U-E within a point, at 23-22, with 2:38 remaining in the contest.
The Tigers chose to go for the win, but a trio of Wolverine defenders stuffed the conversion run to preserve the one-point lead.
"David Hallett, Thomas Price, and Patrick Shay were able to penetrate the backfield and make the play," said Miller. "It was just a great play."
Waverly recovered the subsequent onside kick attempt, but turned the ball over on downs at the U-E 44 with 1:20 remaining in the game.
Moments later, U-E coughed up the football and Waverly recovered to clinch the win.
Hallett led the Wolverine ground game with 48 yards on 18 carries, but the team rushed for just 54 yards on 28 carries.
"We really struggled on the ground because (U-E) played a completely different front than we had even prepared for," said Miller.
"We struggled moving them, they're big," he noted. "They had one extra guy in the box, it was 6-versus-5, even when we brought a tight end in, it was different than what we prepared for.
"They ran a lot of run blitzes out of that front, which made it even more difficult. The yards we did get were hard-earned yards.
"We made some big plays throwing the ball, and took advantage of the turnovers they committed," added Miller. "We scratched and clawed, and found a way to win."
Miller was especially pleased with his defense.
"I thought defensively we played outstanding. We just tackled very well," he said. "We gave up a couple big pass plays. Both were covered very well, but both were great balls."
Waverly returns to action Friday when it hosts Johnson City.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Joey Tomasso. ... PHOTOS 1-12 COURTESY OF MATT PATTON. - PHOTOS 13-21 COURTESY OF SHANNON McCARTY.
