NEW YORK STATE FOOTBALL: LIGHTS OUT! TIOGA ROLLS TO 43-20 WIN OVER FRANKFORT-SCHUYLER; RUNS RECORD TO 8-0 IN CLASS D QUARTERFINALS (24 PHOTOS) (2019-11-15)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportVESTAL "” Tioga ran its record to 8-0 in New York State, Class D quarter-final action here Friday night with a 43-20 win over Section III champ Frankfort-Schuyler, but coach Nick Aiello said it's still as exciting as the program's first win in this round in 2011.
"It never gets old. It's a new group of kids each year.
"We've been going at this since August when the temperatures were in the 90s," said Aiello. "Now, the temperatures have dropped, and the kids are right where they want to be, with the goals they've set for themselves, and for each other.
"You can't be more proud of a group of teen-age boys who set some goals and achieve them.
"When you reflect on that, and you realize what they're going to take with them for the rest of their life in terms of setting goals and achieving them, it's something special," added Aiello. "I'm very proud of them for that."
Frankfort-Schuyler won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving the high-powered Tiger offense the ball to start the game.
After runs of 14 and 10 yards by sophomore tailback Emmett Wood, senior QB Brady Worthing connected with sophomore wideout Cobe Whitmore on a 31-yard pass to the F-S 3-yard line.
Emmett Wood, who was named the MVP, capped the five-play drive, covering the final 3 yards to make it 6-0 just 81 seconds into the game.
Jeff DeSarro connected with Michael DeRollo for 9-yard gain on F-S's first play from scrimmage, but senior Bryce Mashas sacked DeSarro for a 3-yard loss on the next play, and an incomplete pass forced the Maroon Knights into a punt.
Tioga took over at its 28, but before the Tigers could run a play, the stadium was cast into darkness as all four banks of lights went off. Twenty-five minutes later, once the lights returned to full power, Tioga picked up where it left off.
Emmett Wood covered all 72 yards on three carries, finishing off the drive with a 64-yard sprint down the visiting sidelines to make it 12-0 with 7:45 remaining in the first quarter. Wood added the conversion run to make it 14-0.
Aiello said he was pleasantly surprised by the quick start.
"We were a little, I'm not sure if nervous is the right word, but we weren't sure how we were going to handle their front because it's a little different than anything we've seen this year," he said. "I thought the guys up front did a real nice job with that.
"I thought our line was able to open up some holes, and we were able to run some things we weren't even sure would be there," noted Aiello. "A tip of the hat to the linemen.
"I thought Emmett (Wood) was running real hard tonight, running with a purpose, and good things happened," added Aiello.
Emmett Wood finished the game with 255 yards and three TDs on 19 carries, giving him 2,132 yards and 34 TDs on the season.
F-S took the ensuing kickoff and marched deep into Tioga territory. With a first-and-goal at the Tiger 10, F-S tailback Tyler Rosati picked up 2 yards.
After an incomplete pass left the Maroon Knights with a third-and-goal at the 8, a blitzing Emmett Wood knocked a DeSarro pass down in the backfield, then senior Dom Wood sacked the F-S QB for a 10-yard loss on fourth down.
Shortly after the Tigers took over at their own 18, they faced a fourth-and-1 at the 27. Aiello made a gutsy decision to go for it, and Emmett Wood ripped off a 17-yard gain.
"The coaches said "˜go for it,'" said Aiello. "We need to be able to get a yard, and we felt confident in the play we were calling.
"I'm glad it worked out because if it didn't it could have been a totally different ball game," he added.
After another first down, Worthing hit junior tight end Derrick Gage down the seam for a 32-yard gain to the F-S 13. Four plays later, on fourth-and-5, Worthing hit Gage on an old-fashioned "pop pass" for an 8-yard TD - his first career TD grab - to cap the 13-play drive.
Worthing's PAT kick made it 21-0 with 6:59 remaining in the first half.
The Tigers would only run three offensive plays over the next 13 1/2 minutes.
After a pair of F-S first downs on its ensuing possession, the Wood brothers and Mashas put an end to their drive on downs at the Tioga 43.
After a 10-yard run by Emmett Wood, Worthing connected with senior Mason Booser on an 8-yard pass, but he coughed the ball up at the F-S 25, and Rosati scooped it up and returned it to midfield.
The Maroon Knights put together a quick six-play scoring drive, capped by a 4-yard run by Rosati with 28 seconds left in the half to trim the deficit to 21-6.
Worthing was sacked on the first play following the F-S kick-off, and the Tigers let the clock run out.
Worthing had limped off the field prior to the sack, and did not play in the second half.
Aiello said Worthing's injury made for an unusual halftime for the Tigers.
"It was kind of a low-key halftime because we were trying to figure out what was going on with Brady.
"When we knew he wasn't going to be on the field (in the second half), it was a matter of getting (Ethan) Agan ready (at QB) and (Mason) Booser ready at safety," said Aiello.
"We talked a little bit about Xs and Os, but it was more about getting everybody prepared to play," he added.
F-S took the second-half kick-off and marched to the TIoga 27, but senior defensive lineman Aaron Howard dropped Rosati for a 1-yard loss on first down, then Mashas pressured DeSarro, and junior lineman Cole Williams and Emmett Wood finished off the sack for a 4-yard loss to make it 3rd-and-15.
Mashas then recorded back-to-back sacks, resulting in a loss of 20 yards, to give the Tigers the ball at the F-S 48.
After F-S's 13-play possession came up empty, it marked a stretch in which the Maroon Knights ran 25 plays to Tioga's 3, but only scored six points.
"They have some good athletes over there, and I don't think we were flying to the football all that well, or getting a lot of hats to the football in that stretch," said Aiello.
"I thought we were playing on our heels a little bit, but we got some big stops when we needed them," he added.
Aiello said the defensive stop on F-S's first possession of the second half, namely the sacks turned the momentum.
"Those sacks definitely set the tone for the second half. It swung the momentum, then we went right down and scored," said Aiello.
Wood ripped off off runs of 18 and 6 yards, then following a false start agains the Tigers, finished off the scoring drive with a 29-yard TD run with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter. Wood tacked on the conversion to make it 29-6.
On F-S's ensuing possession, Mashas came up with another big stop on second down, and Dom Wood and Emmett Wood combined on a sack on third down to force a punt.
"(Bryce) Mashas seemed to be all over the field tonight, and Dom Wood had a big night for us, too," said Aiello.
"I'm kind of excited to watch the film on them," he added. "You can never really see the interior (line) as a coach, but I did see #55 (Mashas) and #53 (Dom Wood) quite a bit."
Following a short punt, Tioga took over at the F-S 43.
Wood started the drive off with a 21-yard run, and three plays later senior fullback David MacWhinnie capped it with his first career score - a 10-yard TD run with 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Wood tacked on the conversion to make it 37-6.
F-S found the end zone again early in the fourth quarter on a nifty 29-yard shovel pass from DeSarro, who delivered the pass as he was getting hit, to Rosati, who also added the conversion to trim the deficit to 37-14.
Tioga recovered the ensuing on-side kick, and quickly drove to paydirt again. Wood ripped off a 35-yard run on 4th-and-3, and junior fullback Sloan Manuel scored his first career rushing TD on an 8-yard run with 7:56 remaining to make it 43-14.
Aiello was pleased to see Gage and MacWhinnie score their first career TDs, and Manuel get his first on the ground.
"It was a good mix," he said. "When you're playing against teams in your own Section, they know so much about you that you're just looking for a couple of plays that will work, and you prepare for that all week.
"It was nice to get that mix we've had all season long," added Aiello.
The Maroon Knights added another score on a 1-yard run by Rosati with 4:05 remaining to provide the final margin.
Tioga was able to run out the clock, thanks to runs of 11, 21 and 5 yards by junior Jacob Fethers. The Tigers took a knee at the F-S 2-yard line in the closing seconds of the game.
Tioga pounded out 343 rushing yards on 36 carries, and added 79 passing yards, with Worthing completing 4 of his 5 pass attempts. Gage led the receiving corps with two catches for 40 yards and one TD.
F-S threw for 177 yards, but was held to 112 rushing yards on 42 carries.
DeSarro completed 11 of 19 passes, with DeRollo's five catches for 73 yards leading the F-S receivers. Rosati led the Maroon Knights with 68 yards and two TDs on 19 carries, and Nicholas Maneen added 44 yards on nine carries.
DeSarro was sacked seven times in the contest, with Mashas recording three sacks, Dom Wood adding two, Emmett Wood contributing 1 1/2 sacks, and Williams chipping in with 1/2-sack.
Aiello said Worthing should be ready for next week's game.
"I think Brady is going to be fine. We wanted to see how the second half would play out, and we were able to keep him out.
"He wanted to go back in on defense, but we need him ready for next week," said Aiello.
Tioga, now 11-0, returns to action Friday at 5 p.m. when it takes on defending state champion Clymer / Sherman / Panama in the state semifinals at Cicero-North Syracuse H.S.
CSP rolled over the Tigers, 54-19, in last year's Class D semifinal.
"They were young last year," said Aiello. "They have a lot of their big skill-position players back.
"They had that early-season loss, but you can see they've been coached up, and they've gotten a lot better.
"They're a good team, and probably have the best player at any level in New York State in (6-5 Cameron) Barmore - he's a game-changer," added Aiello.
CSP advanced to the semis with a 47-14 win over Batavia Notre Dame Friday evening.
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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Emmett Wood. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
