IAC FOOTBALL: 2021 SEASON ABOUT MORE THAN WINNING, SAYS TIOGA'S AIELLO (2021-03-19)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportTIOGA CENTER "” Tioga football has become synonymous with the postseason during Nick Aiello's tenure, but the longtime coach said there's a great deal more to playing football than winning.
With no postseason in 2021, Aiello is promoting what he sees as the most important reasons to play football. (Tioga opens its season tonight at Waverly.)
"The game of football is the greatest team sport there is," he said. "Kids that play in high school remember their playing days.
"One of our goals every single year is to give kids a great experience," noted Aiello.
"In terms of what are we playing for, I think we should be grateful for any games we can get in, and the chance to compete against other schools. And the chance to put the pads on, and hit a little.
"We'll also play to build for the future a little bit, and to send the seniors out on a good note," Aiello added.
Aiello believes there may be a little too much emphasis placed on winning.
"Ive heard a lot of people say "˜it sucks you're not playing for anything,' but if that's all you play for then I think a lot of people miss the boat on why it's important for high school kids to play athletics.
"What they really get out of it, whether it be life lessons or the camaraderie of working with your best friends, and working as a team, is more important than wins and losses," said Aiello.
"I just hope these kids realize we're lucky to be able to play some football games, and I hope they have a good experience doing it," he added.
The Tigers return several players on both sides of the ball, led by all-state running back junior Emmett Wood.
Senior Ethan Agan will be at QB for Tioga, with junior Isaac Peterson backing up Wood at tailback. Junior Gavin Godfrey and senior Jacob Fethers will man the fullback position.
Senior Seth Franks and junior Logan Roberts will see action at wide receiver, while freshman Ethan Perry and junior Cobe Whitmore will see time at the slot receivers.
Senior Ryan Rockwell will anchor the offensive line at center, with junior Chris Walsh at one guard, and the combination of senior Matt Milner and junior Noah Decker at the other guard. Senior Cole Williams and junior Josh Snell will start at the tackle spots, and junior Matt Watson will start at tight end.
Aiello believes the experience the Tigers have returning up front will be especially beneficial this season.
"I think the experience we have coming back on the line is going to help us in this shortened season," he said. "That's huge at the varsity level with so many different fronts that you see, and the blitzing and all that... the experience up there will pay off."
Aiello also believes his team has a lot more on offense than just Wood.
"Everyone is going to focus on Emmett, but I think we have a big handful of athletes around him," he said. "As coaches, we've had a year now to think about how we can get others involved.
"Most of them are underclassmen, so we'll definitely be trying some things on offense to see how we can utilize the talent we have.
"I'm excited about the kids we have," continued Aiello. "They are all hard workers, they're all good kids, and they all deserve the best shot to help the team as much as they can.
"Offensively, we're trying to utilize our talent to create more offensive firepower," he added.
Aiello admits it's easy to fall in a rut, and just give the ball to Wood on every play.
"It is very much a challenge to not be tempted to give the ball to Emmett every play," laughed Aiello.
"I look at our last game against CSP (Clymer-Sherman-Panama in state semifinals), and he got the crap beat out of him," he noted. "He's a tough kid, there's no doubt about it, but we relied so heavily on him, and (QB) Brady (Worthing) at times last year.
"He had a great first half (against CSP), one of the best first halves I've seen. He was running hard, but I think he took way too many hits in that first half," added Aiello. "It's nothing against him, but I look back at that ... if we can spread the ball around a little more, so he doesn't take so many hits, I think that can help us."
The only spot on the field the Tigers lack experience is at QB, where Agan will take over for Worthing.
"We talked a lot about what we wanted to do at quarterback heading into the spring season," said Aiello.
"I think (Ethan) Agan has paid his dues," he noted. "He's waited patiently, and he's one of those seniors I'd really like to have a great experience as quarterback of the team.
"I think he's grown a lot in the last year, especially because of wrestling," added Aiello. "We're confident that he can get the job done, and lead the offense for us."
On defense, the combination of Williams, Walsh, Decker, Lucas Nichols, Milner, and Rockwell will man the tackle spots, while Snell, senior Brayden Vargason, and Watson will see time at defense ends.
Agan, Wood, and Peterson will see time at the middle linebacker spots, while Fethers, Whitmore, and Franks will see time at outside linebacker.
Perry, Godfrey, and senior Evan Hubbard will see time at cornerbacks, and Franks, Whitmore, and Hubbard will split time at the safety spots.
"We're young on defense, in terms of the number of juniors we have, but there's a lot of varsity experience there - a lot of those guys saw a lot of time last year as sophomores, and Ethan Perry started for us last year as an 8th-grader," said Aiello. "That definitely helps in terms of the learning curve.
"On the defensive line, we have some big shoes to fill, but again they are guys who were there last year and understand our schemes and what we're trying to do.
"It will be interesting to see how much that experience pays off," added Aiello.
SCHEDULE"Waverly and Owego are our first two games - those will be challenging," said Aiello.
"It's pretty typical of our schedules in the past," noted Aiello. "It's an exciting schedule, and it's going to be competitive, there's no doubt about that.
"It's going to be competitive from a personnel standpoint, but also from a coaching standpoint, going against those coaching staffs," continued Aiello. "That's what makes it fun, but it keeps you up at night wondering what they're planning.
"You play that chess game on game day, and that's what makes it enjoyable," he added. "I'm looking forward to it."
March 19 at Waverly, 6 p.m.
March 28 vs. TBD
April 3 at Owego, 6 p.m.
April 10 vs. Groton at Owego, 6 p.m.
April 17 at Newark Valley, 1:30 p.m.
April 24 vs. WG/OM at Owego, 6 p.m.(
Home games in bold.)
"”"”"”"”"”"”
IN PHOTO: Tioga's Emmett Wood.
