NEW YORK STATE FOOTBALL: TIOGA HEADED BACK TO THE DOME; FENDS OFF OLD NEMESIS RANDOLPH IN 41-34 SHOOTOUT IN CLASS D SEMIFINALS (24 PHOTOS) (2022-11-25)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportENDICOTT — What looked to be a laugher in the first 14 minutes of the game, turned into a shootout as Tioga held off an old nemesis in Randolph to pull out a 41-34 win here Friday afternoon in a battle of the state’s top-ranked teams at Ty Cobb Stadium in the semifinals of the New York State Class D playoffs.
The win sends Tioga, now 13-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class D, back to the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse to defend its Class D championship against unbeaten Cambridge-Salem (13-0) next Saturday at noon.
“I’m beside myself right now. I’m so proud of these boys,” said Tioga coach Nick Aiello. “It’s time to go back to the Dome, and have a really good time doing it.”
Under Aiello, Tioga improves to 3-7 in the state semifinals since 2011. Three of those losses came against Randolph early in the Aiello era (2012, ’13, and ’14.)
“It’s special,” said Aiello. “This one is sweet. Eight years later, we get another crack at them, and to come out on top, it does feel special.
“After losing to them three times before, you look to learn from losses,” noted Aiello. “We modeled a lot of stuff after what they do. I have a ton of respect for them.
“A little shout out to the 2012, ’13, and ’14 teams, ‘we got one’ and it feels good,” he added.
Tioga’s junior QB Caden Bellis did everything he could to ensure Tioga’s return trip to the Dome.
Bellis ran for 200 yards and two TDs on 20 carries, and also completed 4 of 10 passes for 97 yards, and two TDs. Defensively, he had 18 tackles, including nine solo stops, and a fumble recovery.
“We’ve been running option all year,” said Aiello. “We thought certain reads would be there, so we worked on a lot of different reads this week.
“We also worked on some shotgun-designed runs we thought would be there, and it worked out.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say the game plan was to put the ball in Caden’s hands, but it was by play design that he was getting the ball, and he made things happen,” added Aiello.
“I wasn’t planning on carrying the ball that much, it’s just how the game turned out,” said Bellis “Most of the plays were options, and me making a read.”
The Tigers amassed 433 yards in total offense, including 336 yards on the ground on a Randolph defense that had allowed 12.5 points per game this season.
“We studied (Randolph) a ton last year when we thought we would see them, and we had a game plan ready,” said Aiello. “And, after studying them a lot this year, we found some plays we thought would work, and that’s what happened.
“We didn’t hold back today,” he noted. “We would have liked to have thrown the ball a little bit more, but (Evan) Sickler got a little banged up, and we had the wind in our face.
“At the end of the day, our running game was working, and it was nice to see,” Aiello added.
Junior Ousmane Duncanson was another key performer on both sides of the ball for the Tigers, despite being visibly hobbled by a recurring knee injury.
“It’s been popping out all year, but at some point you just have to deal with the pain and fight through it,” said Duncanson. “My teammates have believed in me, and helped me fight through it.
“They kept giving me the ball, and trusting in me,” he added.
Duncanson ran for 85 yards and one TD on 12 carries, had six tackles, and a game-changing forced fumble.
“After we came out and realized they were in the defense we thought they’d be in, we knew we could feed Ousmane for some 4- or 5-yard gainers, and then he busted a long one,” said Aiello. “That’s what we need out of him, some tough yards out of the fullback spot.”
“Ousmane had a great game,” said Bellis. “He’s battling with that knee injury, but he pushed through it. He picked up some tough yardage, and had the one touchdown that really was a big play.”
Randolph piled up 367 yards in total offense, led by senior tailback Xander Hind, who had 241 yards and four TDs on 40 carries.
“Against that team, and against that running back, we did just enough defensively to have one more touchdown than them,” said Aiello. “We knew if we won a close game, it would come down to that.
“We made just enough plays, and burned just enough clock,” he said.
Tioga two-way sophomore lineman Tate Macauley tipped his cap to Hind.
“We knew it going to come down to our defensive line. We knew our d-tackles were going to go against some big o-linemen” he said. “We knew we had to fill gaps, and stop No. 37.
“He’s a great running back. He ran hard, and had a lot of yards after contact,” added Macauley. “And, he’s one the hardest-hitting running backs we’ve faced all year.”
Randolph won the pre-game coin toss, and deferred to the second half. Tioga elected to receive the opening kickoff, and had a stiff breeze in their faces to start the game.
The Tigers took the opening kickoff, and exclusively on the ground, drove 80 yards on 10 plays to take the early lead.
Bellis carried the ball four times for 35 yards, including a 19-yard scamper, and Duncanson picked up a key fourth-and-2 with a 7-yard run. On the next play, junior wideout Valentino Rossi took a hand-off on a counter and raced 29 yards to the Randolph 6.
Macumber capped the 5 1/2 minutes drive on the next play with a 6-yard TD run. Junior Gavin Fisher’s PAT kick made it 7-0 with 6:29 remaining in the first quarter.
Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Randolph QB Carter Conley bobbled the snap, was immediately hit by junior Trent Browne, and coughed up the ball. Bellis pounced on the fumble at the Randolph 37.
After a 13-yard run by Duncanson gave the Tigers a first down at the Cardinal 20, he ran the ball three times for 8 yards, to leave Tioga in a fourth-and-2 predicament.
After a Tioga timeout, Bellis rolled right and fired a pass into the back corner of the end zone, where junior tight end Karson Sindoni made a sliding catch to make it 13-0 with 2:35 remaining in the first quarter. Fisher tacked on the PAT kick to extend the lead to 14-0.
Randolph picked up a quick first down on its ensuing possession, but four plays later, Hind was stopped short of a first down on the first play of the second quarter at the Tioga 37, and the Tigers took possession on downs.
Three plays later, Rossi hauled in a Bellis pass along the sidelines, kept his feet in-bounds, and outraced the defender to the end zone for a 61-yard TD with 10:12 remaining in the first half. FIsher’s PAT kick made it 21-0.
The Cardinals took the ensuing kickoff and marched 80 yards on 15 plays to light up the scoreboard for the first time.
Hind carried the ball 14 times for 76 yards in the possession, and capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run with 2:37 remaining in the half. Hind tacked on the conversion run to close the gap to 21-8.
Tioga made its only miscue of the game on the ensuing kickoff, coughing up the ball at its 37.
The Cardinals cashed in on the mistake with a five-play drive that Hind capped with a 10-yard TD run with 45.9 seconds left in the half. Hind was stopped short on the conversion, and Tioga led 21-14 at the half.
Randolph kept the ball exclusively in Hind’s hands on the opening possession of the second half. He carried the ball eight times for 58 yards, including a 31-yard run, and capped the scoring drive with a 4-yard TD run with 8:14 remaining in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 21-20.
Hind was again stopped short on the conversion run, and Tioga maintained a 21-20 advantage.
The Tigers answered with a nine-play, 69-yard drive to push its lead to 28-20 with 3:19 remaining in the third quarter.
Bellis had runs of 28 and 12 yards in the possession, and capped the drive by backing his way into the end zone on a 5-yard TD run on a QB sneak.
The Cardinals went to the air on its next possession as Conley hit 6-4 senior tight end Jaiden Huntington for a 40-yard gain to the Tioga 16, and capped the quick four-play, 61-yard drive with a 9-yard TD pass to senior fullback Payton Slade with 1:22 remaining in the third quarter.
Conley’s pass to Huntington on the conversion fell incomplete at the goal line, and Tioga led 28-26.
The Tigers picked up three first downs on its ensuing possession, and a 5-yard pass from Bellis to Rossi left them in a fourth-and-1 at the Randolph 32. The Cardinals put all 11 guys in the box, and Duncanson busted through a pile for a 32-yard TD run with 8:41 remaining in the game.
“I just kept driving my feet. I was just looking to get the first down, but I felt myself explode through, and felt no one on me,” said Duncanson. “I looked around, and there was no one there. I just turned it on to get into the end zone.”
Fisher tacked on the PAT kick to give Tioga a 35-26 lead.
After a 16-yard run by Hind on the first play of Randolph’s ensuing possession, Conley found Slade wide open in the flats. Slade picked up 40 yards, but Duncanson tracked him down from behind, and stripped him of the football at the Tioga 10, where Sickler pounced on it.
“Oh my God, that was an insane play,” said Bellis of Duncanson’s strip of Slade. “It really changed the momentum in our favor.”
“I saw him holding it like a loaf of bread … I thought ‘either he’s going to score and turn the game around, or I have to get my hand in there,’” said Duncanson. “I caught him, and just punched at the ball, and got my hand on it.”
Aiello pointed to that as a key play, but said it was a team effort.
“We’ve had that happen quite a bit in the last few years,” he said. “I think the kids take pride in that.
“Not only did Ousmane chase him down, but everybody that was chasing after was around to recover the fumble.
“It was a great play by Ousmane, and a great team play, too,” added Aiello. “It was a huge shift in momentum.”
Moments later, Tioga’s momentum would grow exponentially.
After Bellis picked up a first down with a QB sneak on third-and-1, he rode the belly option with Duncanson, who was hit by three would-be Randolph tacklers, then pulled the ball out and raced untouched on an 80-yard TD run with 6:03 remaining to make it 41-26.
“It was in there (Duncanson’s arms) for a long time,” laughed Bellis. “There was a big pile there. I just saw daylight, pulled it out, and took off.
“It was kind of similar to the play in the state championship game last year,” said Bellis, referencing his 75-yard TD run against Moriah in last year’s Class D title game.
“(The option) is real tough to defend,” said Aiello. “And, (Caden) has a knack for making the right read
“Part of his success comes from his wrestling hands,” noted Aiello. “He has really strong hands, so he’s able to hold on to the fat part of the ball, and that makes a huge difference.
“We’re talking about his hands, and the ride, but if you watch his feet, his feet are churning in there, and that’s why he can turn one on like that if he gets lost in the shuffle,” added Aiello.
Randolph kept its hopes alive with a scoring drive on its next possession.
The Cardinals quickly moved the ball to the Tioga 3, thanks to a 14-yard pass from Conley to Huntington, and runs of 8, 11, 7, and 9 yards by Hind.
At the 3, the Cardinals hit a minor road block, as Bellis and sophomore Garrett Godfrey combined to stop Hind for a 1-yard loss on first-and-goal, then Bellis and junior Gianni Silvestri combined to stop him for no gain.
On third-and-goal, Conley kept the ball, but was stopped by a trio of tacklers just shy of the goal line.
After a time out, Hind scored on a 1-yard run with 2:06 remaining, but the damage had been done as it took more than 2 minutes off the clock to score from the Tioga 3.
Hind tacked on the conversion to trim the deficit to 41-34.
Macumber recovered the subsequent onside kick, and Tioga played it conservatively, running the ball three times up the middle, and milking the clock down to 28.4 seconds before punting.
The Cardinals took over at their 28, but on the first play, Sindoni hit Conley from behind as he rolled to his right, and stripped him of the ball. Browne, who had nine tackles and two forced fumbles, pounced on the fumble to seal the win.
Rossi had two catches for 66 yards and one TD to lead Tioga’s receivers, while Macumber rushed for 22 yards and one TD on nine carries.
Conley completed all four of his passes for 103 yards and one TD for Randolph. Huntington had two grabs for 54 yards, and Slade had two catches for 49 yards, and one TD. Conley also had eight carries for 17 yards.
NOTE: After the game, Tioga junior Cam Rought received the “Sportsmanship Award” for the Tigers.
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IN PHOTO: Tioga junior QB Caden Bellis follows his blockers for a big gain. … PHOTOS BY DAVID ALLIGER — TRAVELING PORTRAITS.
