FROM THE PRESS BOX: SOME THOUGHTS ON THE 2022 FOOTBALL SEASON (2022-11-28)
It’s been quite a ride for the Valley football teams in 2022, and it’s not quite over yet.
At 13-0, Tioga has won 26 games in a row, and is ranked first in the state. The Tigers will defend their Class D state title Saturday against unbeaten Cambridge-Salem at the venue formerly known as the Carrier Dome.
This is a complete Tioga team — a potent and explosive offense, and a stifling and hard-hitting defense.
It starts up front with a young offensive line, anchored by sophomore Tate Macauley and junior Cam Rought, that has gotten better every week.
Junior QB Caden Bellis is the lynch pin of the offense. He is a dual-threat in its truest form with an accurate arm, and a sixth sense when in running the option.
And, as I’ve said before, Bellis is surrounded by an embarrassment of riches in terms of skill-position players for a Class D school.
Junior tailback Drew Macumber has gotten better and better as the season has progressed, while junior fullback Ousmane Duncanson, who has been playing through a knee injury, is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball.
Junior wideouts Evan Sickler and Valentino Rossi are dynamic deep threats, and junior tight end Karson Sindoni has developed into a dependable option with great hands.
The defense is anchored by linebackers Caden Bellis, Duncanson, and Macumber, who seem to be in over every tackle, while junior Trent Browne has been nearly unblockable at times up front, and Sindoni had been dominant at defensive end.
Rossi and Sickler have been forces in the secondary, especially in run support.
A few defenders who get overlooked are sophomore Brennan Sindoni, and juniors Gianni Silvestri and Levi Bellis, who are fifth, sixth, and seventh on the team in tackles.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention junior placekicker Gavin Fisher, who has made 64 of 76 PAT kicks, with the majority of the misses coming on blocks early in the season. He’s also been a weapon on kickoffs, often with deep boots that force teams to drive a long field to score.
And the scariest thing about this team — it only has one senior starter, and just three on the entire roster.
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Waverly followed up a 10-1 season in 2021 that ended with a loss to Chenango Forks in the Class C championship game, with a 10-2 season in 2022 that included the Wolverines avenging that loss with a win over Forks for the fourth Section IV title for coach Jason Miller since 2008.
The Wolverines featured an explosive offense and a hard-hitting and fast defense.
Junior Joey Tomasso is re-writing the Waverly record books, and his cache of receivers grew this season with the addition of junior newcomers Jake VanHouten and Carter George, to go along with senior Isaiah Bretz, and record-setting junior Jay Pipher.
The ground game took a big hit midway through the season with the loss of senior Gage Tedesco. Seniors Keyleb Bechy and Braeden Hills, as well as Pipher, stepped up, but it was Tomasso who took charge, with three 100-plus-yard, including 169 yards in the win over Forks.
Waverly’s line play, anchored by senior Ty Beeman and sophomore Kam Hills, was stellar.
Defensively, Kam Hills was a force on the interior line, with freshman Troy Beeman and junior Jake Benjamin coming up big as well.
Ty Beeman, who was a standout on the defensive line as a sophomore and junior, shifted to linebacker this season and did not miss a beat. He was not only the statistical leader of the defense, but the emotional one as well.
Conner Stotler was a bit under-sized, but a hard-hitting impact player at linebacker, and Bretz was an impact and physical defender as well.
Guys like seniors Nate DeLill, and Braeden Hills, and 8th-grader Matthias Welles were also big contributors on the defensive side of the ball, but a bit overlooked.
Waverly also benefitted from the efforts of the best place-kicker in the region in senior Ryan Clark, who made 53 of 58 extra-point attempts, and two field coals. Perhaps his biggest impact, however, were his kick-offs, which regularly pinned teams at their 20 or inside.
The Wolverines graduate 12 seniors, including at least six starters on both sides of the ball, but they have a ton of skill players returning, several good linemen, and one of the best coaching staffs in Section IV.
Waverly’s season ended against Section III champ General Brown in the Class C state quarterfinals. Don’t be surprised if this team gives itself a chance to improve on this year’s finish in 2023.
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Athens had some ups and downs this season, and its final two games was a perfect microcosm of the season as a whole.
In the District 4 quarterfinals, the Wildcats turned in their best performance of the season with a 37-7 rout of Montoursville — the program’s first postseason win since 2015.
The following week, state-ranked Danville ended Athens’ season with a 49-0 demolition.
Senior QB Mason Lister re-wrote the passing records in the Athens record book, throwing more completions, more yardage, and more TDs than anyone else in school history.
Senior Lucas Horton moved from Sayre to Athens this season, and made an instant impact at wide receiver. He led a strong corps of receivers that included senior Matt Machmer, junior Josh Martin, and sophomore Xavier Watson.
The offensive line, a source of concern in recent years, improved as the season progressed. Senior Caleb NIchols had a solid season running the ball, and became a dangerous threat catching the ball out of the backfield.
Keathley also had his moments in the backfield, including a four-TD performance, and could end up being a workhorse back for the Wildcats the next two years.
Defensively, Glenn Romberger, another Sayre transplant, was a force at defensive end, and Martin and Nichols were both stellar at linebacker.
Sophomore Kolsen Keathley was big in run support from the secondary, while Machmer was a ball hawk, and Cooper Robinson made his presence felt as a freshman.
The Wildcats graduate a dozen seniors, including several starters on both sides of the ball. They return some very good skill players, but will need to replace Lister at QB, and that won’t be easy.
Longtime coach Jack Young has been pretty good at developing quarterbacks over the years, and he’ll have to work his magic to replace Lister, who made 41 consecutive starts in four years.
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For the first time in more than 100 years, Sayre did not have a varsity football team.
On the bright side, the Redskins put together a JV team with good numbers, and went unbeaten.
I’m not sure what the future holds in terms of Athens and Sayre and their sports programs merger, but I would like to see Sayre get at least one more year of varsity football. It’s only fitting.
