THE FINAL WORD: THOUGHTS ON TIOGA'S STATE TITLE GAME, AND THE OPENING OF THE WINTER SEASON (2022-12-08)

Those who said Tioga’s 41-34 win over Randolph in the Class D semifinals was actually the state final were proved right as evidenced by the Tigers’ dismantling of Cambridge-Salem in the finals.

Tioga rolled to a 63-20 win in the Class D title game, and the game wasn’t even that close.

Cambridge-Salem chose to receive the opening kickoff, and picked up a couple quick first downs, but from that point on, it was all Tioga.

The Tigers quickly moved the ball downfield to take a 7-0 lead on its first possession.

C-S picked up a quick first down, but faced a fourth-down near midfield. Their decision to go for it, told me they needed to score because they didn’t have much confidence in their ability to stop Tioga.

The decision backfired as junior Drew Macumber scored on a pick-6. C-S’s next possession ended with junior Karson Sindoni scooping up a backward pass and scoring.

The Tigers added TDs with its quick-strike offense, and tacked on a third TD on a pick-6 by junior Gianni Silvestri, and led 63-6 just 15 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Junior QB Caden Bellis completed his first six passes in a 6-for-7 effort that resulted in 164 yards, and one TD.

His biggest impact, however, was on defense. He recorded 18 tackles in the game, and several times hit C-S’s 245-pound fullback Evan Day in the backfield before he could get any momentum forward. Bellis wasn’t alone in that regard, Ousmane Duncanson, Macumber, and Trent Browne were also in the backfield on several occasions to slow down the big fullback.

The depth of Tioga’s offense was on display. Macumber and Duncanson ran for two TDs, and Bellis, who ran for 200 yards against Randolph, only ran the ball four times.

Speedy 6-4 wide receiver Valentino Rossi was one of big stars of the day with a pair of highlight-reel catches for 92 yards and one TD. Junior tight end Karson Sindoni also had two nice catches, and junior Evan Sickler showed how dangerous he is with the ball in his hands after two catches and on a punt return.

As odd as it seems, it’s easy to overlook line play when a team executes as well as Tioga did on Saturday. That said, Tioga’s offensive line did an excellent job of opening holes for the backs, and giving Bellis time to throw. And, as usual Duncanson was tremendous with his lead blocks for Macumber, and Sickler and Rossi were blocking 20 yards down field.


All around, it was a fitting end for the Tigers’ football season — they were utterly dominant.

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While Tioga was busy wrapping up its third football state title since 2015, the winter season tipped off.

Perhaps the most impressive outing of the opening weekend came from the Waverly wrestling team.

The Wolverines, ranked 22nd in Division 2, went 1-5 last year at the Mark Stephens Classic, but this year, against an even tougher field, posted a 5-2 record for a third-place finish.

Waverly beat state-ranked Penfield and Middletown — both Division 1 schools, as well as Horseheads, which is a Division 1 honorable mention. The Wolverines also beat Hornell and Division 2 state-ranked Bolivar-Richburg.

Last year, Waverly lost to Bolivar-Richburg, Penfield and Horseheads.

One of Waverly’s losses was to Canisteo-Greenwood, which is ranked third in Division 2, and the other was to Division 1 Monroe-Woodbury.

What’s more impressive is Waverly was missing three starters. Seventh-grader Drayton DeKay (102 pounds) was out sick, while sophomore 285-pounder Kam Hills is still getting down from his football weight, and senior Gage Tedesco is working his way back from a knee injury midway through the football season.

The Wolverines aren’t in Tioga’s class at this point (who is?), but once healthy, they are going to make some serious noise in Section IV.

They could earn a wildcard to the State Duals, and have a very good chance to send at least four wrestlers to States in seniors Ty Beeman, Connor Stotler, Tedesco, and Hills. They have a couple more — senior Braeden Hills and junior Josh Courtney — who could make a run at a trip to States.

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The Waverly girls are going to be match-up nightmare for opposing basketball teams this season.

Senior point Kennedy Westbrook can shoot the 3, but she’s even better in transition, and taking the ball to the bucket.

While she’s on the way to the bucket, the Lady Wolverines could, if they choose, have four girls spot up on the perimeter for 3-pointers. Sophomore Addison Westbrook and 8th-grader Rylieigh Judson are two shooters defenses will not want to leave unattended, while juniors Peyton Shaw, and Paige Robinson, and freshman Brilynn Belles off the bench are more than capable of knocking down the 3.

Waverly isn’t very big, but they are extremely athletic and will pressure the ball constantly, creating a lot of points with its defense.

An Achilles’ Heel for the Lady Wolverines could be a big inside presence, like Newark Valley’s 6-2 Cha Gardner. They will host Newark Valley on Jan. 4, and will travel to play the Lady Cardinals on Jan. 18. Circle the dates.

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The Waverly boys are a work in progress.

After graduating four starters, longtime coach Lou Judson has a team full of players — aside from junior Joey Tomasso — who aren’t use to having the ball in their hands at the varsity level.

Tomasso is going to get his 25 to 30 points per game (that’s not an exaggeration), so the key will be finding at least two guys who will step up and score 10 per game.

If you haven’t seen Tomasso play, you should make an effort to. He’s smooth, smart, and physical. He can create his own shots, and doesn’t need much room to get his shot off. He really elevates on his jumper, has a very soft touch, and can fill it up from anywhere on the floor.

When it’s all said and done, I think Waverly could win its division. We’ll get a very good indication where the Wolverines are at Monday when they visit divisional rival Watkins Glen.

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The Athens boys are also a work in progress, too, but may be a bit further along in the process.

Like Tomasso, senior Mason Lister is a proven scorer, and should get his 15 to 20 points per night, and like the Wolverines, the Wildcats don’t have another proven scorer.

Unlike Waverly, however, Athens has three players who have quite a bit of varsity experience and have shown they can score at the varsity level in senior Lucas Horton (although it was two years ago at Sayre), and sophomores Xavier Watson and Kolsen Keathley.

There’s a good chance Waverly and Athens meet in the finals of the Valley Christmas Tournament on Dec. 29.

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The Athens girls got off to a tough start against a pair of good STAC schools in Johnson City and Chenango Valley, but bounced back with wins over Dryden and Cowanesque Valley.

Senior Karlee Bartlow and sophomore Addison Wheeler have started strong in the scoring column, and have the ability be able to keep it up this season.

Senior Emma Bronson and junior Mya Thompson have contributed on both ends of the floor, and senior Natalee Watson is a presence in the paint.

With longtime coach Brian Miller at the helm, the Lady Wildcats should continue to get better, and will be in the hunt for an NTL Large School title, and a trip to the NTL Showdown.

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The Sayre boys won their season-opener against Susquehanna, then lost a pair of close games to Blue Ridge and Towanda.

Senior Jackson Hubbard and sophomore Nick Pellicano are doing the majority of the schedule, and senior Zach Garrity is giving the Redskins quality minutes.

There is no clear-cut favorite in the NTL Small School Division, so the Redskins will be in the mix in the division title chase.

The more production first-year coach Jon Ward can get from youngsters like freshmen Karter Green, and sophomores Hudson Trump and Michael Griffin the bigger surprise this team could be this year.