SECTION IV FOOTBALL: WAVERLY RALLIES PAST FORKS, 19-15, IN FINAL SECONDS (24 PHOTOS) (2023-09-29)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportBINGHAMTON — An opportunistic defense put Chenango Forks in position to win, but senior QB Joey Tomasso’s 14-yard TD pass to junior Xavier Watson with 12 seconds remaining in the game lifted Waverly to a 19-15 victory over Chenango Forks here Friday night in Section IV, Division IV football action.
"It’s a big win, especially in the fashion we won it; not panicking at the end of the game" said Waverly coach Jason Miller.
"We were really just putting ourselves in a position to kick a field goal," noted Miller. "Hogan (Shaw) missed the 40-yard attempt, but he had plenty of leg on it. I have all the faith in the world in him.
"We wanted to take a shot to the end zone, and it had to go to the end zone, it couldn’t be short," added Miller. "Xavier (Watson) made a nice play on the ball."
The Wolverines improve to 4-1 overall, and are now 2-0 in divisional play.
"It’s good to be in a game like this against a real quality team," said Miller.
"We got nothing out of the Sidney game, and we really got nothing out of the Elmira game as far as having to press the kids and say this needs to improve.
"The following week after Tioga, we really took a big jump," added Miller. "I think we’ll take a big jump after this week, too."
The Wolverines racked up 380 yards in total offense — 275 through the air, and 105 on the ground, while limiting the Blue Devils to 142 total yards, 51 of which came on the first possession of the game.
"The defense played outstanding," said Miller.
We’re flashy, and do all this stuff on offense, but this group is different up front," he noted. "Our linebackers are all playing good, and our secondary is really good. They tackle well.
"Our defense could be a difference-maker at the end of the year. As long as we keep improving, that could be the difference," added Miller. "I’m just really proud of the way the defense is playing. They are tough kids."
Waverly opened the game with a 14-play drive that chewed up more than 6 1/2 minutes off the game clock, but the Blue Devil defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs at the Forks 22.
On the second play of the Forks possession, Finn Stark ripped off a 34-yard run to the Waverly 40.
Two plays later, a 9-yard run by Bartlow moved the ball to the Waverly 27, but a holding call knocked the Forks offense off track, and it turned the ball over on downs at the Waverly 37 when Kam Hills and Aiden Strope sacked Forks QB Jesse Stephens on fourth down.
Thanks to a 14-yard pass from senior QB Joey Tomasso to senior wideout Jay Pipher, and a 36-yard run by Tomasso, Waverly quickly moved the ball into the Forks red zone.
Facing fourth-and-22 at the Forks 26, Tomasso found Pipher in the seam for a 22-yard gain, setting up the Wolverines with a first-and-goal at the Blue Devil 4.
After a 3-yard run by senior Carter George, Waverly was flagged for illegal procedure, moving the ball back to the Forks 6. Disaster struck for the Wolverines on the next play as a shotgun snap sailed over Tomasso’s head, and he was unable to corral it.
Peter Ramil was johnny-on-the-spot for the Blue Devils, scooping it up and outracing the pursuit 80 yards for a TD. The PAT kick was good and Forks led 7-0 with 4:38 remaining in the first half.
"The snap has been a continual thing for us," said Miller. "We’ve been working on it hard, and we’ll get it fixed.
"Those are the types of things we have to clean up," added Miller. "It’s one snap out of 60, but in these types of contests they hurt you."
Waverly’s next possession was a 3-and-out, and Forks took over in good field position at its own 46.
Three plays later, however, Waverly junior Kolsen Keathley stepped in front of a Stephens pass at midfield and returned it to the Forks 32 with 1:56 remaining in the first half.
A 12-yard completion to senior Jake VanHouten, and a 3-yard run by Tomasso moved the ball to the Forks 17, where Tomasso hit junior Xavier Watson, with a defender on his hip, near the goal line for a TD with 1:12 left in the half. Sophomore Hogan Shaw’s PAT kick tied the game at 7-7.
Forks opened the second half with the ball, but was forced to punt without picking up a first down.
Waverly took over at its 28, and quickly picked up a first down. On second-and-4 at midfield, Lucas Bartlow stepped in front of a quick hitch, and returned the interception 46 yards to the Waverly 4.
After a 4-yard TD run by Bartlow, Waverly blocked the extra-point attempt, but was flagged for offside. After the penalty, Forks went for two and Stephens plowed into the end zone to give the Blue Devils a 15-7 lead with 7:12 remaining in the third quarter.
"The uncharacteristic mistake for us was Joe (Tomasso) throwing the pick in the flats. I just don’t think he saw him," said Miller.
"(Bartlow) jumped the rout … pre-snap they had been jamming Jay (Pipher) and carrying him, but that time he just jumped it," added Miller. "I don’t know how they knew we were throwing the hitch there, but that was a great play by them."
The Wolverines answered quickly, taking the ensuing kickoff and marching 79 yards on nine plays to close the gap to 15-13.
Tomasso was 4-for-4 for 64 yards on the possession, including a 30-yard strike to Pipher to the Forks 4. Tomasso also carried the ball three times for 16 yards, including a 4-yard TD run to cap the drive. Waverly 2-point conversion attempt failed, and they trailed by two with 2:46 remaining in the third quarter.
Chenango Forks then put together its best drive of the game, moving from its 30 to the Waverly 13 before a penalty, and a bad snap scuttled the drive.
Stephens had a 15-yard run on the possession, and Tate Bender had an 11-yard run.
The Blue Devils also benefitted from a pass interference call on 4th-and-7 at the Waverly 30. The penalty moved the ball to the Waverly 15, but that’s where things fell apart.
After a 1-yard gain, Forks was flagged for delay of game, moving the ball back to the Waverly 19. A 4-yard run by Bartlow put Forks in a third-and-10 situation, but a bad snap resulted in a 6-yard loss, and a fourth-and-16 spot.
An incompletion gave Waverly the ball on downs at its own 20 with 7:48 remaining in the contest.
Tomasso connected with Pipher for an 11-yard gain to start the possession, then on third-and-9, Pipher went over a defender to haul in a 46-yard reception to the Forks 22.
The Blue Devil defense stiffened, and four plays later Shaw lined up for a go-ahead 40-yard field goal with 4:16 left in the game. The kick had plenty of leg, but was narrowly wide left.
The Waverly defense forced a three-and-out, and the Wolverines got the ball back at its 47 with 2:02 remaining in the game.
After an offside call against Forks moved the ball into Blue Devil territory, Tomasso found Pipher open in the flats, and he broke two tackles, picked up a block from Keathley, and gained 21 yards to the Forks 27.
Two plays later, Tomasso connected with Watson on a 9-yard gain to the Forks 16.
After a 3-yard gain by Tomasso, Waverly, which was out of timeouts, spiked the ball to stop the clock with 17.7 seconds remaining.
On third-and-7, Tomasso launched a ball to the end zone, and the 6-4 Watson came down with it with 12.2 seconds remaining to give Waverly a 19-15 lead. Waverly’s conversion attempt again failed.
Miller was proud of his team for keeping it composure after the missed field goal.
"There was still 4 minutes left, but we had to have a stop.
"The defense played great, especially at their end of the field, where it’s not four-down territory," said Miller.
"After the punt, we were fortunate enough for Joe and Jay to hook up on a great connection.
"Jay had just made the big play, and (Forks) was 4-over-3 on Jay’s side, and left Xavier (Watson) single covered, so we had to go to him," added Miller. "We probably should have taken advantage of that more often tonight."
After a kickoff return to the Forks 24, Stephens found Bartlow for an 11-yard gain, but his lateral attempt was batted to the ground, and a pile ended up on the ball as the final whistle blew.
Tomasso completed 23 of 34 passes for 275 yards and two TDs, as well as his first interception of the season. Pipher led Waverly’s receiving corps with seven receptions for 139 yards, while Keathley had seven grabs for 60 yards, and Watson had six catches for 56 yards, and two TDs.
Tomasso also led Waverly on the ground with 68 yards and one TD on 16 carries, and junior Peyton Fravel added 29 yards on seven carries.
Stark led Forks with 42 yards on three carries, and Bartlow added 40 yards on 10 carries. In all, Forks rushed for 131 yards on 31 carries.
Stephens completed 1 of 8 passes for 11 yards, and was intercepted once.
With the win, Waverly became the first Section IV team, aside from Maine-Endwell, to beat Chenango Forks in back-to-back games since Corning East accomplished the feat in 1999 and 2000.
"Right now, Waverly is just a really good program," said Hogan. "They do a lot of things well.
"They have the best quarterback around, and he has a great cast around him," noted Hogan. "They have good linemen — on both sides of the ball.
"Their defense is very stubborn," he continued. "They are very good up front, they’re tough to move the ball on.
"They just have a very, very good team," added Hogan.
Waverly returns to action Friday when it hosts divisional foe Schuyler.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly’s Xavier Watson hauls in the game-winning TD pass. … PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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