NEW YORK STATE FOOTBALL: STILLWATER PRESENTS 'HUGE' OBSTACLE IN TIOGA'S PATH TO CLASS D THREE-PEAT (2023-12-01)

BY TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
SYRACUSE - Tioga is looking to join a very exclusive club by winning its third straight Class D state title Saturday at noon when it takes on Stillwater here at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Tigers are looking to become only the second Class D program to three-peat (Randolph 2011-13), and its four state titles would put it behind only Randolph’s five.

Tioga, 13-0 and winners of 40 consecutive games, is ranked No. 1 in the state, and Stillwater, 11-1, is ranked No. 2

Tioga coach Nick Aiello, who has coached the Tigers to 11 Section IV titles since 2011, and three state titles since 2015, said Stillwater presents a "huge" obstacle in terms of its size.

"Stillwater is huge," he said. "The only team we’ve play that might have been bigger was the Letchworth team we played in 2011.

"They have a bunch of big bodies, and it seems like they’ve molded their system to take advantage of that," noted Aiello. "They are a pound-the-rock type running team. In the two games we have of them, they don’t have a long touchdown run. It’s long drives, chewing up the clock, and being happy with 3 yards.

"On defense, it’s the same thing. They want to control the line-of-scrimmage with their size," he continued. "They look to bing pressure, and they seem to understand their defensive schemes very, very well.

"They are in the state championship for a reason," added Aiello.

Tioga has a wealth of experience at this level, with a large group of seniors and one junior who are three-year starters, and several more juniors who are two-year starters. Stillwater has never played at the Dome before, but Aiello says many of them have experience in a state championship game.

"Going to play in the Dome, there’s some comfort knowing we’ve been there before.

"But this Stillwater team has a bunch of seniors who played in a state championship basketball game against Newfield as sophomores," said Aiello. "They’re looking at this as another opportunity to win a state championship.

"I think playing in a state championship game, in their mind they’ve been there before, and they know what type of atmosphere the game will have," he noted. "We respect that. They’ve play at this level, maybe not in football, but they’ve been here before.

"They seem to have that swagger on the field, at least from what I saw in the state quarterfinals, and semifinals," added Aiello.

Stillwater opened the postseason with a 35-14 win over Canajoharie / Fort Plain, then avenged a 50-7 regular-season loss with a 41-14 win over Warrensburg-Lake George-Burton in the Section II title game.

In the state quarterfinals, the Warriors topped Moriah, 28-20, then edged Haldane, 21-20, in the state semifinals, stopping a two-point conversion with 33 seconds left in the game to seal the win.

Tioga began its advance to The Dome with a 63-16 win over Walton, then put together a 55-7 destruction of Delhi in the Section IV championship game.

In the state quarterfinals, the Tigers crushed Dolgeville, 56-12, then hammered Clymer-Sherman-Panama, 63-16, in the semifinals last weekend.

WHEN STILLWATER HAS THE BALL
The Warriors enter the contest outscoring their opponents by an average of 31.6 to 14.1 points per game, while averaging 328.2 yards per game — 280 rushing, and 48.2 passing.

Senior Lukas Lilac leads the Stillwater ground game with 1,710 yards, and 14 TDs on 245 carries (7 yards per carry), while senior QB Jaxon Mueller has 1,031 yards, and 20 TDs on 172 carries (6 yards per carry).

Mueller has completed 73.2 percent of his passes (30 of 41) for 452 yards and eight TDs, with two interceptions.

Lilac leads the Warriors with 18 receptions for 251 yards, and two TDs, and senior Thomas McDonough has 16 grabs for 179 yards, and five TDs.

"The ball is not going to be all over the place, they are going to run a lot of off-tackle," said Aiello.

"They have zero splits, it’s similar to a double-wing system," he noted. "It’s almost like they’ve molded power off-tackle with double-wing type schemes. They pull their back-side tackle to get him to the point-of-attack as well.

"They feed the rock to big guys — they have one back at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, another is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, and their other back is one of their really good basketball players and he’s rushed for 1,700 yards this year.

"They stick to it, and they formation a little bit really just trying to get those big bodies moving forward so they can get their 4 or 5 yards, and keep the chains moving," added Aiello.

So what’s the key for the Tioga defense?

"The key defensively is understanding there’s going to be a wall of bodies with the way they go about their blocking schemes," said Aiello. "Even when they’re in shotgun, they don’t throw much, but they’re throwing to basketball players on the edge when they do.

"If we get them in third-and-long, we need to get off the field, so we can get the ball back," noted Aiello. "They’ve gone on 10-plus minute drives, and 20-play drives; that’s what they want to do — control the game, and shorten the game.

"We have to take advantage of our third-down opportunities to either get them to punt, or turn the ball over on downs," he added.

Tioga’s first team defense has allowed 51 points this season — and has only allowed three TDs (20 points) in its last nine games.

WHEN TIOGA HAS THE BALL
The Tigers enter the contest outscoring their opponents by an average of 54.7 to 9.9 points per game, while averaging 395.3 yards per game in total offense — 298 rushing, and 97.3 yards passing.

Senior QB Caden Bellis has completed 68.7 percent (48 of 69) of his passes for 1,252 yards and 25 TDs, with just one interception.

Senior Karson Sindoni leads Tioga with 13 receptions for 309 yards, and five TDs, while senior Valentino Rossi, has 12 grabs for 417 yards, and seven TDs, and senior Evan Sickler has 12 catches for 366 yards, and a team-high eight TDs.

Senior tailback Drew Macumber leads the Tioga ground game with 1,154 yards, and 26 TDs on 140 carries (8.2 yards per carry), while Caden Bellis has 645 yards and 11 TDs on 49 carries (13.2 yards per carry), senior fullback Ousmane Duncanson has 585 yards and nine TDs on 52 carries (11.3 yards per carry), and junior Jonah Lamb has 436 yards and 10 TDs on 32 carries (13.6 yards per carry).

TIoga’s first-team offense has only punted the ball once this season.

"It’s interesting … we have one game where (Stillwater) faced an under-center I-team, and another game where their opponent was all shotgun," said Aiello. "Under-center, they were in a 4-4 base, and in shotgun it was a 4-2-5.

"They have big bodies on the line, and the two brothers (Anthony and James Cocozzo) both at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, at linebacker," noted Aiello. "And then, in the secondary, they have all their basketball players.

"Personnel-wise, their defense sets up really well for what they have.

"They will bring pressure when you’re in shotgun, and they;ll line up and come downhill when you’re under center," added Aiello. "Their defense has played very well. In the Section II finals against a Warrensburg team that everybody was talking about, they held them under 50 yards in total offense.

What’s the key for the Tioga offense?

"We need to establish ourselves up front because that’s where the game is going to be won," said Aiello. "Our line has to do a great job against the biggest team we’ve seen all year long.

"It’s about the simple things: taking care of the football, hitting the hole, and converting on third down to keep the chains moving.

"You’re talking about a big game here," he added. "Our mentality needs to be: we have to do everything right, be fundamentally sound, and get the ball in the end zone as many times as we get chances.

As usual, Aiello believes special teams could play a big part in the game’s outcome?

"I say the same thing before every big game: field position is huge," said Aiello. "If we can force them to drive a long ways, it gives us more opportunities to get our stops.

"In big games, you’re trying to use special teams for field position, and to set up scores for you," added Aiello.

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IN PHOTO: Tioga coach Nick Aiello.

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