NEW YORK STATE FOOTBALL: FONDA-FULTONVILLE PRESENTS CHALLENGES ON BOTH SIDES OF BALL FOR WAVERLY (2023-12-01)

BY TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
SYRACUSE - Waverly will play for its first-ever state football title Saturday at 6 p.m. when it takes on Section II’s Fonda-Fultonville, and longtime coach Jason Miller says after watching films the Braves look very familiar.

"When you watch the style of their offense, and the style of their run game, it’s almost like the spitting image of what we do," he said.

Fonda-Fultonville,12-1 and winners of 12 in a row, are ranked No. 1 in Class C, while Waverly, also 12-1 and winners of 11 straight, is ranked No. 2.

Miller has been impressed by what he’s seen of Fonda-Fultonville on film.

"They are very big up front, and very aggressive," he said. "You can tell they’re well-coached.

"This is really the first game where a team matches up with across the board up front. Actually, they’re bigger … they are all 6-2 or 6-3, and 230 to 260 pounds, and really athletic for that size," Miller noted "We’re going to have to win in the trenches, and that’s going to be a challenge.

"They are also athletic on the outside," added Miller. "There is no doubt they belong here."

Like Waverly, Fonda-Fultonville has never played for a state title.

"I think they’re a senior-laden team up front," said Miller. "They appear to be very confident … I don’t think they’ll be scared by the big stage any more than we will.

"I think we have two evenly-matched teams, so it will come down to who will limit their mistakes," added Miller.

F-F began its postseason march with a 48-28 win over Hoosick Falls-Tamarac, then avenged a 34-32 Week Zero loss to Schuylerville with a 31-21 win in the Section II championship game.

In the state quarterfinals, the Braves blanked Gouverneur, 22-0, then rolled over defending state champion O’Neill, 33-7, in the semifinals.

The Wolverines opened their trek to the Dome with a 55-0 win over Susquehanna Valley, then notched their second consecutive Section IV title with a 30-21 win over Chenango Forks.

In the state quarterfinals, Waverly blasted Adirondack, 49-8, then blanked Salamanca, 42-0, in the semifinals.

Waverly’s lone loss was a 23-17 overtime setback against two-time defending Class D champion Tioga, which plays for its third straight earlier in the day Saturday.

WHEN FONDA-FULTONVILLE HAS THE BALL
F-F enters the contest outscoring its opponents by an average of 39.7 to 11.4 points per game. while averaging about 325 yards per game in total offense — 212 passing and 113 rushing.

Freshman QB Keegan Croucher has completed 62 percent (132 of 213) of his passes for 2,335 yards and 28 TDs with just three interceptions.

Senior Brady Melious is his top target with 28 catches for 638 yards, and senior Karson Bulan has 25 grabs for 584 yards.

Senior Jose Vargas leads the F-F ground game with nearly 900 yards.

"We’re going to see a lot of spread look," said Miller. "They will go empty set, they’re going to go wide with four receivers, and they’ll drop back and sling it.

"No one has seemed to get any pressure on their QB, that’s going to be a key," noted Miller. "We won’t change anything in what we do. We don’t normally blitz … we’re going to have to do a great job in coverage, and keep the ball in front of us.

"They will throw it to all areas of the field. You have to defend all thirds of the field," added Miller. "You have to be solid on the underneath coverage, then they run draws and screens, so you’re backers have to be active too, in making sure they don’t sting you in that situation."

What is the key for the Waverly defense?

"They have a 6-4 freshman quarterback who slings the ball," said Miller. "He’s not much of a threat to run the ball yet, but he’s a very gifted athlete who makes throws we don’t normally see when we’re on defense.

"And, he has a good group of receivers.

"We talk all the time about not giving up big plays," added Miller. "It’s a challenge this week. He can hurt you."

WHEN WAVERLY HAS THE BALL
The Wolverines have outscored their opponents by an average of 40.7 to 10.7 points per game this season, and are averaging 404.7 yards per game in total offense — 226 through the air, and 178.7 on the ground.

Senior QB Joey Tomasso has completed 74.6 percent (188 of 252) of his passes for a school-record 2,827 yards and 39 TDs (also a school record), against just three interceptions.

Senior Jay Pipher is his top target with a school-record 57 catches for 1,127 yards (also a school record), and 12 TDs, while junior Xavier Watson has 54 grabs for 756 yards, and a school-record 14 TDs, senior Jake VanHouten has 39 receptions for 442 yards, and five TDs, and junior Kolsen Keathley has 28 catches for 427 yards, and six TDs.

Tomasso, who has been limited by a knee injury suffered early in the state quarter-final game, leads the Waverly ground game with 570 yards and 10 TDs on 107 carries, while junior Payton Fravel has 477 yards and seven TDs on 63 carries, senior Carter George has 363 yards, and three TDs on 49 carries, and Keathley has 315 yards and four TDs on 25 carries.

"(F-F) play multiple fronts, and multiple coverages," said Miller. "On defense, they are kind of all over the place.

"They play an odd-front, which you don’t see a lot of anymore," he noted. "It gives them the capability to mix up coverages in the secondary. You never really know where they’re blitzing from, so it’s a challenge.

"They are primarily an odd-front, and out of that 3-4 they are able to drop the outside two backers, so they often drop eight into coverage, and rush with three," continued Miller. "It also gives them the capabilities to stem on both sides of the ball with the outside backers, and you never really know which one is coming.

"They’re quite complex on defense. They run man coverage, they run zone coverage, they run quarter coverage, they run Cover-2 … they run a lot of different coverages. It’s going to challenge us , especially when we have to pick up blitzes, and identity where they’re support is on the outside in the run game.

"It’s going to be a cat-and-mouse game, and we just have to do a good job as coaches recognizing and preparing for the multitudes, without over-complicating it," added Miller. "The one thing I’ve tried to do this week is not overthink it. Let’s not try to prepare for everything … let’s just find formations that gives us the best chance to be successful."

Miller is hoping his fifth-year starter at QB will be an advantage against the F-F defensive scheme.

"Joe’s experience is certainly an advantage, but he’s still limited," said Miller. "We’re going to have to run the ball successfully, and keep (F-F) on their toes by making sure they’re not over-aggressive coming at Joe.

"We need to get the ball to our playmakers multiple times, that’s going to be a big key," he added. "We need to give guys shots to make plays down field, and score quickly without getting in third-and-long situations."

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IN PHOTO: Waverly coach Jason Miller. … VSR STOCK PHOTO.

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