SECTION IV FOOTBALL: TIOGA KNOCKS OFF CLASS B MARYVALE, 27-6; RUNS WIN STREAK TO 42 (24 PHOTOS) (2024-09-07)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportWAVERLY — Tioga scored a pair of TDs in less than two minutes midway through the third quarter to blow open a close game on its way to a 27-6 win over Maryvale here Saturday afternoon in non-league football at Memorial Stadium.
The Tigers run their win streak to 42 games with the win over the Flyers, whose only loss last year came in the Section VI, Class B championship game.
Tioga coach Nick Aiello was pleased with his young team’s performance.
“I thought our offseason work paid off,” he said. “I thought we were physical, which was great to see.
“I thought our line played how we expected,” noted Aiello. “I thought our young guys got their feet wet, and as I imagined, they were ready for the game, they were ready for that stage.”
Tioga’s ground game racked up 279 yards, but some early mistakes kept the Tigers off the board.
“I wouldn’t say we struggled, I thought we moved the ball all day long,” said Aiello. “We just had some drive-killers … we jumped on our first possession inside their 10, and turned it from a fourth-and-1 into a fourth-and-6.
“And later on, we fumbled inside the 10.
“With a lot of new faces, there may have been some jitters, but I really liked what we saw out of the offense,” added Aiello.
Defensively, the Tigers limited Maryvale to 191 yards in total offense.
“It’s a Week Zero game. A lot of times you’re playing a scrimmage at this point, and you can make mistakes in a scrimmage, and you don’t care about what happens in terms of touchdowns,” said Aiello. “I thought we made some scrimmage-like mistakes today, especially on the perimeter, but the good thing is by the time we got rolling into the mid-third quarter and fourth quarter, kids were making adjustments they needed to.
“Its all new kids, for the most part, at linebacker and defensive back,” added Aiello. “Getting those kids up to varsity speed, and understanding how important it is to do their job is critical … after watching film, I think moving forward, the kids will begin to understand what we’ve been telling them.”
After forcing Maryvale to punt on the game’s opening possession, Tioga marched the ball — on the strong running of junior Logan Bellis and senior Brennan Sindoni — from its 31 to the Maryvale 10 before turning the ball over on downs.
Three plays later, the Flyers faced a 4th-and-1 at their own 19, and successfully picked up the first down with a 3-yard run by QB Jaxsyn Moritz.
After another first down, Maryvale was in a 3rd-and-32 situation when Brayden Tryon ripped off a 22-yard run, but Mortiz’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete, and Tioga took over the Maryvale 43.
Twelve plays, and 7 1/2 minutes later, Sindoni bulled in from 1 yard out with 1:06 remaining in the first half. Junior James Miller’s PAT kick gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
The drive featured an 18-yard run by Sindoni, a 12-yard pick-up by senior Shea Bailey, and a key fourth-and-1 conversion by Logan Bellis.
The Flyers got a big return on the ensuing kickoff, and started their possession at the Tioga 41.
A penalty wiped out a big play that would have put the Flyers in side the Tioga 5, but they eventually worked the way to the 13 with 2 seconds remaining in the half.
Moritz’s pass to Chris Beard near the goal line was on the mark, but Beard bobbled it, and senior Shea Bailey was able to make the tackle at the Tioga 1 as time expired.
Maryvale attempted an onside kick to start the second half, but Miller made a nice play on the ball to give the Tigers possession at the Flyer 49.
Sophomore Shane Platukis, who was in for Bellis after he sustained an injury on the scoring drive, and Bailey each ripped off runs of 11 yards to move the ball to the 27.
Moments later, an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Flyers moved the ball to the 11.
Platukis broke free on a carry, but was hit from behind, and the ball squirted loss. It was scooped Noah Irby at the 3, and returned 18 yards to the Maryvale 21.
After a quick first down, a holding call put Maryvale behind the chains and they punted moments later.
Tioga took over at its 41, and Platukis quickly redeemed himself, breaking loose up the middle and racing 59 yards for a score with 5:54 remaining in the third quarter. Miller’s PAT kick made it 14-0.
Aiello said he wasn’t overly concerned with the fumble.
“We tend not to dwell too much on that,” he said. “(Platukis) is a sophomore, and kind of got thrown into the fire once Logan (Bellis) went out.
“We talk a lot to the kids about taking advantage if they get an opportunity,” he noted. “Shane has a really good skill set as a running back and as a sophomore, the more carries he gets the better he’s going to be.
“We saw what he could do on that long touchdown run,” added Aiello.
Miller’s ensuing kickoff, a short chip shot toward the home sidelines, was mishandled, and junior Gage Hopkins recovered the loose ball at the Maryvale 23.
Three plays later, junior QB Jayden Duncanson spun off a would-be tackler at the line-of-scrimmage and sprinted 14 yards for a TD to make it 20-0 with 4:01 remaining in the third quarter.
“That was a pretty big sequence of plays,” said Aiello. “It was a big run, a heads-up play on the kick, and a good hard run by Jayden (Duncanson).
“It definitely swung the momentum firmly in our favor,” he added
Maryvale answered with a 70-yard scoring drive, thanks in large part to a 66-yard pass from Moritz to Eric Hayes.
Tryon capped the seven-play drive with a 4-yard TD run with 26 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The conversion failed, and Tioga led 20-6.
After an exchange of possessions, Tioga put together a 10-play, 60-yard drive to ice the win. Senior Jake Browne, who had 32 yards on four carries in the drive, capped the drive with a 10-yard TD run with 2:05 left in the game. Miller’s PAT kick provided the final margin.
“Jake (Browne) hasn’t played football since his freshman year,” said Aiello. “He’s still learning the system, and we’re still learning what he can do.
“Getting him into the mix is definitely something we want to do,” he added.
Platukis led the way for the Tigers with 102 rushing yards and one TD on 13 carries, while Bellis had 68 yards on 15 carries, Browne had 40 yards and one TD on seven carries, Sindoni added 36 yards and one TD on seven carries, Bailey chipped in with 23 yards on two carries, and Duncanson had 13 yards and one TD on three carries.
Duncanson threw just two passes, completing one for 8 yards. Sindoni had the reception.
Junior Dominic Palmer was a defensive standout for the Tigers with two QB sacks, a tackle-for-loss, and a fumble recovery.
“Dom is a kid we’ve been riding pretty hard to get him to understand how important his job is,” said Aiello.
“He did a good job of making plays when the opportunity arose,” he added.
Moritz completed 7 of 20 pass attempts for 104 yards, and also rushed for 33 yards, on nine carries for the Flyers.
Tryon led the Maryvale ground game with 87 yards and one TD on 11 carries. The Flyers rushed for 123 yards on 22 carries.
Tioga returns to action Friday when it hosts Windsor.
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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga’s Shane Platukis. IN TOP PHOTO: Tioga’s Jake Browne. … PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON.
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