SECTION IV FOOTBALL: TIOGA RIDES DEFENSE TO 28-0 WIN OVER SVEC (24 PHOTOS) (2024-09-26)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportSPENCER — Tioga’s defense overcame four offensive turnovers, and the Tiger ground game kicked into high gear in the second half of a 28-0 win over SVEC here Thursday night in Section IV football action.
“Our defense was outstanding,” said Tioga coach Nick Aiello. “We were hitting tonight … that’s one of the positives this we carried over from last week.
“I told the guys ‘I want to see a lot of white jerseys around the ball,’ and they did that,” noted Aiello. “The big mistake we made last week was guys weren’t lining up right, so that’s one thing we worked on a ton this week. We told the guys they have to be lined up correctly, and ready to play, and I think that’s why we played better this week.
“I’m very proud of our defense, and I’m proud of our special teams” added Aiello. “It’s starting to come together, but we have a long way to go.”
Just six days after their 43-game win streak came to an end at Chenango Forks in a 25-0 loss, the Tioga offense sputtered to start the game — with two punts, sandwiched around a fumble in its first three possessions.
“We were just trying to figure out what they were doing defensively,” said Aiello.
“They were loading the box on us, and when teams do that, it takes a little while to kind of figure out what they’re doing, and get comfortable in a couple of plays,” he noted. “Once we found a couple plays, we kind of rode them.”
The Tigers, known for ball security during Aiello’s time on the sidelines, fumbled the ball away twice in the first half, and threw two interceptions in the second half.
“The story on offense really was the four turnovers,” said Aiello. “Those are four potential drives where we got nothing, especially the one at the end of the half, where we could have been up 14-0 … but we did put up 28 points, so I’m pretty happy with it.
“We only had three days to prepare, so a lot of it was back to basics, but the work is showing with this young group,” he added.
Tioga had just one first down in the first quarter, and SVEC didn’t pick up its initial first down until the first play of the second quarter, but punted the ball away three plays later.
Tioga took over at its 31 with 8:48 remaining in the first half, and drove 69 yards on 11 plays in a drive that took more than five minutes off the game clock.
On fourth-and-1 at its 40, Tioga gave the ball to 230-pound senior tailback Jake Browne on a 10-yard run for a first down.
A 16-yard run by sophomore Shane Platukis, and a 13-yard run by Browne were key plays as the Tigers moved the ball to the Eagles 19.
Runs of 4 and 6 yards by Platukis moved the ball inside the 10, and Browne capped the drive with a 9-yard TD run with 3:32 remaining in the first half. Junior James Miller’s PAT kick made it 7-0.
SVEC’s next possession was a three-and-out, and Tioga took possession at its 20.
The Tigers quickly drove the ball down field with junior QB Jayden Duncanson completing three passes — six yards to senior Brennan Sindoni, 18 yards to junior Dominic Palmer, and 35 yards to junior Gavin Albrecht, who made a great catch on the home sidelines.
Browne then broke loose up the middle, and appeared headed into the end zone, but was stripped of the ball at the SVEC 2 and it ricocheted off a defender into the end zone with 16 seconds remaining in the half. However, an inadvertent whistle stopped the play prematurely.
After a huddle of the officials, the play was ruled a touchback, and SVEC was given possession at its own 20.
The Tigers shook off the turnover, and scored on its first two possession of the third quarter.
Aiello believes the Tigers wore down the Eagles.
“I think our hitting and conditioning started to show in the second half, and that’s what I like to see,” he said.
After Browne returned the second-half kickoff to the Eagles 45, Tioga’s first play from scrimmage was nearly disastrous, but Platukis pounced on a loose ball in the backfield for a 9-yard loss back to the Tiger 46.
On the next play, Platukis busted loose up the middle on a 54-yard TD run just 32 seconds into the second half. Miller’s PAT kick made it 14-0.
SVEC picked up a first down on its ensuing possession,, but turned the ball over on downs four plays later at the Tioga 40.
The Tigers only needed two plays to find paydirt again — a 15-yard run by Platukis, and a 45-yard TD run by Browne with 7:05 remaining in the third quarter. Miller’s kick made it 21-0.
The Eagles’ next possession was a three-and-out, but on Tioga’s first play, a batted ball resulted in an interception for SVEC defensive lineman Patrick Keir at the Tioga 36.
The Tioga defense pushed SVEC backward, with Sindoni dropping Jakobe Foster for a 5-yard loss on first down, and senior Tate MaCauley sacking SVEC QB Logan Cody for a 10-yard loss to midfield.
After another Eagle punt pinned Tioga at its 1, the Tigers picked up a quick first down, but a Duncanson deep throw was picked off at the Tioga 46.
SVEC moved the ball to the Tioga 10, thanks in large part to 28 rushing yards on four carries by Foster, but Cody was sacked on consecutive plays — for a 12-yard loss by Browne, and a 6-yard loss by Sindoni — to put the Eagles in a third-and-goal at its 28.
On the next play, Cody’s deep ball was picked off by junior Kadin Cole at the Tioga 9, and he returned it 82 yards to the SVEC 9.
Three plays later, Sindoni bulled in from 1 yard out with 7:39 remaining in the game. Miller’s kick made it 28-0.
SVEC, which had 63 yards in total offense to this point, drove the ball 72 yards against Tioga’s second defensive unit, but Foster was driven out-of-bounds at the Tioga 1 as the final horn sounded.
Tioga’s ground game accounted for 225 yards on 30 carries. Browne led the way with 113 yards and two TDs on 11 carries, while Platukis ran for 99 yards, and one TD on seven carries, and Sindoni added 38 yards and one TD on eight carries.
Duncanson completed 4 of 8 pass attempts for 63 yards, and two interceptions.
Foster led Candor with 93 yards on 12 carries, and Charlie Hilbert had 40 yards on 21 carries.
Cody completed 8 of 15 passes for 26 yards, and one interception. Nick Oakes had three grabs for 14 yards, and Nevin Mack had three catches for 13 yards.
Tioga, now 3-1, returns to action next Friday when it hosts Delhi.
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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga’s Gavin Albrecht hauls in a 35-yard reception. IN TOP PHOTO: Tioga’s Jake Browne. … PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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