SECTION IV FOOTBALL: MAINE-ENDWELL EDGES WAVERLY, 42-41, IN OVERTIME IN BATTLE TOP-RANKED TEAMS IN STATE (24 PHOTOS) (2024-09-28)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports ReportENDWELL — Early on, it looked like whoever had the ball last would be in the driver’s seat, and that’s exactly how it played out as Maine-Endwell converted a two-point conversion in overtime to edge Waverly, 42-41, in a Section IV football battle between two No. 1 ranked teams in New York state.
The Wolverines, the reigning Class C state champion, entered the contest with a 15-game win streak, while the Spartans, who won state titles in 2022 and ’23, lost in the Class B finals last year.
“The only negative thing about today is it’s the first game we’ve lost in 16 games — it’s always disappointing to lose,” said Waverly coach Jason Miller.
“I thought we became a better team this week just in practice. Then the game, win or lose, it helped us.
“There is no such thing as a moral victory,” noted Miller. “But I liked the way, especially being on the road, we were able to answer, and as a (coaching) staff adjust a little bit.
“It was just a good football game to be involved in. You become better players and you become better coaches for being a part of games like this.
“We need to find a way to win, but if you score 40 points against Maine-Endwell, you’re doing something right,” added Miller.
The two teams combined for 761 yards in total offense, with M-E accounting for 388 and Waverly for 373.
“I don’t think either defense really had an answer,” said Miller. “(M-E) is very difficult to stop — they have a lot of speed, and obviously they struggled to stop us.
“They did a good job against the run, they are very physical, but I think we sustained what we prepared for all week — attacking them down the field.
“I thought our kids executed very well,” added Miller. “Defensively, I thought we played physically, we just had a hard time stopping the fullback.”
Waverly’s most impressive possession of the game was the first one of the game, a 17-play drive that chewed 10 minutes and 3 seconds off the game clock, but resulted in no points.
“That was a good start,” said Miller.
“If you can keep the ball out of their hands, they can’t score — it’s a good plan,” he laughed.
“I think we gained a lot of confidence from that drive,” added Miller.
Maine-Endwell took over at its 3, and drove 97 yards on 14 plays, capped by a 3-yard run by Jaden Branch to put the Spartans up 6-0 with 7:37 remaining in the first half.
The Wolverines needed just 24 seconds to erase the deficit.
After an incomplete pass to start the ensuing Waverly possession, sophomore QB Ben Shaw hit a wide-open junior Dalton Davis downfield for a 72-yard TD. Junior Hogan Shaw’s PAT kick made it 7-6 with 7:13 left in the first half.
The Spartans had a 57-yard TD run by Tyler Matthews nullified by a holding call on their next possession, and ended up punting the ball away.
Waverly returned the favor, and M-E put together a quick four-play, 60-yard drive to take a 12-7 lead with 2:20 remaining in the half. Branch capped the possession with a 15-yard TD run.
The Wolverines went into two-minute mode on its ensuing possession, and also benefitted from a pair of big penalties against M-E.
After a 29-yard completion down the middle of the field from Ben Shaw to senior Xavier Watson, the Spartans were hit with a pair of dead-ball unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to move the ball from the M-E 38 to the 13.
Three plays later, senior Fletcher Good released from the backfield, and Ben Shaw found him in the flats for an 8-yard TD pass with 27 seconds left in the half. Waverly failed to connect on a two-point conversion pass, and led 13-12.
Hogan Shaw punched the ensuing toward the Waverly sidelines, and a pair of M-E players hesitated to scoop up the ball. Meanwhile, senior Kolsen Keathley hustled down the field, popped the ball loose as they attempted to corral it, and recovered it at the Spartan 17.
On the next play, Ben Shaw threw a fade into the corner of the end zone, and a leaping Watson came down with it for a 17-yard TD with 18 seconds remaining. Hogan Shaw’s PAT kick made it 20-12.
“It was a great-effort play by Kolsen (Keathley) to give us a lot of momentum before the half,” said Miller.
(M-E) answered it quickly, though. They came out sustained a drive, and went down the field and scored quickly.
“The thing I’m really proud of is no matter what Maine-Endwell hit us with, and no matter the situation, our kids had a response,” Miller added.
The Spartans scored on their first two possession of the second half, and added a two-point conversion on the first score, to take a 26-20 lead with 4:11 remaining in the third quarter.
The Wolverines answered again on their next possession. After the Spartans jumped offside on third-and-1 to give Waverly first down, Ben Shaw connected with Keathley for 11 yards on third-and-10 to move the ball to the M-E 46.
On the next play, Ben Shaw threw another ball in Watson’s direction, and he came down with over a defender for a 28-yard gain to the M-E 18.
Facing a fourth-and-5 at the 13, Ben Shaw drew M-E offsides with a hard count to set up a first-and-goal. Two plays later, Watson hauled in an 8-yard TD pass to tie the game. Hogan Shaw’s PAT kick gave the Wolverines a 27-26 lead with 1 second remaining in the third quarter.
M-E took possession at its 20 on the ensuing possession, and quickly moved across midfield, but QB Preston Ocker mishandled a snap on fourth-and-1, and Waverly forced a turnover on downs.
Running out of the ‘Wildcat,’ Keathley picked up 20 yards on Waverly first plays, and three plays later — on fourth-and-seven — Watson won another jump ball in the end zone, and hauled in a 26-yard TD pass with 6:36 remaining in the game. Hogan Shaw’s PAT make it 34-26.
The Spartans showed their championship mettle on the ensuing possession, driving 70 yards for a score, and overcoming a fourth-and-17 in the process.
Branch capped the drive with a bruising 17-yard TD run with 1:28 remaining in the game. Branch added the conversion run to tie the game at 34-34 to force overtime.
M-E won the coin toss, and Waverly had the first possession of the extra session.
On the first play, Good ripped off a 20-yard TD run. Hogan Shaw’s PAT kick made it 41-34.
On M-E’s first play, Watson penetrated and made a stop at the line-of-scrimmage, but the ball carrier’s helmet came off and Watson was flagged for a face mask, moving the ball to the Waverly 10.
Two plays later, Branch scored on a 5-yard TD run. Moments later, Landon Rollo added the run for conversion to give M-E the win.
“It was a great start in overtime,” said Miller. “They changed their front, and we were fortunate enough to recognize it. Fletcher (Good) had a good run, and we got some good blocks inside.
“The bad thing about overtime is if you lose the toss, you’re always going to be on offense first. M-E had a chance to dictate things at the end.
“On the last play, we were trying to take away something they had been hurting us with, and they just checked it, and went the other way,” noted Miller. “It was just a good call.
“(M-E) got a couple of key calls that assisted them, especially on the last drive,” said Miller. “The kid’s helmet kept coming off, I thought that was a poor call — we had a stop on first down and the flag put them on the 10-yard line.
“The big thing, though, is we gave up a fourth-and-16 on a single-receiver route on their last possession (of the fourth quarter), or we would have had the win right there,” added Miller.
Ben Shaw completed 14 of 22 passes for 270 yards, and four TDs. Watson led Waverly with eight receptions for 140 yards, and three TDs.
Waverly ran the ball 27 times for 89 yards, led by Keathley, who had 50 yards on seven carries.
Ben Shaw led Waverly with 14 tackles, including six solo stops, while Keathley had 11 (six solo), sophomore Matthias Welles had 10 tackles, senior Jack Cheresnowsky had nine, and senior Nate Peters had seven.
Branch led M-E’s ground game, which accounted for 274 yards on 48 carries, with 102 yards and three TDs on 15 carries, while Matthews had 64 yards on seven carries, and Vinny Mancini added 57 yards on seven carries, and had four catches for 44 yards and one TD.
Ocker completed 7 of 9 passes for 96 yards, one TD, and one interception.
Waverly, now 3-1, hosts Schuyler Friday.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly’s Kolsen Keathley. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly’s Xavier Watson. … PHOTOS BY MARK BAKLEY — BAKLEY MEDIA.
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