TIOGA CENTER — Waverly scored on its first five possessions, including three TD runs by senior Fletcher Good, on its way to a 50-6 win over Tioga here Saturday night in Section IV football action at Haggerty Field.

“Waverly is really frickin’ good,” said Tioga coach Nick Aiello. “They present a lot of match-up problems, and they took advantage of quite a few of them tonight.”

“I thought we played a really good game,” said Waverly coach Jason Miller.

“Let’s keep this in perspective, though, that (Tioga) team is beat up right now, a lot of injuries,” noted Miller. “I’m sure they didn’t plan on having their third-string quarterback running their offense.

“With that said, I thought we won a lot of battles up front,” he added. “That’s one of the better lines we’ve seen, and I thought we did a really good job up front.”

The Wolverine offense showed good balance — 190 rushing yards, and 174 passing yards — and their big-play ability — five scores of 25 yards or more, and an 80-yard kick return.

“We played really well on offense,” said Miller.

“We had a couple different wrinkles we’ve been working on since the beginning of the year, but haven’t shown,” he noted. “I thought we executed it very well.

“We made some big plays, and Fletcher (Good) played his best game yet,” added Miller.

Waverly sophomore QB Ben Shaw, who entered the game completing 15 consecutive passes over the last two weeks, extended the streak with a 4-for-4 performance for 136 yards, and two TDs.

“We knew coming in their secondary didn’t match up with us, then we saw man coverage and we certainly felt we could take advantage of that,” said Miller.

“We saw what we’re going to see,” he noted. “They doubled Xavier (Watson), and kind of took him away, but we didn’t need to throw so it wasn’t really a factor. When you do that, though, you’re pulling guys out of the box, and it makes it a little easier to run the ball.

“I understand the tactic though because you just can’t leave him alone,” added Miller. “It’s a challenge we’re fortunate to be able to put on people.”

The Tigers had 278 yards in total offense, with 248 of them coming on the ground. A big chunk of those yards — 101 to be exact — came on Tioga’s scoring drive in the fourth quarter. (Yes, 101 yards, thanks to a 15-yard penalty against the Tigers on the possession.)

“I thought we did a really good job, even before Duncanson was injured, of containing him,” said Miller. “I was really concerned about (Jake) Browne, but I thought we did a good job on him and their power game.

“They ran a lot of formations we hadn’t seen … the way they were trading their front, but we did a good job against it,” noted Miller.

Waverly began the opening possession of the game at its 23, and on the second play, Watson made a leaping grab over top of a Tioga defender for a 31-yard gain to the Tioga 39.

Three plays later, sophomore tight end Matthias Welles took a direct snap for a 4-yard gain to convert a third-and-inches to the Tiger 25.

On the next play, Good broke loose on a 25-yard scamper to paydirt with 9:16 remaining in the opening stanza. Hogan Shaw’s PAT kick made it 7-0.

Tioga took the ensuing kickoff, and marched deep into the Waverly red zone on 12 plays, taking nearly 9 minutes off the game clock.

The drive included a 10-yard run by senior Shea Bailey, who was injured on the run and did not return, as well as an 18-yard run by junior Gage Hopkins, and a 13-yard completion from junior QB Jayden Duncanson to junior tight end Dominic Palmer, who made a leaping grab, on fourth-and-10.

“They hit us with the tight end down the field, and they hit us for an 18-yard trap, so there are still things we need to work on,” said Miller.

On the 13th play of the possession, from the Waverly 8, Waverly senior Kolsen Keathley stepped in front of a Duncanson pass at the Tioga 5, and returned it to the 28.

“We had a guy open, but that’s how good Keathley is,” said Aiello. “He made a heck of a play.”

Waverly needed just five plays to extend its lead, with Keathley hauling in a pass from Ben Shaw in the flats, and racing 57 yards down the visitor’s sidelines for a score with 9:44 remaining in the first half. Hogan Shaw’s PAT kick made it 14-0.

Tioga’s next possession ended on downs at its 48, and an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Tigers moved the ball to the 33.

On the first play, Shaw lofted a throw to the front corner of the end zone, and junior Ronin Ault hauled it in for a score. Hogan Shaw’s kick made it 21-0 with 4:52 remaining in the half.

Junior Connor Streeter ripped off a 14-yard run on Tioga’s first play of its next possession, but the Waverly defense forced a punt three plays later.

The Wolverines took over at the Tioga 47 after a 15-yard return by junior Daltton Davis, and needed just two plays to find the end zone again.

After a big pass play to Keathley was brought back to the 32 thanks to a blocking-in-the-back call, Good ripped off a 32-yard TD run to make it 27-0 with 1:26 remaining in the half.

Tioga opened the second half with the ball, and drove into Waverly territory. The possession was highlighted by an 11-yard pass from Duncanson to junior Kadin Cole, and a 9-yard run by Palmer.

On Tioga’s 11th play, Welles pounced on a botched pitch at the Wolverine 35.

Three plays later, Good scampered 54 yards down the visitor’s sideline for a score. Hogan Shaw’s PAT kick made it 34-0 with 4:21 remaining in the third quarter.

Tioga fumbled on the first play of its next possession, but the defense forced a Waverly punt.

The Tigers took over at its 15, but Duncanson was unable to field a high snap, and by the time he recovered it, he was in the end zone for a safety to give Waverly a 36-0 lead with 1:47 remaining in the third quarter.

The Wolverines received the free kick, which rolled out-of-bounds at the Waverly 40.

Waverly put together an eight-play drive to cover the 60 yards, with the vast majority coming on the last two plays — a 38-yard pass from 8th-grader Axel Murray to sophomore Chase Wheeler, and an 8-yard TD run by sophomore Axel Murray to make it 43-0 with 9:21 left in the game.

Tioga mishandled the ensuing kickoff, and was pinned at its own 14.

Sticking to the ground, the Tigers covered the 86 yards on 14 plays — overcoming a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call in the process — in a drive that chewed up more than 8 minutes of game clock.

The drive included runs of 15 and 14 yards by Browne, 14 yards by Streeter, and 13 and 19 yards by Hopkins, who capped the possession with a 2-yard TD run with 1:06 remaining in the contest.

Keathley provided the final margin by returning the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a TD.

Good led Waverly’s ground game with 154 yards and three TDs on 10 carries, and LaForest added 27 yards and one TD on eight carries.

Hopkins led Tioga’s ground game with 83 yards and one TD on 14 carries, while Streeter had 71 yards on eight carries, Browne added 60 yards on 15 carries, and Palmer chipped in with 29 yards on four carries.

Bailey had 18 yards on two carries before leaving the game with a knee injury.

“We’re down four starting running backs, and three of them aren’t coming back,” said Aiello.

“For a Class D school starting with a 21-man roster, we’re getting close to that 16-man minimum,” he added. “We may have to call up a few from the JVs.”

Waverly, now 6-1 and ranked No. 1 in the State in Class C, travels to Division IV rival Lansing Friday.

Tioga, now 4-3 and ranked 12th in Class D, hosts fifth-ranked Deposit-Hancock (7-0) Friday.

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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly’s Xavier Watson. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly’s Kolsen Keathley. … PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.