SECTION IV FOOTBALL: BIRTHDAY BOY SHAW LEADS WAVERLY IN 42-0 SHELLACKING OF WINDSOR (18 PHOTOS) (2024-11-08)
WOLVERINES LOOK FOR CLASS C THREE-PEAT AGAINST CHENANGO FORKS NEXT SATURDAY
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports ReportWAVERLY — Sophomore QB Ben Shaw couldn't have asked for a better 16th birthday.
Shaw completed 12 of 14 passes for a career-high 306 yards, and four TD passes to lead Waverly to a 42-0 win over Windsor here Friday night in the Section IV, Class C semifinals.
"I'm really happy with our performance," said Waverly coach Jason Miller. "The kids played outstanding."
Waverly got off to a bit of a rough start as it misplayed the opening kickoff, and was pinned inside its own 10.
After an exchange of punts, the Wolverines were pinned at their own 1, and after a first down was forced to punt again.
Windsor took over at Waverly's 45, and picked up a quick first down to the Wolverines 30.
Junior Troy Beeman, sophomore Matthias Welles, and Shaw combined on a first-down QB sack to put the Black Knights behind the chains, and they eventually turned the ball over on downs at the Wolverine 29 with 12 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
"Our backs were to the wall, field position was a big part of that first quarter," said Miller.
"We thought we had a pretty good plan, but we just didn't want to throw it with our backs to the wall, until we got away from the end zone.
"When we did get to throw, (defensively) we got exactly what we thought we would get," added Miller. "Ben (Shaw) executed real well, our receivers executed real well, and our line blocked real well."
After a pair of Windsor penalties helped Waverly move the ball to its 44, Shaw hooked up with Welles on a 12-yard completion, then found Keathley, who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch, on the home sidelines for a 44-yard TD. Junior Hogan Shaw's PAT kick made it 7-0 with 10:19 remaining in the half.
Windsor's ensuing possession went backwards, with senior Kam Hills making the stop for a 2-yard loss on first down, Keathley and junior Daltton Davis combining on a stop for a 2-yard loss on second down, and senior Jack Cheresnowsky dropping Werner for a 2-yard loss on third down.
A 12-yard punt gave the Wolverines the ball at the Black Knight 24, and five plays later the lead was 14-0.
After a 9-yard run by senior Fletcher Good moved the ball to the 3, Waverly picked up a first down on an offsides call to move the ball inside the 2.
Following a pair of negative plays, Waverly faced a third-and-goal at the 7, where Shaw connected with senior Xavier Watson on a quick slant for an apparent TD, but a flag nullified the score.
It actually only delayed the score as on the next snap, Shaw lofted a perfect throw into the back corner of the end zone, where Watson hauled it in against near-perfect coverage for a TD with 6:56 remaining in the half.
Windsor's next possession ended in a three-and-out when Hills, Cheresnowsky and Shaw combined to stop Werner for a 2-yard loss on third-and-2 at its 28.
The Wolverines took over at their 36, but were quickly in Windsor territory on a 19-yard pass from Shaw to Keathley.
Four plays later, Watson hauled in another TD pass — this time a 13-yard connection, again over top of a Black Knight defender with 2:33 remaining in the half.
"We just have that chemistry," said Shaw. "We work on it in practice all week, I just throw it up and he'll go make the play."
On the second play of the second half, Keathley pounced on an errant Windsor pitch at the Black Knights' 33.
Four plays later — all runs by Good, he scored on a 10-yard run with 9:30 remaining in the third quarter. Hogan Shaw's PAT kick made it 28-0.
Waverly's run game struggle in the first half, picking up just 32 yards on 13 carries, but was much more effective in the second half, racking up 150 yards on 26 carries.
"(Windsor) had a good game plan," said Miller. "They played a little different front than we had prepared for. It kind of took away a couple things we wanted to do.
"At halftime, David (Shaw) got on the board and made a really good suggestion," noted Miller. "We got in 11-personnel with a tight end, and came out and ran the ball well in the second half.
"(Tight end) Matthias (Welles) did a great job on Ryan Waddell in the second half," added Miller. We never touched him in the first half, he had 11 tackles ... it was a nice adjustment."
Windsor's next possession ended with a punt that pinned Waverly at its own 18.
Three plays later, with a heavy rain falling, Shaw hit Keathley on a quick hitter in the seam. The speedy senior split a pair of defenders, and raced 84 yards for a score with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter. Hogan Shaw's point-after made it 35-0.
"(Keathley) is so good out in open space. He just makes people miss," said Shaw.
Windsor's ensuing possession ended when Hills jarred the ball loose from Windsor Tyson Schmitt, and junior Cooper Robinson scooped it up at the Waverly 33 with 59 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
On third-and-13, Shaw hit Davis down the middle of the field for a 55-yard gain to the Windsor 15.
Shaw then connected with junior Ronin Ault on a quick pass to the sidelines for 10 yards to the Black Knight 5.
Keathley finished off the drive with a 5-yard TD run with 11:13 remaining in the game. Hogan Shaw's sixth PAT kick made it 42-0.
It was Waverly's sixth possession in a row resulting in a TD.
"We came out a little slow, but once we started to figure things out, and once we got things figured out, we got it going," said Shaw.
Windsor moved into the Waverly red zone on its next possession, but the Waverly defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs at the 9.
The Wolverines drove the length of the field, with a 44-yard run by Good, and a 28-yard pass from Shaw to Davis the big plays. At the Windsor 4 with 2:15 remaining in the game, Waverly took consecutive knees and turned the ball over on downs with 1:25 left.
Keathley led Waverly three receptions for 147 yards and two TDs, and also had eight carries for 45 yards, and one TD.
Watson had four catches for 52 yards, and two TDs, and Davis had three grabs for 85 yards.
Good led Waverly's ground game with 116 yards and one TD on 20 carries.
The Wolverines piled up 455 yards in total offense, while limiting the Black Knights to 188 yards.
"Defensively we played great, that team was averaging 40 points per game," said Miller.
"(Ashton) Werner is as good as you're going to see," he noted. "I thought we did a really good job on the mid-line option, tackled well, and created a couple of turnovers.
"It was just a fantastic defensive performance by the kids," added Miller.
Waverly's longtime coach also tipped his cap to his coaching staff after the win.
"I'm really proud of the (coaching) staff, they worked really hard this week preparing for this, and we had a great week of practice.
"I always feel like the most pressure of the season comes in the week of the semifinals because you can't win a Section IV final unless you get there," said Miller.
"I put a lot of pressure on myself to get here," added Miller. "It's a big relief."
Waverly, now 9-1 and ranked No. 1 in the state, will square off with Chenango Forks, also 9-1 and ranked No. 3, Saturday at noon at Johnson City High School.
The Wolverines have beaten Forks in each of the last two years in the Class C title game. The Blue Devils topped Waverly in 2021.
"This is another great opportunity," said Miller.
"We won a state title, and they've won seven, so we're fighting against that, but his team has a lot of confidence right now," he added.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Xavier Watson. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Kolsen Keathley. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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