SECTION IV FOOTBALL: DESPITE RASH OF INJURIES, TIOGA RIGHT WHERE IT WANTS TO BE — IN CLASS D FINALS (2024-11-15)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER — It's been a difficult season for the three-time defending state champs, but Tioga is in position to win its seventh straight Section IV, Class D title tonight when it takes on Delhi at Johnson City High School. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.

"We're right where we want to be," said Tioga coach Nick Aiello. "It's been a long year, but to be in this game is always a lot of fun.

"I think it's harder to get out of your Section some times than playing in the State playoffs.

"The other teams know you so well," noted Aiello. "You have every game on your opponent and you're trying to figure out what they're going to do against you, and the opposing team is trying to figure out the same thing.

"Getting out of your Section is always tough, especially in Section IV. If you look at Small School football, there are a lot of good coaches.

"In the state playoffs, it's just everybody is good and has athletes, and it comes down to how you match up," Aiello added.

Delhi enters the contest at 8-2 and ranked sixth in the State, while Tioga is 7-3 and ranked seventh. Delhi won the regular-season battle at Tioga this season, 41-34.

The Tigers have battled through a plethora of injuries this season, and will be without seniors Shea Bailey and Brennan Sindoni.

Junior QB Jayden Duncanson returned to play sparingly in last week's win over SVEC after missing two games. Sophomore Shane Platukis and junior Logan Bellis also returned after lengthy absences.

"Every week has been a new adventure," said Aiello.

"For a while, it was hard for us to get into the swing of things because every week we were starting over to a certain degree, especially in the backfield.

"When we had the Newark Valley week with five days of practice, and followed that up with five days of practice leading into the Waverly game, I felt like we finally started to find our stride, but then we lost Shea (Bailey) for the year, and Jayden  (Duncanson) for 2 1/2 weeks.

"Since then, the guys have really responded," said Aiello. "Guys have stepped up."

One of the biggest injuries sustained by the Tigers this season came in the first Delhi game when Sindoni suffered a season-ending knee injury.

"Losing Brennan (Sindoni) in that game, and overall was a huge blow for us.

"It was a big blow, particularly in that game, we had to adjust on the fly," said Aiello. "He was a leader for us on defense, and for what he gave us on offense as well."

This marks the fourth straight year Tioga and Delhi have played during the regular season, and again in the postseason. Tioga won the first six meetings, including the Class D semifinals in 2021, and the Class D finals in 2022 and '23.

"The Delhi coaches always seem to have something for us," said Aiello. "If you look at last year's Sectional final game, they stopped a lot of our base stuff ... there were three or four possessions where we scored on one play.

"They are always well-prepared for us," he noted. "We never take this team lightly, they've been the team that has motivated us in the last couple years because we knew we were going to face them in the playoffs at some point.

"For the last four or five years, we've faced each other twice a year. We know each other pretty well.

"What it's going to come down to tomorrow night is who executes the best, and who's blocking and tackling the best," added Aiello.

The Tigers have 14 Section IV titles, including 11 under Aiello, who began his career at Tioga in 2010,  in the state playoff era which began in 1993. They have four state titles.

Delhi has eight Section IV title, but only one in the state playoff era, and that was in 2001 on the way to its only state title.

The two teams have played five times in the postseason, with Delhi's only victory coming the year prior to Aiello's tenure as head coach — a 20-3 win in the Class D semis in 2009.

WHEN DELHI HAS THE FOOTBALL
Delhi enters the contest scoring 32.5 points per game, while Tioga allows 22.6 points.

In the first meeting, Delhi piled up 422 yards in total offense — 214 passing and 208 rushing.

"Delhi has a good mix of power-run schemes and play-action from under center, and a lot of different sets in shotgun," said Aiello. "They are a tough team to prepare for because they're so multi-formational.

"Their backs are running very, very well, and their quarterback (senior Zack Cornell) does exactly what they need him to do," noted Aiello. "And, they have the big, tall receiver (senior Rocco Schnabel), who made some tremendous catches against us the first time around.

"They pose a lot of problems for a defense because they are so multi-formational," continued Aiello. "They snap the ball quick, their backs run hard, certain plays hit quick, they have a good counter game, and they can get to the outside — they really have a complete offense.

"The message all week has come down to lining up and playing defense," added Aiello. "We can't worry so much about everything they're going to run, we have to worry about how we're lined up, and how we're going to pursue the ball and tackle."

WHEN TIOGA HAS THE FOOTBALL
Tioga enters the game scoring 28.4 points per game, while Delhi allows 13.4 points per game.

In the first meeting, Tioga had 401 yards in total offense — 326 rushing and 76 passing. Senior Jake Browne, who has 1,473 yards and 22 TDs on the season, had his second 100-yard performance of 2024.

"Defensively, Delhi tends to play a six-man front, and they have two very good linebackers (junior Adam Cook and senior Cam Thomson) behind them — they really are the heart of their defense," said Aiello.

"They also have some athletes in the secondary.

"All year long, we haven't matched up very well in height and size, and that's true this week as well," noted Aiello. "We're just going to have play our style of football if we're going to have a chance to win.

"It starts up front for us, but getting to those second- and third-level blocks are going to be key for sure," he added.

Aiello is not quite sure what fans could see tonight.

"Last time, it came down to trying to outscore each other," he said. "We've played in those games in the Sectional final where you have to outscore the other team, or it could be where both teams are grinding out drives for touchdowns.

"It will be interesting to see if we have an answer for them, or if they have an answer for them.

"Or, it could be where we both learned something from the first game, and it's a little harder to score. You just don't know," he noted.

"We can both score points offensively," added Aiello. "It's going to come down to who can play better defense and keep the other off the scoreboard."

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IN PHOTO: Tioga coach Nick Aiello. ... VSR STOCK PHOTO.

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