SECTION IV FLAG FOOTBALL: BELLES, WESTBROOK LEAD WAVERLY IN BOUNCE-BACK WIN OVER GREENE (24 PHOTOS) (2025-04-19)
Valley Sports ReportWAVERLY — Coming off a big loss at Owego Thursday, Waverly regrouped and rolled to a 39-6 win over Greene here Saturday in Section IV flag football action at Memorial Stadium.
"I'm just super-proud of the girls for responding so positively after a tough loss Thursday night," said Waverly coach David Shaw.
"We had a great practice (Friday) night and these girls continue to impress us with there willingness to learn and work hard.
"As coaches, when we work on things at practice and they show up on game day, that is truly satisfying — all credit to these kids," said Shaw. "I thought the effort all the way to the whistle was outstanding.
"It was a great team win, there were lots of contributors," added Shaw.
A prime example of the bounce-back win was junior QB Brilynn Belles, who threw four interceptions in Thursday's 46-12 loss to Owego. Belles completed 34 of 44 pass attempts for a school-record 338 yards and a school-record six TDs, with just one interception.
"I thought Brilynn (Belles) threw the ball really well today," said Shaw. "Again, I'm proud of her for 'doing hard better' as Thursday night was a tough night for her.
"I could not be more proud of the way she responded," noted Shaw. "I also thought our wide receivers played well.
"I would also like to point out Maci Wheeler stepping up and playing center with not much practice," added Shaw. "I think she has done an admirable job all week."
Senior Addison Westbrook hauled in a school-record 13 receptions for a school-record 140 yards, while junior Avalynn Boots had seven grabs for 42 yards and one TD, freshman Maci Wheeler had five catches for 51 yards and one TD, senior Brinn Cooney had four receptions for 51 yards and two TDs, and senior Leah Cole had four catches for 49 yards.
Belles also had a 19-yard reception from Westbrook.
The Wolverines opened the game with a five-play scoring drive, capped by a 46-yard scoring strike from Belles to Westbrook.
Westbrook connected with Belles for the conversion to make it 7-0 just three minutes into the game.
Greene drove down field but sophomore Lecksie Douglas came up with an interception in the red zone to end the threat.
The Wolverines suffered the same fate, driving deep into Greene territory only to throw an interception.
Kenley Jenks busted off a long run for the Trojans, but Douglas made a diving pull of a flag in the open field to save the TD.
Four plays later on fourth-and-goal inside the Waverly 1, junior Mira Kittle blitzed and sacked Audra Doll for a 5-yard loss to end the threat.
"We had multiple times where girls did not give up and pulled flags 50 yards down field," said Shaw. "We talk about the other team not being in (the end zone) until they are in.
"On the one drive, we had a beautiful flag-pull sack because of it, which was a big momentum boost for us," added Shaw.
Belles went to work and completed six passes in a row during the possession, which culminated with Belles connecting with Cooney on a 5-yard TD with 7:04 remaining in the first half to make it 13-0.
A 60-yard halfback-option pass on Greene's next possession set up a 6-yard TD run by Doll with 2:15 left in the half to close the gap to 13-6.
Belles again went to work, connecting on connecting on consecutive passes to Cole, then Wheeler and Westbrook, before finding Cooney opened down the middle of the field for a 15-yard TD with 16 seconds left in the half to make it 19-6.
Waverly got a defensive stop to start the second half, then Belles capped a scoring drive with a 12-yard TD pass to Westbrook to make it 25-6 with 19:21 left in the game.
With 8:42 remaining, Belles hit Boots for a 7-yard TD. Kittle's run for conversion made it 32-6.
Two minutes later, Belles capped the scoring with an 8-yard TD pass to Wheeler.
Kittle, who had one catch for 5 yards, led Waverly's ground game with 34 yards on six carries, and 8th-grader Gianna Rylott added 27 yards on one carry.
Kittle led Waverly with seven flag-pulls and one QB sack, while Douglas had five tackles, and Cheyenne Dorsey and Westbrook each had four.
Junior Emma Vanderhoof and Douglas each had an interception and a pass break-up, and Rylott, Westbrook, and Ashlynn Dragoo each had one interception.
Waverly, now 4-3, returns to action Saturday at Chenango Forks.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Addison Westbrook congratulates Brinn Cooney after her second TD of the game. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Addison Westbrook hauls in her first TD catch of the game. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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