SECTION IV FOOTBALL: TIOGA OPENS AGAINST WINDSOR AT WAVERLY; CLASS D SWELLS TO 12 TEAMS (2025-04-20)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER — Tioga will once again open its season at Waverly as part of a doubleheader, but longtime coach Nick Aiello is happier to see Class D football in Section IV growing again.

The Tigers, who fell short of a 12th Section IV title during Aiello's tenure last fall, will play Windsor on Aug. 30 at Memorial Stadium. The traditional game is normally played during Week Zero, but is bumped a week ahead of normal to Week Double-Zero after New York State allowed games during that week.

"Those games will be some of the first games in New York State," said Waverly coach Jason Miller.

Aiello always looks forward to playing his opener at Memorial Stadium. This year, the Tigers will take on Windsor.

"Playing our opening game in a doubleheader at Waverly is growing into a nice little tradition," he said.

"There's always a big crowd, and it's a good atmosphere for our kids to play in. It's always loud, and a lot of fun to play.

"We were looking for a game with some good competition," added Aiello. "We don't have any bigger schools on our schedule this season, we're playing all D schools, so wanted to play a bigger school."

Class D has grown to 12 schools this year, with Sidney dropping down from Class C, and Greene-Oxford, Groton, and Trumansburg returning to the ranks of 11-man football.

Class D will be broken into two divisions: Division VI is comprised of B-G, D-H, Delhi, Walton, Harpursville, and Sidney. ... Division VII is comprised of Tioga, Greene-Oxford, Groton, Newark Valley, SVEC, and Trumansburg.

"I think the schedule worked out pretty well this year, everyone has a full Class D schedule," said Aiello.

"Eight-man football has been pretty strong in our Section. It's allowed school to keep their own identities, and to keep their football programs alive," he noted. "The fact that several of these programs have built back up to come back to 11-man football is awesome.

"If you look back about 10 years, I think we had 17 or 18 teams playing in Class D," added Aiello. "Last year, we had eight. The fact we have 12 this year, and you see schools coming back to 11-man, I give them a lot of credit. It can't be easy to do."

Aiello believes his 2025 schedule will have them ready for the postseason.

"I like our schedule a lot," he said. "We play some pretty strong crossover games with the other division.

"We open with long road trips to Deposit-Hancock and Delhi right out of the gate, and they were two of the best teams in the other division last year," noted Aiello. "And, we play B-G, who was right on the cusp of making the playoffs, and has a lot back this year.

"Playing those three teams is huge," he added. "They've built strong programs, so it will give us a sense of where we're at as we get toward the end of the season and the playoff picture starts to unfold. We'll have a good idea of where we stand against the other division."

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IN PHOTO: Tioga's Nick Aiello.

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2025 TIOGA FOOTBALL
Aug. 30 ... WEEK 00 ... vs. Windsor @ Waverly
Sept. 6-7 . WEEK  0 ... BYE
Sept. 13 .. WEEK  1 ... at  Deposit-Hancock, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 .. WEEK  2 ... at  Delhi, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 26 .. WEEK  3 ... vs. Newark Valley
Oct.   3 .. WEEK  4 ... vs. Bainbridge-Guilford
Oct.  10 .. WEEK  5 ... at  Groton
Oct.  17 .. WEEK  6 ... at  Trumansburg
Oct.  24 .. WEEK  7 ... vs. Greene-Oxford
Oct.  31 .. WEEK  8 ... vs. SVEC
Nov. 7-8 .. PLAYOFFS .. Class D Semifinals
Nov. 14 ... PLAYOFFS .. Class D Championship

HOME GAMES IN BOLD.

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