SECTION IV FOOTBALL: WAVERLY HOLDS OFF U-E, 21-20, IN PENALTY-PLAGUE GAME (24 PHOTOS) (2025-10-04)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ENDICOTT — Waverly fended off a late rally, thanks in large part to a penalty on a successful two-point conversion — one of 38 penalty flags thrown in the contest, to pull out a 21-20 win over Union-Endicott here Saturday afternoon in Section IV football action at Ty Cobb Stadium.

Waverly coach Jason Miller said beating state-ranked U-E (ranked 16th in Class A) on its home field on Homecoming Weekend is a high quality win.

"It's a great feeling," said Miller. "We've played U-E twice and we've beaten them twice, this is a storied program in Section IV.

"And it's Homecoming Weekend, and with the loss of (U-E grad and NFL all-star) Artie Jones, those (U-E) kids were excited to play," noted Miller. "U-E gained a lot of confidence in their three wins, against bigger schools — Elmira, Corning and West Genesee ... we didn't know exactly what we were getting into.

"After the first drive, we knew it was going to be a very physical drive," added Miller.

The Wolverines, ranked fourth in the state in Class B, led 21-7 entering the fourth quarter, but gave up a TD early in the final stanza, and an 87-yard TD pass with 1:47 remaining in the contest to close the gap to 21-20.

On the subsequent two-point conversion attempt, U-E's junior QB Anthony Fiorelli was flushed out of the pocket, kept the play alive for several seconds, then found a receiver in the front of the end zone for an apparent go-ahead conversion.

However, during his scramble U-E was flagged for a block-in-the-back. The 15-yard penalty forced the Tigers to attempt a 29-yard extra point, and the attempt was wide left.

Senior Cooper Robinson recovered the ensuing onside kickoff, and Waverly was able to run out the clock, thanks to the 38th and final penalty flag in the game — a face-mask call against the Tigers — that gave the Wolverines a first down.

U-E was flagged 22 times in the game for 181 yards, while Waverly had seven penalties for 95 yards. There were three occasions where off-setting flags were thrown, and three more penalties were declined.

"I think the second half for us was pretty ugly," said Miller. "One thing we talked about all week was being mentally tougher and disciplined, especially between plays. I don't think we did a great job with that today."

The game started with Waverly dominating the line-of-scrimmage in a 12-play, 58-yard scoring drive that chewed up 6 minutes and 8 seconds of game clock.

Robinson ran the ball six times for 29 yards, including a 1-yard TD run, in the drive, and junior QB Ben Shaw connected with his cousin Hogan Shaw on a pair of 6-yard passes.

"I thought the first drive was a tone-setter," said Miller. "It was a methodical drive ... that drive was what we had practiced all week, just subtle changes in blocking schemes against what they were doing.

"We found some success, it wasn't easy," noted Miller. "There were a lot of 3-, 4-, and 5-yard runs, but to be successful in Class B, that's what we have to do," added Miller.

Three plays after the ensuing kickoff, U-E coughed up the ball at its 40 and Ben Shaw pounced on the loose ball.

The Wolverines couldn't take advantage, however, as three plays later a deflected pass turned into a U-E interception.

The Tigers moved the ball well on its next possession, but three penalties stalled the drive and they punted it away.

After the teams traded two more punts, Waverly took over on the U-E  41, and took advantage of the short field.

On a 9-yard pass from Ben Shaw to senior Ronin Ault, U-E was flagged for a face mask, and an unsportsmanlike conduct to move the ball to Tigers' 13.

The U-E defense stiffened and forced 29-yard field attempt by the Wolverines. The kick was off-the-mark, but the Tigers were penalized for roughing-the-kicker, and Waverly had first-and-goal at the U-E 6.

Ben Shaw scored on the next play to make it 13-0 with 2:31 left in the first half. Hogan Shaw's PAT kick made it 14-0.

U-E started its ensuing possession at its 19, but a pair of penalties moved the ball back to the 5.

A face-mask call against the Wolverines moved the ball back to the 19, and the U-E offense started to find its groove. Fiorelli hit on three passes for 39 yards and also scrambled for 10 yards to move the ball to the Waverly 19 with 33 seconds left in the half.

A holding call moved the ball back to the 29, and a desperation pass into the end zone was intercepted by Waverly's Chase Wheeler in the end zone as time expired to send the Wolverines into the locker room with a 14-0 lead.

U-E's first play of the second half was a 30-yard run by Robert Mabry to the Tiger 47. Two plays later, Waverly was flagged for a horse-collar tackle, as well as unsportsmanlike conduct to move the ball to the Wolverine 23.

From there, U-E overcame a holding call to score on a 2-yard run by Alex Polambaro with 6:52 remaining in the third quarter to close the gap to 14-7.

Waverly answered with a six-play, 74-yard drive to up its lead back to 14 points.

After a 7-yard run by Ben Shaw, Robinson shook loose for an 8-yard gain to 41, and a flag for a late hit moved the ball to the U-E 44.

Four plays later, on fourth-and-3, senior Daltton Davis hauled in a 37-yard TD pass over a U-E defender with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter. Hogan Shaw's PAT kick made it 21-7.

"Daltton (Davis) called for that play," said Miller. "He thought he could get behind the defender ... it's not something we worked on at all this week because (U-E) had been playing extremely soft coverage.

"Daltton made a good inside move to set up the move back outside, and Ben (Shaw) laid it out there for him and he went up and made a play," added Miller. "It was just a great catch, and run into the end zone."

After the teams traded punts, U-E drove 91 yards on 12-play drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters.

The Tigers converted a fourth-and-14 on a 17-yard scramble by Fiorelli, then scored on the next play — a 20-yard run by Chad Eldridge with 9:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Waverly coughed up the ball at its 35.

U-E moved the ball to the Waverly 13, but a false start and a personal foul resulted in a fourth-and-20. The possession ended on downs on a QB sack by senior Troy Beeman and sophomore Jaxon Porter.

Waverly picked up a first down on an offsides call against U-E on third-and-four, but was forced to punt three plays later, and Hogan Shaw's 42-yard punt pinned the Tigers at their 13.

On U-E's first play, Waverly junior Justin Keough hauled in a deflected pass for an apparent game-sealing interception, but offsetting penalties gave the ball back to U-E, and the Tigers took advantage with an 87-yard catch-and-run TD pass from Fiorelli to Larkin Bianco to make it 21-20, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.

U-E outgunned Waverly 415 to 180 yards in the contest.

Waverly rushed for 123 yards on 36 carries, led by Robinson, who had 66 yards and one TD on 16 carries, and Ben Shaw, who had 49 yards and one TD on 11 carries.

Ben Shaw completed 6 of 10 passes for 57 yards, one TD and one interception. Hogan Shaw led Waverly's receivers with 3 catches for 11 yards.

Fiorelli completed 9 of 17 passes for 188 yards, one TD and one interception. He also rushed for 63 yards on 12 carries.

"All things considered, I thought we played pretty well defensively," said Miller, who noted one of the overlooked heroes in the game was junior Chase Wheeler.

"Chase Wheeler did an outstanding job on open-field tackles of Mabry, which is very difficult to do," noted Miller. "He probably made four TD-saving tackles today in the open field.

"It was just an outstanding job," added Miller. "I'm very proud of him."

Mabry led U-E's ground game with 88 yards on 13 carries, and Blanco had four receptions for 109 yards and one TD.

Waverly, now 5-0, hosts Maine-Endwell (2-2) for its annual Homecoming Game Friday at Memorial Stadium.

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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly QB Ben Shaw. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Daltton Davis hauled in a TD reception. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.




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