SECTION IV FOOTBALL: WAVERLY EARNS 'SIGNATURE WIN' WITH COME-FROM-BEHIND, 28-20, VICTORY OVER MAINE-ENDWELL (24 PHOTOS) (2025-10-10)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Junior QB Ben Shaw connected with senior Daltton Davis for a 21-yard TD pass in the final minute of the game to lift Waverly to a 28-20 win over Maine-Endwell here Friday night in a key Section IV, Division III football game at Memorial Stadium.

"I'm just ecstatic, especially with the way we won," said longtime Waverly coach Jason Miller. "It's a signature win for us, but we need to stay grounded.

"This is the kind of game we expected," noted Miller. "(Maine-Endwell) is such a well-coached team, and they're always able to prepare week-to-week.

I thought it was a well-played, clean game. Guys just got back into the huddle and went after each other again on both sides of the ball ... I have a lot of respect for them.

"It's a proud moment for our program and out community, but there's a lot of work to be done," added Miller.

With the win Waverly, ranked fourth in the state in Class B, improves to 6-0, and has a 3-0 mark in Division III play. Maine-Endwell and Owego are both 1-1 in divisional play.

The Wolverines travel to Owego Saturday afternoon to wrap up divisional play, and can clinch the top seed in the upcoming Section IV playoffs.

"Tonight a divisional win, it's not a sectional championship, but it gets us one step closer to what we really want to do," said Miller.

"And, we basically confirmed today that we'll have at least one home playoff game," he noted. "We wanted the home-field advantage for the first game, and we were able to accomplish that tonight. 

"We have a huge divisional game next Saturday, and if we win that one, then we'll be the 1-seed," added Miller.

Waverly opened the game with the ball, and drove 62 yards in 10 plays to take the early lead.

The drive featured completions of 16 yards from Ben Shaw to senior Hogan Shaw, and 20 yards to Davis, before Ben Shaw hooked up with junior Justin Koenig on a 9-yard TD pass with 6:40 remaining in the first quarter. Hogan Shaw's PAT kick made it 7-0.

The Spartans answered quickly with a seven-play (all runs), 60-yard drive to close the gap to 7-6.

The scoring drive featured an 18-yard run by Cameron Smallcombe, a 15-yard run by Marco Konrad, and a 13-yard run by Preston Oecker, who finished it off with a 1-yard TD run with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter.

M-E scored the apparent go-ahead two-point conversion, but was flagged for a block-in-the-back. The second attempt came up just a yard short, and Waverly led 7-6.

Following the ensuing kickoff, Waverly was flagged for a hold, then Ben Shaw's pass on first-and-20 was picked off by Joseph Chesna, setting the Spartans up at Waverly's 33.

Two plays later, Smallcombe broke loose on a trap for a 32-yard TD run. The conversion failed, and M-E led 12-7 with 1:54 remaining in the first quarter.

"We didn't do a good job against their trap, that was one play we were very concerned about," said Miller. "We have some young inexperienced tackles, and they hurt us with it."

Waverly's ensuing possession ended on an interception by Max Policare, who returned it 28 yards to the Spartan 48.

Passes of 15 and 19 yards from Oecker to Marco Konrad, and a 16-yard run by Smallcomber quickly moved the ball to the Waverly 3 and set up a first-and-goal.

Ben Shaw blitzed and dropped Oecker for a 5-yard loss on a QB run on first down, then a mishandled shotgun snap resulted in a 4-yard loss, and a false start cost M-E five more yards, and put them in a third-and-goal at the Waverly 17.

Senior Derek Johnson, Ben Shaw, and sophomore Drayton DeKay stopped Oecker for a 6-yard gain on third down, then Ben Shaw and senior Troy Beeman stopped Policare for no gain to force a turnover on downs at the Waverly 11.

The Wolverines ran out the clock and went to the half down 12-7.

Maine-Endwell had 167 yards, including 133 on the ground, in total offense in the first half, while had just 92 (51 passing, 41 rushing).

"They came out in a front we really hadn't prepared much against," said Miller. "I thought the coaches and the kids did a really good job at halftime of adjusting to that, and actually adding some plays, subtle differences in blocking scheme based on that."

Maine-Endwell deferred to start the game, so it had the ball to start the second half. Three plays after the intermission, Ben Shaw stepped in front of a Oecker pass and returned it 31 yards to the M-E 25.

"That was a big play, it really swung the momentum," said Miller.

Runs of 4 yards by Robinson and Ben Shaw, and a 13-yard run by Robinson moved the ball to the Spartan 4. Four plays later, on fourth-and-goal, Ben Shaw scored on a QB run to make it 13-12, which it remained after the extra-point was blocked, with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter.

The Spartans again answered with a quick five-play, 83-yard drive that featured a 45-yard run by Marco Konrad and a 25-yard run by Smallcomber. It was capped by a 12-yard TD pass from Oecker to Policare with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter. Policare's conversion run made it 20-13.

Waverly put together its best drive of the night on the ensuing possession, moving 79 yards on 11 plays in a possession that bridged the final two quarters to tie the game at 20-20.

The Wolverines benefitted from a pair of M-E penalties that quickly moved the ball from the Waverly 21 to the 41.

Two short passes from Ben Shaw to Davis and one to sophomore Chase Wheeler, and runs by Robinson moved the ball to the M-E 34.

Back-to-back 10-yard runs by Ben Shaw gave Waverly a first down at the M-E 14, then Robinson broke a pair of tackles on a 14-yard TD run with 10:43 remaining in the game. Hogan Shaw's PAT kick tied the game at 20-20.

After a good return by Policare set M-E up at its 44 on its ensuing possession, the Spartans moved the ball to the Waverly 31, thanks in large part to an 18-yard pass from Oecker to Policare.

After a false start flag gave M-E a first-and-15, junior Matthias Welles, and Johnson made big stops to put the Spartans in a third-and-13 predicament.

A 10-yard pass from Oecker to Marco Konrad gave M-E a manageable fourth-and-3 at the Waverly 24, but Ben Shaw and a host of teammates dropped Oecker at the line-of-scrimmage to force a turnover on downs with 7:08 remaining in the game.

The Waverly ground game, which got stronger as the game progressed, accounted for a pair of first-downs, including a 2-yard run by Ben Shaw on fourth-and-1 at the Maine-Endwell 21.

Three plays later, on third-and-10, Ben Shaw found Davis, who also caught a 30-yard pass on the drive, two steps behind a defender in the end zone for a 21-yard TD. After a penalty on M-E on the extra-point attempt moved the ball half-the-distance to the goal line, Ben Shaw punched it on the conversion run to make it 28-20 with 28 seconds left in the game.

M-E picked up a pair of first downs, but time expired with the Spartans near midfield.

"I'm just really proud of our men," said Miller. "I thought they really showed toughness throughout the night, but especially in the second half."

Waverly's ground game ended up with 134 yards, including 93 in the second half.

"In the second half, the offensive line did a really good job of picking up (Marco) Konrad when he was blitzing, and it helped us get to the second level even quicker," said Miller.

Ben Shaw completed 12 of 19 passes for 123 yards, two TDs, and two interceptions, and also ran the ball 18 times for 66 yards, and one TD. He also had 15 tackles and one interception on defense.

"(Ben) was just possessed all night long," said Miller. "Before the game he was hyped up, I could tell he was ready to go."

Robinson ran the ball 17 times for 71 yards and one TD.

"There are no easy yards against M-E, and I thought Cooper (Robinson) ran really hard — just great second- and third-effort," said Miller.

Davis led Waverly's receivers with six catches for 89 yards and one TD, and Hogan Shaw had three grabs for 22 yards.

Maine-Endwell finished the game with 225 rushing yards, led by Smallcombe, who had 152 yards and two TDs on 18 carries.

Oecker completed 7 of 11 passes for 96 yards, and Marco Konrad led M-E with three catches for 44 yards.

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