SECTION IV FOOTBALL: TIOGA DOMINATES SVEC, 36-7, TO LOCK UP TOP SEED IN CLASS D PLAYOFFS (24 PHOTOS) (2025-10-31)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportTIOGA CENTER — Tioga turned in a strong all-around effort, and it all started in the trenches for the Tigers, who locked up a top seed in the Class D playoffs with a 36-7 win over SVEC here Friday night in Section IV, Division VII football action at Haggerty Field.
The Tigers, now 8-1 and winners of eight in a row, will square off with Deposit-Hancock Saturday in the Class D semifinals.
"It's a great feeling," said Tioga coach "The last four weeks were division games, and the motivation to win those games was strong.
"We didn't want to just make playoffs, we wanted the number one seed.
"We felt we could make playoffs if we beat Trumansburg, so we beat them," noted Aiello. "We felt we were in, and then we knew that SVEC would be for the number one seed, and we beat them.
"So again, as a coach, you get really proud of 16- and 17-year-olds out there doing what they do," Aiello added.
Aiello said his team had an odd, but very good week of practice.
"It was just a really weird week of practice, but when we were at practice, it was good.
"I mean, we had guys missing because of sickness, and our kicker wasn't here all week," said Aiello. "We also had a couple guys get hurt during the week, so it was very stressful in terms of that, but I felt like when we were at practice, we were focused and these guys really wanted that win.
"I feel we were just very, very well-prepared and it showed tonight," Aiello added.
The Tigers pounded out 343 rushing yards on 37 carries, including 13 carries of 10 yards or more. Aiello agreed it all started up front with his offensive line.
"Our line is pretty young," said Aiello. "There's only one senior, and he's at center, but some of those guys played quite a bit last year, and this is their ninth game this year.
"If you go all the way back to the Windsor preseason game and remember how bad we were blocking in that game, and look at how well we're doing that stuff now ... it's kudos to coach (Adam) MaCauley for coaching the line up, and it's kudos to those guys who are just continuing to work," added Aiello.
The Tigers also had seven different backs registered a carry of 10 or more yards, and had six backs rush for at least 25 yards.
"Why not spread it around," said Aiello. "I mean, we have the guys, it's just a good mix.
"It makes it fun on Saturdays and Sundays when you're watching film and you're seeing where you can attack certain defenses with certain personnel, and be able to utilize our skill set.
"It's a lot of fun as a coach," added Aiello. "When you spread it around that much to have that many guys execute and run the ball the way they do is fun to watch."
The Eagles entered the contest averaging nearly 37 points per game this season.
"I didn't think we were as fast as them, but I thought we were going to be fast enough to be able to contain them," said Aiello. "But you still never know, you saw what (Logan Aman) can do on the play when they scored, and that's what kept me up at night.
"But again, it just goes back to weeks of practice," noted Aiello. "A lot of these guys, it's their 20th game if you're going all the way back to last year. We have a lot of experience on the field, and I felt that as the regular season went on, they started to say, 'OK game plans matter, details matter,' and as they won big games and gained confidence, they started to focus up more and more.
"I think that's what we saw tonight here in the final regular-season game," added Aiello.
SVEC opened the game with the ball, and the Tioga defense forced a three-and-out punt.
The Tigers took over at its 20 after the SVEC punt rolled into the end zone, and proceeded to march 80 yards on seven plays to take the early lead.
The big plays on the drive were runs of 19 yards by senior Logan Bellis, and 17 yards by junior Max Stauder, and a 23-yard pass from junior Jackson Bombard to senior Dominic Palmer.
Stauder capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run with 8:12 remaining in the first quarter. Bellis tacked on the conversion to give the Tigers an 8-0 lead.
SVEC took the ensuing kickoff and marched to the Tioga 11, but senior Kadin Cole dropped Eagle QB Jakobe Foster for a 2-yard loss on third-and-3, and Foster's fourth-down pass fell incomplete to turn the ball over on downs. The possession took nearly eight minutes off the game clock.
The Tigers marched 87 yards on 13 plays, overcoming a 15-yard personal foul penalty, to up its lead.
The drive featured runs of 8, 11, 19, 13, 18, and 6 yards by Bellis, and an 18-yard run by Bombard on fourth-and-3 at the SVEC 20.
Bellis capped the 6-minute, 22-second drive with a 2-yard TD run to make it 14-0 with 5:59 remaining in the first half.
SVEC answered with a six-play, 72-yard scoring drive that Logan Aman finished off with a 38-yard TD run with 3:01 remaining in the half.
The teams exchange interceptions on the next two possession, and the game went to half with Tioga leading 14-7.
Cole returned the second-half kickoff to the Tioga 49, and the Tigers needed just three plays to find paydirt, with senior Jayden Duncanson breaking loose on a 41-yard TD run with 10:32 remaining in the third quarter. Bellis tacked on the conversion to make it 22-7.
The Eagles converted a fourth-down with a fake punt on its next possession, but four plays later, Duncanson stopped Aman short of a first-down on a fourth-and-2 carry to give the Tigers the ball at its 38.
Stauder busted off a 27-yard run on Tioga's second play, and Bombard added a 13-yard run two plays later to move the ball to the SVEC 15.
Five plays later, Stauder bulled in from 1 yard out to extend the lead to 28-7 with 1:06 left in the game.
After returning the ensuing kickoff to midfield, SVEC quickly faced a fourth-and-8 at the Tioga 48, and Cole picked off his second pass of the game, and returned it 32 yards to the SVEC 41.
Two plays later, Palmer broke free on a 36-yard TD run with 11:07 remaining in the game. Bombard added the conversion to make it 36-7.
SVEC's next possession ended on an interception by Duncanson, and Tioga chewed up six minutes of game time with a drive that stalled on downs in the SVEC red zone.
The Eagles moved the ball to near midfield, but a jarring hit by Cam Ross forced a fumble that Conner Streeter pounced on in the final minute of the game.
Bellis led Tioga with 119 yards and one TD on 13 carries, while Duncanson had 59 yards and one TD on three carries, Stauder had 56 yards and one TD on nine carries, Cole had 37 yards on three carries, Palmer added 36 yards and one TD on one carry, and Bombard chipped in with 25 yards on three carries.
Bombard also completed 3 of 8 passes for 62 yards and one interception. Palmer had two catches for 45 yards, and Stauder added one catch for 17 yards.
Aman led SVEC's ground game, which tallied 214 yards on 38 carries, with 103 yards and one TD on 20 carries, Foster had 35 yards on seven carries, and Charlie Hilbert added 25 yards on seven carries.
Foster was 0-for-9 with three interceptions through the air.
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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Dominic Palmer. IN TOP PHOTO: Tioga's Logan Bellis. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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