NEW YORK STATE FOOTBALL: TIOGA FACES TUKAHOE — ANOTHER PROGRAM STEEPED IN SUCCESS — IN CLASS D STATE TITLE GAME (December 4, 2025)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportTIOGA CENTER — Tioga is seeking its fourth state title in five years — and fifth overall — Friday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse against a Tuckahoe program that has two state titles, but has not been to a Class D championship game since 2012.
Tuckahoe lost in its first two appearances at the Dome in 1993 and 2004, before winning state titles in 2006 and 2012.
These two programs nearly clashed in 2012. Tioga dropped a 7-6 heartbreaker to Randolph in the state semifinals. The following week Randolph topped Tuckahoe, 28-7, to win its first of three straight state titles.
Tioga won its first state title in 2015, and then won three in a row — 2021-23 — during a 40-game win streak. The Tigers have lost seven times in the state semifinals since 2011, with six of those losses coming to the eventual state champion.
Tioga is 12-1 entering Friday's clash, while Tuckahoe sports a 10-1 mark.
Tioga coach Nick Aiello, who has a 155-28 career record since taking the reigns in 2010, said the Tuckahoe Tigers are battle-tested heading into this year's title tilt.
"They are down state and there aren't a lot of D schools down there, so they play against a lot of bigger schools," said Aiello. "Because of that, when they get to the playoffs and they're playing D schools, they tend to do pretty well.
"This year, their only loss is to the team (Bronxville) Chenango Forks is playing in the Class C I(state championship) game," noted Aiello. "They have a good squad. There's a reason they're in the state championship game."
Aiello said the two teams have traveled a similar path in reaching the Dome.
"They've put together a season pretty similar to ours in grinding out some wins, and also spreading the ball around and playing some good defense," he said.
"I'm expecting a pretty good game Friday," added Aiello.
Tioga advanced to the Dome with a 28-14 win over previously-unbeaten Newfane, while Tuckahoe topped previously-unbeaten Greenwich, 13-7.
"I thought Tuckahoe played really hard (in the semifinals), and were able to capitalize on a few Greenwich turnovers," said Aiello. "Then, they played good defense to hold that 13-point lead.
"Really, it was their defense that won the game for them," added Aiello.
Tuckahoe does have one advantage over Tioga — two extra days to prepare —after Tioga's semi-final game was moved from Friday to Sunday due to lake-effect snows in Syracuse Friday.
"It's such a short turnaround," said Aiello. "I know we played that game against Newfane Sunday, but it feels like a month ago.
"The last three days have been pretty stressful, trying to get the game-plan together, and trying to get the guys freshened up to the point they could practice hard.
"(Wednesday), we had a really good practice," added Aiello. "I though the guys were getting comfortable with the game plan, and it's really setting in that we only have one more practice to get ready for this game."
WHEN TIOGA HAS THE BALLTioga is averaging 31.3 points per game, while Tuckahoe allows 13.9 points.
Tioga is averaging 297.5 yards per game on the ground, and 37.3 yards per game through the air.
Senior Logan Bellis has 2,103 yards and 26 TDs on 221 carries, while junior Max Stauder has 478 yards and 12 TDs on 89 carries, and senior Jayden Duncanson has 364 yards and one TD on 56 carries.
Junior Jackson Bombard has completed 57.4 percent (35 of 61) of his passes for 470 yards and six TDs, with just two interceptions.
Senior Dominic Palmer has been his top target with nine receptions for 188 yards and three TDs, while sophomore Josh Rought has seven grabs for 115 yards, and senior Gavin Albrecht has six catches for 126 yards and one TD.
Aiello said Tuckahoe's base defense is a 3-4.
"Tuckahoe's defense really rests on their three interior defensive linemen, who are really good," he said. "They play both ways, like most of our linemen, but they really tend to set the tone for their defense.
"They seem to have quite a bit of speed and the linebacker and safety spots. And, they seem really comfortable in the different schemes that they use.
"It's pretty typical for games like these, it's going to start up front," added Aiello. "Those three linemen are really good ... a lot of what we do will be dictated by how we handle the pressure from them."
WHEN TUCKAHOE HAS THE BALLTuckahoe averages 31.3 points per game, while Tioga allows 14.4 points per game.
Tuckahoe senior QB Connor Brice is on the verge of a 1,000-yard passing and 1,000-yard rushing season. He has completed 65 percent (67 of 103) of his passes for 920 yards and 12 TDs, with three interceptions, and has run for 965 yards and 11 TDs on 87 carries.
Senior Declan Connolly leads Tuckahoe's rushing attack with 1,188 yards and 18 TDs on 144 carries, and senior Logan Bogetti has 248 yards and three TDs on 33 carries.
Senior Max Reyes is Tuckahoe's top receiver with 24 receptions for 340 yards and four TDs, while senior Tyler Pian has 18 grabs for 194 yards and one TD, and sophomore Jacob Rambalski has 10 catches for 109 yards and one TD.
"Their offense really runs through their quarterback," said Aiello. "It's similar to what we saw last week, but I think this quarterback is a little bit more dynamic because he has a great arm.
"They run some pretty typical shotgun quarterback runs, whether it's counter trey or some type of power and counter action," noted Aiello.
"We're also pretty impressed with their backs ... whether they're running what looks like a split zone or a zone read, their backs can do some damage, so it's not just the quarterback.
"They are shotgun the whole time. I think I've even seen them take a knee from shotgun. I haven't seen them go under-center all year," added Aiello. "And, they're multi-formational."
Aiello said it will come down to executing the game plan and one of the most basic elements of the game — tackling.
"It's really about alignment against them," he said. "From there, it's about playing football.
"He's another big kid at quarterback, so we're going to have to tackle well, tackle low, and get on the legs of these guys," noted Aiello.
"And, I think our defensive line is going to have to build a wall for us, and allow our skill guys to run around, and limit the yards after contact," he added.
SPECIAL TEAMS"The kicking games in these games is big, field-position can be everything," said Aiello.
"I think we're pretty even in special teams," he added.
Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m.
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IN PHOTO: Tioga's Nick Aiello.
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