SECTION IV FOOTBALL: TIOGA NOTCHES FIRST WIN OF SEASON; FIRST WIN FOR HOWLAND AS HEAD COACH (24 PHOTOS) (September 19, 2026)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER — Tioga put the game away early, scoring TDs on their first four possession en route to a 35-8 win over Sidney here Saturday night in Section IV, Division VII football action at Haggerty Field.

The win, Tioga's first of the season, is also rookie coach Jake Howland's first career win.

"It feels good to get that first win, but I really feel good for the kids," said Howland. "This is not about me, this is about them, they needed this, and they deserved this. They've worked very hard."

The Tigers entered the contest at 0-2, with those losses against a pair of number-1 state-ranked teams — Class D Delhi and Class C Chenango Forks.

Howland said he saw a lot of improvement from his team this week.

"Those first two losses aren't the end of the world because we played incredible competition, and that set the standard for us," said Howland.

"Since the preseason, we've been stressing the little things," he noted. "These guys understand where they need to be come midseason, and hopefully postseason. 

"I was just telling them how proud I am of them because we have stressed the little things and all the screws that needed to be tightened, things we were pointing on on film," added Howey. "They look great today. I tell them, the scoreboard takes care of itself as long as all 11 are doing their job and I think they saw it tonight."

Tioga won the pre-game coin toss, and deferred to the second half, and ended up kicking off.

The Tigers had the first possession of the game anyway when the Sabers mishandled the opening kickoff, and Tioga freshman Carson LaBour came out of the pile with the ball at the Sidney 34.

Runs of 21 and 10 yards by senior QB Jackson Bombard set up his 3-yard TD run just 80 seconds into the game. After a pair of Sidney penalties left the ball 27 inches from the goal line, Bombard punched it on a two-point conversion to give the Tigers an 8-0 lead.

Howland said the coaching staff saw something on film.

"We saw that they were going to give that to us unless they made adjustments," said Howland. "We liked the look of it, and it seemed to work."

After a Sidney three-and-out on the ensuing possession, the third-down play being an errant shotgun snap that resulted in a 19-yard loss, the Sabers punted from their own end zone, and the Tigers took over at the Sidney 36.

Seniors Shane Platukis and Max Stauder shared the load on an eight-play scoring drive, with Platukis finishing it off with a 3-yard TD run to make it 14-0 with 3:59 left in the first quarter.

After another Sidney three-and-out, Tioga needed just two plays to score from 60 yards out.

Bombard started the drive with a 35-yard completion to junior Josh Rought, and senior Caden Bradley finished it off with a 25-yard TD run with 1:43 remaining in the opening stanza. Bombard's PAT kick made it 21-0.

Sidney picked up its initial first down of the game on its ensuing possession, but ended up punting the ball away four plays later.

Again, Tioga needed just two plays — a 43-yard run by Stauder and a 26-yard TD run by Bradley — to extend its lead to 28-0 with 9:51 remaining in the first half.

Bradley, who was injured in the first quarter of the season-opener against Delhi, only had two carries in the first half, but both were TD runs.

"It was great to have him back, he's such a force no matter where he's at on the field," said Howland. 

"I could see it in his eyes during the pregame, how ready he was to be back and how excited," noted Howland. "And you can see what his impact. He's a playmaker and having him on the field changes everything."

Following the ensuing kickoff, the game went to a running clock.

Sidney picked up three first downs before turning the ball over on downs at the Tioga 33 with 2:15 remaining in the half.

After five plays — including a 17-yard run by Stauder, and a 26-yard pass from Bombard to Stauder — the Tigers had the ball at the Sidney 12.

Bombard's 11-yard run on the next play ended at the Sidney 1-yard line with 5 seconds remaining, but Tioga chose not to call a timeout, and time expired.

Tioga took the second-half kickoff and marched 65 yards on four plays to take a 35-0 lead.

The first play of the drive was a 37-yard pass from Bombard to Rought, and the final play was a 16-yard TD run by Stauder with 9:25 remaining in the third quarter.

Sidney scored its only points of the game on the ensuing possession to provide the final margin with 1:49 remaining in the third quarter.

Despite the shortened game due to running time, Howland was able to play most of his reserves.

"What I'm happy about is getting our, we call them the red caps, our scout team in there," he said. "They deserve to be on the turf just as much as anybody else. They bust their behinds in practice to get our first-stringers ready for games like this. 

"They deserve a lot of credit, too, when they got their time to shine, they did," added Howland. "It was a lot of fun to watch. I'm happy for them."

Bombard was 4-for-4 for 94 yards in the passing game, and also ran five times for 49 yards and one TD.

Stauder led Tioga's ground game, which piled up 254 yards on 29 carries, with 95 yards and one TD on just seven carries, while Bradley had 49 yards and two TDs on three carries, Platukis added 35 yards on seven carries, and sophomore Liamm Comstock chipped in with 19 yards on three carries.

Rought led Tioga with two receptions for 62 yards, and Stauder added two grabs for 32 yards.

Tioga, now 1-2, returns to action Friday when it hosts Trumansburg.

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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Max Stauder. IN TOP PHOTO: Tioga's Jackson Bombard. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.

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