SECTION IV FOOTBALL: BOMBARD LEADS TIOGA RALLY IN 12-7 WIN OVER SCHUYLER; TIGERS ADVANCE TO NINTH STRAIGHT CLASS D TITLE GAME (24 PHOTOS) (November 7, 2026)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ENDICOTT — With the season on the line, one of Tioga's smallest players — senior QB Jackson Bombard — put his team on his back and lifted it to a come-from-behind, 12-7, win over Schuyler here Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Section IV, Class D playoffs.

The Tigers, now 8-2, advance to their ninth consecutive Section IV championship game next Friday night at Chenango Valley when they take on top-seeded Delhi. Game time is 8 p.m.

In Tioga's two fourth-quarter scoring drives, Bombard ran the ball six times for 56 yards and two TDs, and was 3-for-3 for 44 yards through the air.

"Coach told me at halftime, Max (Stauder) was a little banged up, and that it was on me," said Bombard. "I said, 'hell yeah, I'm going to carry this team. I got this.'

"We've worked way too hard for this season to be cut short," noted Bombard. "Everybody deserves every bit of this. 

"We came out a little flat, but we balled out, and the seniors really stepped up," added Bombard. "(When Schuyler scored) it really hit us that this could be our last quarter and we didn't want it to be."

"When the going gets tough, you lean on your stars and he's our guy," said first-year Tioga coach Jake Howland of Bombard. "We knew we could trust him. 

"We found a couple plays with Jack that were working," noted Howland. "If it's working, keep doing it, and that's what we did. 

"(Bombard) is a gamer. He's one of our best runners, and he has amazing vision," added Howland. "I knew if we were putting the ball in his hands, he'd at least give me the 3 yards at a time that I needed, and it worked out."

Despite not playing its best game, Howland said his team came up big in the game's biggest moments.

"The guys understanding this is a war and you've got to win the battles of a war.

 
"I'm proud of the guys for how they played and if they don't understand that football is a four-quarter game after this, then I can't help them. 

"They've had so many gut-check times and games like this," added Howland. "Thankfully, we keep coming out on top, but we have to keep getting better and that's going to be the message."

Tioga entered the game scoring 42.4 points per game during its seven-game win streak, but poor field position, turnovers, and an inspired Schuyler defense held them scoreless through three quarters.

Tioga's three possessions in the first half started at its own 6, 20, and 8.

The first two of the second half weren't any better with the Tigers taking possession of the ball at their own 28 and 8.

"We were on the long field the entire game," said Howland. "We moved the ball most of the game, just made some costly mistakes."

Schuyler opened the game with the ball, and marched from its 23 to the Tioga 6 on 14 plays before coming up a yard short at Tioga's 6 on fourth down in a drive that chewed up more than six minutes of the game clock.

The Tigers answered with a 16-play possession that consumed the final 5:50 of the opening stanza and the first 4:10 of the second quarter. The 10-minute possession ended on downs at the Storm 41.

After forcing Schuyler to punt on a three-and-out, Tioga took over at its 20, and quickly moved into Storm territory on runs of 23 and 19 yards by senior Max Stauder, sandwiched around a 4-yard run by senior Shane Platukis.

With a first down at the Storm 34, Tioga coughed the ball up at the 27.

The Storm ripped off a pair of first downs, but Bombard picked off a deep throw at the Schuyler 8 with 2:05 left in the half.

Thanks to a 10-yard run by Bombard, and a one-handed grab by freshman Carson LaBour for a 22-yard gain, Tioga moved the bal to midfield, but time expired after Bombard's 10-yard completion to freshman Jonah Palmer at the Storm 36.

Tioga opened the second half with the ball, but exchanged three-and-out punts with Schuyler, and started its second possession of the second half at its own 8.

With Stauder doing most of the work (10 carries for 39 yards), Tioga moved the ball into Schuyler territory, but on the 14th play of the possession, Bombard was sacked while scrambling and coughed up the ball at the Storm 47 with 9 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The only other time all season the Tigers were held scoreless into the fourth quarter was in Week 2's loss to Chenango Forks, the state's top-ranked team in Class C.

"I felt like we came out flat," said Howland. "I'm not sure what it was. We don't like to make excuses, but maybe it was because it's a Saturday game, or maybe because it was a 3 o'clock game. 

"I don't care about any of that, though," he noted. "We didn't play our best game, but thankfully, we did enough in four quarters to get the victory."

Schuyler put together a seven-play, 53-yard scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead with 9:08 remaining in the contest.

The Storm nearly came up with a pooch kick on the ensuing kickoff, but couldn't control the loose ball, and the Tigers took over at their own 29.

Bombard ripped off runs of 7 yards, sandwiched around a 7-yard pass to junior Josh Rought to move the ball to midfield.

After an 11-yard run, Bombard connected with a leaping LaBour for a 35-yard completion to the Storm 3.

Two plays later, Bombard followed his blockers into the end zone for a 3-yard TD run with 5:25 remaining in the game. Bombard's pass on the conversion fell incomplete and the Tigers still trailed, at 7-6.

Bombard's ensuing pooch kick was placed perfectly over the head of the Storm line at midfield, and LaBour pounced on the loose ball at the Schuyler 34.

Howland said the onside kick was a gamble with 5:25 remaining. 

"Little things can win you big games; that's always been the message," he said. "If it doesn't work, you're a fool as a coach, but I guess since it worked ...

"It's little things like that, though, when you practice those every single day ... it's nice to be able to do it in a game and execute it like you do in practice," added Howland.

Three plays later, on third-and-five, Bombard broke loose on a 29-yard TD run with 3:49 remaining in the game to give the Tigers a 12-7 lead.

The Storm refused to yield, however, hitting on a 27-yard pass on third-and-seven to move the ball to the Tioga 35.

Three plays later, again on third-and-seven, Schuyler went deep, but LaBour made a leaping one-handed grab for an interception as he was falling to his back at the Storm 6 — marking the fourth time the Tigers started a possession inside their own 10-yard-line.

"They were marching the ball in that final drive, and what a play by Carson LaBour," said Howland. "That was another example of one of our players clutching up and being a star. 

"I'm thankful for that, and I'm thankful for everybody else around him for not giving up and just keeping the hammer down until the clock read zero," added Howland. 

Platukis, Tioga's third-down workhorse throughout the game, ripped off a 13-yard run for a first down on Tioga's first play, then three plays later, on third-and-3, barreled through the line for 6 yards to seal the victory.

Bombard tipped his cap to the Storm, who the Tigers beat 43-12 earlier in the season.

"They played their tails off," he said. "I can tell they prepared like crazy for us. 

"They came out, kind of flipped their whole identity," noted Bombard. "The first time we played them, they ran that double-T and just tried to jam it down our throats, but our line played great. 


"We have great coaches, though," added Bombard. "We made a ton of adjustments, and we executed; and that's what it's all about."

Bombard said the Tigers expected a tough game from the Storm.

"We know playoff football, everybody's good at every aspect at this point in the season," he said. "I mean, their special teams was good, and pinned us deep a couple of times.

"Defensively, we had that bend don't break mentality," noted Bombard. "They kept driving on us, but we stepped up when it mattered.

"On offense, we went on some long drives, but couldn't really sustain them until the second half," he added. "When it mattered most, we executed."

The Tigers racked up 341 yards in total offense, including 265 on the ground, while the Storm had 194 total yards — 97 rushing and 97 passing.

Stauder led Tioga's ground game with 128 yards on 26 carries, while Bombard had 80 yards and two TDs on 12 carries, and Platukis added 57 yards on 12 carries.

Bombard completed 5 of 11 passes for 76 yards, with LaBour leading the receivers with three grabs for 59 yards.

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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Jackson Bombard. IN TOP PHOTO: Tioga's Carson LaBour hauls in a pass inside the Storm 10. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.

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