By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER — Senior Jake Browne had a record-breaking night to help Tioga seize control of its division title chase with a 56-28 win over highly-ranked Deposit-Hancock here Friday night in Section IV football action at Haggerty Field.
With the win, Tioga, ranked 14th in the state, improves to 5-3, but more importantly moves to 2-0 in Division VII, one game ahead of Deposit-Hancock (7-1) and Bainbridge-Guilford (6-2) — both 1-1 in divisional play.
The Tigers can clinch the division next Friday at B-G, which dropped a 49-14 decision to Deposit-Hancock last week.
"It's a gigantic win," said Tioga coach Nick Aiello. "We knew we had to win to guarantee a playoff spot.
"I can't be more proud of these guys for what they've battled through all season long.
"Section IV threw us a heck of a schedule," noted Aiello. "We lost some guys (to injury), and as a Class D school, we've had to piece it together. That's been the hard part because every week seems like we're starting over and finding new puzzle pieces.
"The biggest thing is, in the back of our mind we knew had to play our best when the games mattered," he said. "Whether that means being a little vanilla, or whether it be saving guys in games you want to win, but you know don't matter on paper.
"With that plan in mind, I told the guys all week long 'we need this win, it's a brand-new season for us,'" continued Aiello. "They came out and executed perfectly for what we had on the field — we had a third-string quarterback who did everything perfect for us ... and we had a JV kid at fullback.
"We were moving guys around on offense just trying to find blockers, but we pieced it together, took on a 7-0 team, and played very well," added Aiello.
Browne ran the ball 32 times for 421 yards, and eight TDs — both school records.
"I got some amazing blocking tonight," said Browne.
"I wanted to run the ball hard tonight, and show everyone how good of a running back I am — make a name for myself," he added.
Browne ran for 271 yards, and five TDs in the first half alone.
"He's another kid we've been trying to get healthy physically," said Aiello. "We've been saving him, and trying not to get him beat up, especially against the great teams we've faced, and this is why: We know what he's capable of when we get on an even playing field."
Aiello believes this is just the tip of the iceberg for Browne.
"I know he's a senior, but he hasn't played football since he was a freshman. He's just needed to get some games under his belt ... he's a physical specimen, and he's a tough kid.
"He's a smart kid, too, and he's learning how to be patient," said Aiello. "When the hole is there, he can hit it, and he's tough to bring down."
With senior Lukas Nichols, who had never taken a snap at QB until last week, at the helm, the Tigers did not throw a pass in the contest, but ran the ball 56 times for 559 yards.
Aiello said his offensive line played its best game of the year.
"We thought coming into this game, especially after playing against Waverly's line last week, that we could have a good night up front.
"I've been waiting for our line to do that all season, and they did it at the right time," said Aiello.
The Eagles, ranked 5th in the state, entered the contest averaging 50.1 points per game.
"We know they can score fast," said Aiello. "We have seven of their games on film, and only saw them punt twice. We knew they could score fast, and at will.
"We just told the guys if you can get a few stops, we can win the game," added Aiello. "We thought it would be a shootout, similar to (D-H's) win over Lansing (55-54), but we were able to get more stops than anticipated."
Browne said he and his teammates knew what Deposit-Hancock had accomplished coming into the game.
"I think we were a little worried, they were 7-0," he said. "I think we had some doubts, but we played our game, and it worked out well.
"We need to keep playing like we did tonight," added Browne.
Tioga took the opening kickoff, and needed just three plays to find the end zone.
After an 8-yard run by Browne on the first play from scrimmage, the bruising senior tailback ripped off a 58-yard run to the D-H 2.
He capped the drive on the next play, and junior James Miller split the uprights with his first of eight PATs on the night to make it 7-0 just 79 seconds into the contest.
The Eagles answered with a five-play, 51-yard scoring drive, but missed the extra point, and trailed 7-6 with 9:09 remaining in the first quarter.
The Tigers took the ensuing kickoff and marched 12 plays in a drive that chewed up more than 8 minutes of game clock.
The drive featured a 14-yard run by Nichols, and three carries for 16 yards by junior Logan Bellis. Browne capped the drive with a 22-yard TD run with 1:02 remaining in the first quarter. Miller's kick made it 14-7.
The Eagles, who picked up a fourth-and-five on a 30-yard pass from Blake Fortunato to Greyson Thomas, answered with a four-play scoring drive that bridged the first two quarters to tie the game.
On the play following the fourth-down conversion, Fortunato connected with Tyler Persbacker on a 29-yard TD pass. Fortunato, who is also the place-kicker, found Noah Bass on a fake-PAT pass, for the two-point conversion to make it 14-14 with 11:25 remaining in the half.
Tioga's next possession was a seven-play, 60-yard drive that included a 13-yard run by Gage Hopkins and a 10-yard run by Bellis. Browne, who also ripped off a 23-yard run, capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run. Miller's kick made it 21-14 with 8:22 left in the half.
Junior Gavin Albrecht knocked down a second-down pass to force a third-and-seven on D-H's next possession, and Fortunato's third-down deep ball fell incomplete.
A short punt gave the Tigers the ball at the Eagle 47, and on their second play, Browne busted loose on a 46-yard TD run. Miller's kick made it 28-14 with 6:44 remaining in the half.
After a D-H three-and-out and a good punt, Tioga took over at its 17.
Browne quickly moved the ball across midfield with a 44-yard run on the second play of the possession, and added a 15-yard run to the D-H 25-yard line a couple plays later.
Bellis added a 12-yard run moments later, and Browne scored from 2 yards out a few plays later — with 15.3 seconds remaining in the half — to cap the 10-play, 83-yard drive. Miller's kick made it 35-14 at the half.
It got worse for the Eagles quickly at the outset of the second half.
After a D-H fumble on the first play after the intermission, Browne ripped off a 40-yard TD run on the second play of the half. Miller's PAT kick made it 42-14 just 24 seconds into the third quarter.
Two plays and 50 seconds later, though, Lucas Barnes broke loose up the middle on a 67-yard TD run for the Eagles. Fortunato's PAT kick closed the gap to 42-21.
The Tigers answered quickly again, however, covering 70 yards in five plays to make it 49-21.
Browne, who had a 50-yard run in the drive, scored on a 4-yard TD run with 8:06 left in the third quarter.
After D-H turned the ball over on downs at its 43 with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter, the Tigers put together a nine-play drive, culminating with a 2-yard TD run by Browne with 10:48 remaining in the contest. Miller's kick made it 56-21.
The Eagles tacked on a TD — a 21-yard pass from Fortunato to Alejandro Garcia — with 5:28 remaining in the contest to provide the final margin.
Junior Connor Streeter added 53 rushing yards on three carries for the Tigers, while Bellis had 52 yards on 12 carries, and Nichols had 21 yards on three carries.
Fortunato completed 7 of 15 passes for 151 yards and three TDs in the loss, and Barnes rushed for 104 yards and one TD on nine carries.
Tioga wraps up the regular season Friday at Bainbridge-Guilford.
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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Jake Browne. IN TOP PHOTO: Tioga's Jake Browne. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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TIOGA 56, D-H 28
D-H 6- 8- 7-7 = 28
TIOGA 14-21-14-7 = 56
FIRST QUARTER
T - Jake Browne 2 run (James Miller kick), 10:41
D - Brody Matthews 6 pass from Blake Fortunato (Kick fails), 9:09
T- Browne 22 run (Miller kick), 1:02.
SECOND QUARTER
D - Tyler Persbacker 29 pass from Fortunato (Noah Bass from Fortunato), 11:25
T- Browne 3 run (Miller kick), 8:22
T- Browne 46 run (Miller kick), 6:44
T- Browne 2 run (Miller kick), :15.3
THIRD QUARTER
T- Browne 40 run (Miller kick), 11:36
D- Lucas Barnes 67 run (Fortunato kick), 10:46
T - Browne 4 run, (Miller kick) 8:06
FOURTH QUARTER
T- Browne 2 run (Miller kick), 10:48
D- Alejandro Garcia 21 pass from Fortunato (Fortunato kick), 5:28
Individual Stats
TIOGA RUSHING
Browne 32-421-8; Connor Streeter 3-53, Logan Bellis 12-52, Lukas Nichols 3-21, Gage Hopkins 2-13; Stauder 1-4, Team 3 (-5). TOTAL: 56-559.
D-H PASSING
FOrtunato 7-15-151-3-0
D-H RUSHING
Barnes 9-104-1, Bass 8-19, Fortunato 6-11, Connor Mills 1-2. TOTAL: 24-136-1.
D-H RECEIVING
Matthews 2-40-1, Greyson Thomas 2-52, Persbacker 2-38-1, Garcia 1-21-1
