SECTION IV FOOTBALL: BELLIS CARRIES TIOGA TO 24-8 WIN OVER TRUMANSBURG IN KEY DIVISIONAL BATTLE (24 PHOTOS) (2025-10-17)

Valley Sports Report
TRUMANSBURG — One of the smallest guys on the field, senior Logan Bellis, was an old-time workhorse running back for Tioga here Friday night in its 24-8 win over Trumansburg in Section IV, Division VII football action.

The Tioga ground game was a flashback to the days of Coach Jim Haggerty as the team ran for 403 yards and only attempted two passes.

"We knew (T-Burg) was going to load the box on us," said Tioga coach Nick Aiello. "I thought our offensive line needed to play well, and it did, which allowed us to move the ball.

"We were able to hunker down and run the plays we wanted to, and talk the guys through some blocking adjustments.

"It was a good all-around effort, and a good quality win," added Aiello. "I felt we played really tough and physical tonight — probably the most physical we've played in two years and it really showed by the end of the game."

Bellis, at 5-7 and 132 pounds, looked like and old-time Tioga workhorse running back, carrying the ball 30 times for 279 yards and one TD.

"It wasn't necessarily the game play to give Logan 30 carries," said Aiello. "We've had a great mix going, and we wanted to keep that going, but what they were giving us really benefitted Logan tonight.

"Logan is the type of runner that the more carries he gets in a game, the more he starts seeing the cut," noted Aiello. 

"He's a tough kid," added Aiello. "He was running real hard at the end of the game, and was starting to make some really, really good cuts with the plays we were running. He had a great night for us."

The Tiger defense held the high-octane Blue Raider offense that was averaging nearly 33 points per game to just one score.

"Their QB is good, and they have some big athletes," said Aiello. "They are a lot bigger than we are.

"I thought we played really well on defense. I thought we covered against their pass really well.

"We knew going in they were capable of getting big chunk plays because they've done that to everybody," noted Aiello. "We went in with the mentality to have a short memory and not let those plays bother us.

"They hit the long pass to set up their only score, but we played some good defense after that," he added.

Aiello noted his offense was also part of their defense.

"We were able to go on some long drives, and punch it in the end zone twice on those long drive. We played a little keep-away," he said. "It was a good all-around night in terms of execution."

Trumansburg opened the game with the ball, and drove to the Tioga 25 before turning the ball over on downs.

Tioga quickly moved the ball into Blue Raider territory, thanks to runs of 18 and 24 yards by Bellis, but a penalty put the Tigers behind the chains and forced them to the air.

A Trumansburg interception stopped the Tioga drive, and gave the Blue Raiders the ball at their own 6.

Trumansburg hit on a pair of big pass plays, and marched into Tioga territory, but senior Kadin Cole came up with an interception of a Vinny King pass at the Tioga 5 and returned it 30 yards on the final play of the opening stanza.

Junior fullback Max Stauder had runs of 6 and 12 yards to start the drive, but Tioga ended up in a 4th-and-2 at its 35.

An illegal procedure call made it 4th-and-7, and Tioga went to the air, but junior QB Jackson Bombard was sacked for an apparent turnover on downs.

However, a face mask call against T-Burg gave the Tigers new life, and a first down at the Blue Raider 25. Four plays later, including a 14-yard run by senior Jayden Duncanson, Stauder plowed in from 4 yards out with 6:09 remaining in the half to put Tioga on the board. Bellis carried in the conversion to make it 8-0.

On its ensuing possession, Trumansburg again moved the ball into Tioga territory, but once again Cole picked off a King pass, giving the Tigers a first down at their 25 with 4:45 remaining in the half.

The Tigers put together a 10-play drive, including a pair of 10-yard runs by Bellis, and Bombard capped it with a 3-yard TD run with 34 seconds remaining in the half. Bellis tacked on the conversion to make it 16-0.

The Tigers were forced to punt on its opening drive of the second half, and Trumansburg put together its only scoring drive of the night.

Vinnie King hit Dallas Thayer in stride for a 52-yard gain, and the Blue Raiders scored on a 14-yard run by Aiden Clarke on the next play. King provided the conversion to close the gap to 16-8 with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter.

Trumansburg forced a turnover on downs at the Tioga 48 on the ensuing possession, but the Tiger defense answered forcing a three-and-out punt. The punt, however, pinned Tioga at its 10.

Runs of 14 yards by Cole and 18 by Stauder helped move the ball to the Tiger 46, and Bellis finished things off with a 54-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Bombard tacked on the conversion to make it 24-8.

On the ensuing possession, the Blue Raiders took advantage of a pair of 15-yard penalties against Tioga 35. They earned a first down at the Tioga 21, but on an incomplete pass, Trumansburg was flagged for a chop block and a dead-ball unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in 30 penalty yards and a second-and-40 at their own 49.

After three incomplete passes, Finnegan Carrubia's 49-yard punt pinned the Tigers at their own 2 with 8:03 remaining in the contest. Twelve plays, and five first downs later, Tioga was in victory formation at the Trumansburg 12, and Bombard took a knee twice to run out the final minute of the game.

Aiello complimented his team on the final possession.

"I was real proud of the boys for executing something we practice quite a bit," he said. "We practice driving when we're pinned deep, and we practiced killing the clock ... I was real proud the kids and how they handled that."

Stauder added 71 yards and one TD on 12 carries, while Duncanson added 20 yards on four carries, and Cole chipped in with 14 yards on one carry.

Tioga, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class D, improves to 6-1 on the season, and is 3-0 in Division VII play, while Trumansburg, ranked 14th in the state is 4-3 overall, and 2-1 in divisional play.

"We're in the driver's seat, but our mentality is we need to win out," said Aiello.

Tioga returns to action Friday when it hosts Greene-Oxford.

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