By TIM TAYLORValley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Waverly scored on six of its first seven possessions to roll to a 38-12 victory over Greene in Section IV flag football action at Memorial Stadium here Saturday.
Brilynn Belles threw for five touchdowns as the Wolverines built a 38-0 halftime cushion, allowing coach David Shaw to play his reserves in the second half.
“We had a scrimmage, well a week zero game Thursday at Corning, so we had a little bit of live stuff, but I thought we came out and did a really good job of executing in the first half, especially on both sides of the ball,” Shaw said.
In addition to a high-scoring offense, the Wolverines’ veteran line-up was impressive on defense with four interceptions and a trio of sacks on their stat sheet.
“We have a lot of girls back, but we have a lot of girls in different spots than they were last year, so we're still kind of trying to figure it all out,” Shaw said. “We just continue to show up every day and practice and they're working hard and we're getting better.”
Belles’ first TD toss came on a 15-yard pass to Makenzie Olmsted at 7:28 of the first quarter, then the defense recorded three tackles-for-losses to take over on downs at the Greene 18.
A penalty and a pair of runs, the last by Lauryn Welles from 3 yards out with 4:10 to go in the opening period gave Waverly its second TD of the game. Mira Kittle ran for the PAT and a 13-0 lead.
Waverly forced the Trojans to punt on their next possession and Belles’ 1-yard shovel pass to Lizzy Robinson and her PAT throw to Olmsted made it 20-0 with 1:20 left in the first quarter.
Welles came up with an interception on the first play of the second quarter, but a sack, penalty, and two incomplete passes gave the Trojans the ball on downs at the Greene 25. A Gianna Rylott QB sack helped stop the visitors at their own 30.
Three plays later, Belles connected with Welles for a TD. The PAT attempt failed, but the Wolverines’ advantage was 26-0 with 7:34 remaining in the half.
Greene turned the ball over on downs on its next possession and Belles hit Avalynn Boots with a 10-yard TD pass at 4:37. The PAT attempt was unsuccessful.
It didn’t take Waverly long to get back on the scoreboard, however, as the Wolverines’ Divinity Fisher recorded a 7-yard tackle-for-loss on Greene’s first play of the ensuing possession and Sophia Dorsey notched the first of her two picks and returned it to the Trojans’ 7.
Twenty seconds later, Belles hit Olmsted for the duo’s second TD pass, this one a 10-yard connection. The PAT attempt failed, but Waverly’s lead stood at 38-0 with 3:29 left in the half.
Dorsey grabbed her second interception with 49 seconds on the clock and returned it to the Greene 15, but the buzzer sounded with the Wolverines sitting on the two.
Waverly’s depth should be one of its major advantages as it looks to build a team that should challenge for a postseason championship run.
“We're fortunate,” said Shaw. “We have a lot of athletes. We have girls in, in pretty much every spot offensively that we can, that can make things happen, and Peyton (Miller) does a really good job of spreading it around, and that's kind of our goal. If they're trying to take one girl away, we'll throw it to somebody else or we'll pitch it to somebody else.”
The home team was able to give its reserve players plenty of playing time in the second half and although they surrendered a couple of TDs, the players also made some key plays.
Gianna Zieniuk came up with a big stop for no gain at the Waverly 3 on fourth-and-goal on the Trojans’ first possession of the third period.
With nine seconds remaining in the third quarter, Ellie Cole registered the Wolverines’ fourth interception of the game.
Greene’s Camryn Kirchbaum grabbed an interception early in the fourth quarter and the Trojans were finally able to take advantage of Mya Leggett’s height advantage. The 6-foot-1 wide receiver grabbed a 38-yard TD pass from Hailey Butler to get Greene on the scoreboard at 9:07 of the final frame.
Waverly moved the ball 51 yards on seven plays on the next series before turning the ball over on downs at the Greene 15.
Butler accounted for 65 yards on the Trojans’ final drive, rushing for 19 yards on three plays, including a 7-yard TD run with 50 seconds to go, and throwing four times for 46 more to Leggett (2 for 35) and Kirchbaum (2 for 11).
Waverly graduated just four players from the 2025 team which went 8-5 and should be a contender in Section IV Class C this season.
“We’ve got some girls that are younger that are right there and ready. We’ve got seven or eight girls that can play in those four or five positions, so we’ve just got to keep progressing and keep getting better.”
Shaw feels it's important to give the reserves the opportunity to grow and improve.
“It's kinda cool for us because we're trying to build a program,” he said. “We have 30 girls signed up for small fry. We have a modified team. We have a JV team and a varsity team, so we are trying to build a program from the ground up here, and it's always good for the girls that don't get to play as much to get in there and get the taste because there's nothing like the actual fire, being put into the fire.
“I say it all the time. They show up every day and practice and give us a look, and it's nice to get them in there, and I thought they did a good job of competing.
“Obviously, we have stuff to work on, but they were still going against Greene's first team, and we moved the ball some and we stopped them a couple times. I was really happy with them going in there and getting a chance, and the way they competed.”
The Wolverines racked up 257 yards offense to 138 for Greene.
Belles went 9-of-14 for 81 yards through the air with, and Clemens was 1-for-2 for 8 yards.
Olmsted grabbbed five passes for 45 yards and two TDs, and Boots caught two for 19 yards, while Welles (14 yards), Zieniuk (8) and Robinson (3) had one reception each.
Rylott rushed for 41 yards on four carries, Kittle ran five times for 34 yards and Clemens ran for 26 yards on three rushes. Olmsted (18 yards) and Zieniuk (13) ran the pigskin three times apiece, Boots had two carries for 15 yards, and Dorsey, Douglas and Welles added one rush each for 12, six and three yards, respectively.
The Trojans managed just 53 yards offense against the Waverly starters.
Fifteen different Waverly players recorded flag pulls with Clonch and Zieniuk leading the charge with three apiece.
The Wolverines’ next game is Friday at 6 p.m. at Chenango Valley.
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IN PHOTO 1: Avalynn Boots. IN TOP PHOTO: Lauryn Welles (10) with the flag pull. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
