By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Senior Brilynn Belles accounted for five TDs to lead Waverly to a 31-7 win over Chenango Valley here Wednesday evening in the semifinals of the Section IV, Class C flag football playoffs.
Waverly will travel to Susquehanna Valley Saturday at 2 p.m. for the Class C championship.
"I am just really happy for the girls and proud of them," said Waverly coach David Shaw. "I'm excited for the girls to have an opportunity to play for a sectional championship against a really great Susquehanna Valley team.
"We will have to work hard the next two days to prepare," he added.
The Wolverines took the opening kickoff and marched the length of the field in a drive that consumed more than six minutes off the game clock.
The drive, which featured a pair of fourth-down conversions, was capped by a 16-yard TD pass from Belles to sophomore Lauryn Welles, who hauled in the pass in the front corner of the end zone, to put Waverly up 6-0.
The Wolverines caught a break on CV's first possession when an inadvertent whistle nullified a Warrior TD. The Waverly defense then held on downs.
Belles directed the Wolverines down field again, finishing off the drive with a 5-yard TD pass to senior Avalynn Boots to make it 12-0 with 10:39 remaining in the first half.
CV's next possession ended quickly with a punt that junior Makenzie Olmsted returned 34 yards to the Warrior 20.
Waverly's drive fizzled after a penalty, and CV took over on downs at its 16.
The Wolverines used all their timeouts and forced a CV punt, taking over at midfield following a short punt.
With 1:01 remaining in the first half, Boots made a nice running catch for a 19-yard TD pass from Belles to make it 18-0.
On its ensuing possession, CV put together an impressive drive, and scored on the final play of the first half to close the gap to 18-7.
After a defensive stop to start the second half, Waverly, with lengthy completions to senior Mira Kittle and Welles, drove deep into CV territory, and Belles finished off the drive with a 4-yard TD run with 7:32 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 24-7.
Belles tacked on another TD with another 4-yard scoring run with 3:02 remaining in the contest. Belles' pass to Olmsted for the conversion provided the final margin.
Belles completed 23 of 41 pass attempts for 204 Yards, and three TDs. She also had a team-high 36 rushing yards and two TDs on just four carries.
Olmsted led Waverly with nine receptions for 80 yards, while Kittle, who also had four carries for 24 yards, had five grabs for 38 yards, and Welles had three catches for 37 yards and one TD.
Boots had three receptions for 29 yards, and two TDs, and sophomore Maci Wheeler added three catches for 20 yards.
Kittle led Waverly with eight flag pulls, while 8th-grader Meeya Wheeler had six pulls and one QB sack, and Welles had five pulls, including one tackle-for-loss, one QB sack, two pass deflections and one interception.
Senior Claire Clonch had five flag pulls, while junior Claire Clemons chipped in with three pulls, and Olmsted added three pulls and one interception.
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IN PHOTO: Waverly's Mira Kittle. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Brilynn Belles. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
