By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER — Early turnovers and a potent Delhi passing game was too much for defending state champion Tioga to overcome in a season-opening, 41-26, loss here Friday night in Section IV, Class D football action at Haggerty Field.
"We beat ourselves," said first-year Tioga coach Jake Howland. "We made too many mistakes and (Delhi) capitalized on every single one.
"It just wasn't the Tioga team that I've seen since July," noted Howland. "We didn't look like ourselves.
"All credit to Delhi, though," added Howland. "They were super prepared for us. I thought we were prepared for them, but we've got some screws to tighten for sure."
Delhi coach Phil Neumann said his team executed its game plan to perfection.
"I didn't think anybody in the state could beat them," he said. "Monday, we watched film again and I told them we were the only team that could beat them; they just have to believe in themselves.
"I told the kids, we'll score against them. I don't know if can we stop them," noted Neumann. "We have to outscore them like we did two years ago.
"We had some big plays, which I thought we could get. I thought there was a few big plays there, and I thought we would be faster than them," added Neumann. "The kids executed very well. This is a great win."
The Bulldogs amassed 442 yards in total offense, while Tioga piled up 363 yards.
"We pride ourselves on being fast and physical and I'd like to think we were physical, but we sure didn't look fast," said Howland.
"They were fast and running around us and capitalizing on all our mistakes," he noted. "They caught us out of position, and caught us not doing our job.
"It's little things like that in a game of football that will kill you," added Howland.
Delhi opened the game with a 12-play drive, but a bad shotgun snap on fourth down resulted in the 7-minute possession ending on down at the Tioga 34.
The Tigers picked up one first down on the ensuing possession, but fumbled the ball away at the Delhi 48.
The Bulldogs capitalized with a five-play, 52-yard scoring drive, capped by a 13-yard TD pass from Cole Kivell to John Wilson on the first play of the second quarter to take a 7-0 lead.
The Tigers marched quickly down the field with Elijah Bellis ripping off runs of 15, 8, and 9 yards before breaking loose on an apparent TD run, but Wilson stripped him of the ball at the Delhi 4 after a 34-yard gain, and the Bulldogs recovered the loose ball in the end zone.
Eight plays later, including a 14-yard pass from Kivell to Lincoln Raba, and passes of 20 and 34 yards to Saverio Prisco, Prisco scored on a 1-yard TD run with 6:20 remaining in the half to extend the lead to 14-0.
Tioga answered quickly after a short kickoff, with senior Shane Platukis ripping off a run of 52 yards, and then scoring on a 1-yard TD run with 5:45 left in the half. A low snap resulted in a missed extra-point, and Delhi led 14-6.
The Bulldogs had a quick answer of their own.
Wilson ripped off a 34-yard run, and Kivell completed a 37-yard pass to Mason Reed to the Tioga 13. Three plays later, Kivell found Wilson open with a 9-yard TD pass to make it 21-6 with 3:21 remaining in the half.
Tioga closed the gap before the intermission with a nine-play scoring drive, capped by a 5-yard TD run by Bellis.
Senior QB Jackson Bombard had the big plays in the drive with runs of 18 and 24 yards.
After a penalty following the TD, Tioga's conversion was snapped from the 18-yard line, but Bombard found junior Josh Rought at the goal line for 2 points to cut the lead to 21-14 with 30 seconds remaining in the half.
The Tigers got the ball to start the second half, but punted the ball away after a three-and-out, and Delhi extended its lead quickly when Wilson turned a quick hitch into a 52-yard TD pass down the far sidelines to make it 28-14 with 9:45 remaining in the third quarter.
Tioga's next possession ended on down at its own 35, and Delhi scored three plays later on a 35-yard pass from Kivell to Lincoln Raba, who fell while the ball was in the air and caught the pass while laying on his back in the end zone to make it 35-14 with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter.
After junior Brendan Clark returned the ball to the Tioga 45, senior fullback Max Stauder busted off a 55-yard TD run to trim the deficit to 35-20 with 6:13 left in the third quarter.
Delhi put the game away with a 14-play, 71-yard scoring drive that chewed up nearly eight minutes of game clock to take a 41-20 lead.
Prisco capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run with 10:15 remaining in the contest.
The Tigers answered quickly, with Bombard completing a 34-yard pass to freshman Carson LaBour, then ripping off a 35-yard run to the Delhi 10.
After a 7-yard run by Bombard, Clark scored on a 3-yard run to close the gap to 41-26.
Tioga forced a Delhi punt with a three-and-out, and Stauder blocked the punt with 6:27 remaining in the game, but the Tioga offense turned the ball back over on downs, and the Bulldogs ran out the clock with three first downs — the first coming on a run of 19 yards by Prisco on a fake punt on fourth-and-5.
The Tigers used a balanced running game to pound out 329 yards on 36 carries.
Bombard led the way with 87 yards on seven carries, while Platukis had 82 yards and one TD on 12 carries, Bellis had 78 yards and one TD on nine carries, Stauder added 61 yards and one TD on three carries, and Clark tacked on 17 yards and one TD on four carries.
Kivell completed 16 of 21 passes for 292 yards and four TDs for the Bulldogs.
Prisco, who led Delhi's ground game with 77 yards and two TDs on 12 carries, led the Bulldog receivers with six receptions for 96 yards.
Wilson had five catches for 99 yards and three TDs, and also rushed for 45 yards on five carries.
Howland is hoping the loss will be a learning experience for his team.
"You learn from failure," he said. "I mean, that's why sports is so good for kids. It teaches you to deal with this adversity.
"I can guarantee you not a single kid in a Tioga jersey thought this was going to be the score at the end of the night," he noted.
"We've got a lot to work on," added Howland. "I know the guys are going to be fired up. I could see it in their eyes in the huddle after the game. They were pretty ticked off, and they should be."
Tioga returns to action next Saturday at Chenango Forks in a 1:30 p.m. start.
—————————
IN TOP PHOTO: Tioga's Max Stauder with a QB sack. IN BOTTOM PHOTO: Tioga's Jackson Bombard. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
