Week 1 HS Football: Tioga tops Waverly in OT and other top performances
After two days of football and a goal-line stand to start overtime, two-time defending Class D state champion Tioga Central extended its winning streak to 29 games Saturday night with a 23-17 victory over Waverly at Waverly Memorial Stadium.
Tigers quarterback Caden Bellis, Class D Co-Player of the Year in New York last season, took off left on a quarterback sweep and sprinted down the middle of the field for a 14-yard touchdown that put an end to a contest that began Friday but was suspended because of lightning with Tioga up 14-7 late in the first half.
Joey Tomasso, Waverly's first-team all-state quarterback in Class C, was denied at the goal line on fourth-and-goal from the 2 on the first possession of overtime.
Gavin Fisher's 27-yard field goal Saturday put the Tigers up 17-7. Tomasso answered with a 3-yard touchdown run to pull defending Section 4 Class C champion Waverly within 17-14 late in the third quarter.
A Waverly field goal in the fourth quarter tied the game 17-17.
In play Friday, Tioga’s Drew Macumber scored on a 2-yard run with 1:13 left in the first quarter and Bellis added a 2-yard TD sneak with 3:40 left in the half as the Tigers led 14-0.
Just before lightning showed up, Tomasso hit Jay Pipher with a 41-yard touchdown pass. The PAT cut the Tigers' lead to 14-7 with 1:13 to go in the first half. Play was suspended immediately afterward.
More: Section 4 football Week 1 scoreboard
Horseheads cruises to 2-0 record
Horseheads put up 56 points for the second week in a row and now boasts a 2-0 record after Friday’s 56-21 home triumph over Fayetteville-Manlius of Section 3. The Blue Raiders opened with a 56-34 Week 0 win over Columbia.
Like last week, Horseheads' production came from a variety of players behind the offensive line.
Finn Scanlon Shaw scored on touchdown runs of 65 and 14 yards.
Dominic Cardinale hit Miles Woodhouse for a pair of long TD throws, one good for 44 yards and the second covering 43 yards.
Bradock Salisbury (58 yards), Bryce Thomas (31 yards) and Josh McCawley (1 yard) added touchdown runs.
Horseheads' other touchdown came on a 75-yard kickoff return from Lucas Mosher.
Horseheads goes for a third straight non-section victory when it plays at Corcoran at 6 p.m. Sept. 15.
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Vestal takes care of Baldwinsville
Pierre DeVaughn’s second-quarter scoring rush of 4 yards put Vestal on top of Baldwinsville for keeps in a 28-7 win Friday night at Dick Hoover Stadium. That TD finished a seven-play, 70-yard drive and made for a 12-7 lead that held through halftime.
The game concluded with about eight minutes remaining with lightning in the area.
Vestal produced two touchdowns and a safety in the third quarter.
Quarterback Cam Schaffer hit J.T. Gannon for a 7-yard score. Five plays later, Brody Crowely tackled Baldwinsville’s punter in the end zone after an off-target snap from center. Schaffer and Liam Nealy connected for an 8-yard TD pass.
Nealy had 170 yards on 23 carries, 144 of those in the first half. Schaffer completed six of 11 passes for 99 yards and Gannon’s five receptions went for 91 yards. The Golden Bears had four sacks, two by Brody Crowley.
Norwich scores 34 in first quarter
Norwich picked up its first victory of the season thanks in large part to a 34-point first quarter Friday night in a 58-0 triumph at Oneonta.
Norwich led 48-0 at the half.
Holden Ryan ran for 133 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries a week after putting up 179 yards on 19 carries in a 46-30 loss to defending Section 5 Class B champion Batavia.
Sandler Montgomery and Mitchell Collins also ran for Norwich TDs.
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Braden Hagenbuch added a 55-yard touchdown on a punt return, Kayson Stubb scored on a 28-yard interception return and Spencer Root kicked a 29-yard field goal.
Steven Dowdall hit Collin Olds for a 16-yard touchdown pass.
Holden Ryan carried 19 times for 179 yards and scored on runs of 13 and 22 yards for Norwich in Saturday's 46-30 loss to defending Section 5 Class B champion Batavia. He added eight tackles on defense, matching Kaden Downey for team high.
Kaden Downey spearheaded the defense with 10 tackles. Zack Parker and Connor White joined Stubb in intercepting passes.
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C-NS tops Corning again
After beating Corning in the last three Class AA state quarterfinal matchups between champions from Section 4 and Section 3, host Cicero-North Syracuse topped the Hawks again Friday night, 48-8, in Corning’s season opener.
The lone Corning touchdown came from James Freeman, who finished with 59 yards on 11 carries. He added a 30-yard reception.
A.J. Thomas led Corning with 81 yards on 16 rushes.
Corning quarterback Ian Harpster completed two of four passes for 74 yards. Tajwan Sides had the other catch for the Hawks, covering 44 yards.
TAE shines on both sides of the ball
Edison coach Kyle Erickson stressed the importance of being able to contend for a berth in the Section 4 eight-player playoffs this season. The Spartans looked the playoff part Saturday afternoon in a 50-0 home win over Oxford.
Greg Golden carried 13 times for 156 yards and a 26-yard touchdown, Reyes McAtee scored three touchdowns and Edison's defense spent much of the day in Oxford's backfield on running and passing plays.
"Our goal this year was to be aggressive junkyard dogs on defense and we wanted to attack and swarm," Erickson said. "I think we accomplished our goal today. We were very aggressive on defense and that’s something we’ve been preaching this year is find ball, get ball. Let’s go get it."
McAtee (6 carries, 54 yards; 2 catches, 32 yards) scored on a 5-yard run, 23-yard reception of a perfectly thrown Andrew Slaven end-zone ball and a 70-yard return of a free kick following a safety. Slaven hit 9 of 13 passes for 86 yards.
Slaven added a 1-yard TD run. Zimear Young (47 yards) and Mark Cornacchio (35 yards) also ran for scores. Young had four carries for 73 yards.
Erickson was happy with the offense, though he said some things need to be cleaned up if Edison is to reach the level it wants to this season.
Last year TAE lost to Unatego after an overtime win over Greene in the opener. Erickson said it's important to carry forward the momentum next week at Unatego.
"I'm hoping it sets the tone," he said of Saturday's effort.
Walton rides running game past Ithaca
Walton gained all 359 of its yards on the ground Saturday and cruised to a 48-12 victory over visiting Ithaca after leading 30-6 at the half.
Seth Hunter paced the Warriors (1-0) with 123 yards on eight rushes and scored on a 53-yard kickoff return.
Colby Phraner added 63 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and Darrin Walley picked up 53 yards on six rushes. Nic Sarrantonio, London Gardner, Caleb Moren and Hayden Robinson contributed touchdown runs for Walton.
Ithaca's touchdowns came on a 90-yard kickoff return by Lavell Lewis and a 26-yard pass from Kaleb Kerfoot to Jack Barton.
Walton's defense limited the Little Red to 4 rushing yards on 20 attempts.
Storm rallies past Lansing
Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour overcame a 15-0 deficit against Lansing on Saturday night for a 26-15 victory in Odessa to even its record at 1-1.
Ryan Willett returned an interception to Lansing's 5-yard line, then added a touchdown run to give the Storm the lead for good, 19-15. Willett ran for 66 yards on 13 rushes.
The Storm's Bradley Gillis carried 10 times for 109 yards and caught two passes for 34 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown. Thomas Snow added 12 carries for 88 yards, a 14-yard catch and a team-high nine tackles. Storm quarterback Gavin Lohmeyer completed four of eight passes for 57 yards and a TD.
Report based on information provided by teams. Email high school football results to bgmsports@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Week 1 recap of Section 4 high school football 2023 season
