SECTION IV FOOTBALL: FLEXIBLE DEFENSE, KICK RETURN SPARK OWEGO ROUT OF JC (24 PHOTOS) (2018-10-12)


INDIANS CLINCH CLASS B PLAYOFF BERTH

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
JOHNSON CITY - Owego's "bend but don't break" mindset worked once again as the Indians clinched a Section IV Class B playoff berth with a 40-6 triumph over Johnson City here Friday night.

Even after losing one of their key players to injury early in the game, the Indians refused to collapse. It may have taken a few players to step up and fill in for Gio Fabi, but they did what the coaches asked.

"Not having Gio obviously is a big deal," Owego head coach Steve Virkler said. "I'm hoping he's going to be OK, but we're certainly a different team with him in there.

"We had a lot of guys shuffling in and out it's funny how many guys it takes to replace one guy like Gio to fill the role he does for us. We got a lot of bending, but not breaking, especially in the first half. I thought we played really good defense when we were struggling offensively."

It didn't hurt when Kobe Bogart sparked a 26-point second-half barrage when he returned the kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. That score and Nate Bennett's PAT kick gave Owego a 21-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Indian defense would hold JC to 27 yards until the Wildcats could muster two long drives late in the game.

"In the second half, I thought we came out and the kickoff return certainly was huge, with Kobe, right off the bat, and set the tone for the second half," said Virkler.

Midway through the third quarter, the Indians would begin a 65-yard drive that included a 20-yard pass from Tyler Phelps to Beckett Hafer, then saw Phelps slice through the JC defense on a 45-yard keeper to make it 27-0 with just under five minutes remaining in the period.

A fumbled kickoff would pin the Wildcats deep and a Keon Kitchner sack, followed by a nice punt return by Christian Sage, would set the Indians up at the JC 28. Two plays later, Phelps hit Beckett Hafer at the goal line for a 19-yard TD and a 33-0 lead.

The Indians botched the kickoff again and Mike Bridge recovered the rock at the JC 29, but Owego turn the ball over on downs after losing a yard and Johnson City embarked on its longest drive of the night - 63 yards. The Indians were bending, but didn't break and sealed a successful goal line stand when Michael Wasyln knocked down a fourth-down pass in the end zone.

Owego would drive 94 yards in nine plays for its final TD. A 46-yard gain by Jason Kithcart, followed by backup quarterback Zach Miner's 14-yard keeper and Bennett's PAT kick made it 40-0 with 2:14 left to play.

The Wildcats mounted their second-longest drive of the night, 62 yards, and scored on quarterback Jake Harding's 2-yard run with 21.2 seconds on the clock, although it did come against Owego's reserves.

Of course, an evening ending in celebration could have been somber when Fabi went out on Owego's first offensive series with an injury. The good news is it does not appear to be a knee injury, but a deep bruise above his knee.

In the short time Fabi was in the game, he had made an impact. On the Wildcats' first possession, he made a tackle for a loss to leave JC with a second-and-12, from which they would follow up with two incomplete pass attempts under pressure. On Owego's first possession, the Indians gave Fabi the ball on the first three plays and he picked up 11 yards and a first down, but he would go to the sideline and would not return.

Even though it wasn't the Indians' best offensive performance, they would manage to score six TDs. An impressive punt 41-yard return by Bogart gave the offense the ball at the JC 32. On the next play, Sage bolted to paydirt, somehow eluding the Wildcat defenders near the end of the play. Bennett's kick made it 7-0 with 4:37 left in the opening period.

Sage, who missed the better part of three games with an injury, is a welcome sight to Virkler.

"It's fun to watch him practice. He practices at full speed and he by himself is making us better, especially defensively when we put him on scout offense and let him run around and make us work," Virkler said. "It's making us better and he certainly is electric. I don't know if I've ever coached an athlete quite like him, as dynamic as he is. He's been great. He's all in. He's played basketball all the way up through, kind of concentration on that, but I think right now he's kind of liking football a little bit too."

Following the game's initial points, the Wildcats would embark on their longest drive of the first half, 48 yards, but after 15 plays, they would stall at the Owego 43 when Keon Kitchner and Bogart took Jovon McDonald down for an 8-yard loss on fourth-and-one.

Owego's offense failed to respond as a pair of sacks and a penalty left the Indians with a fourth-and-21. A short punt would set JC up at the Owego 44, but a sack by Kitchner, who made several tackles for losses, and Colby Selover left the Wildcats with a fourth-and-21 at the Indians' 33.

With 1:37 left in the half, the Owego offense finally got in gear as Tyler Phelps hit sage with a short pass and he turned it into a 38-yard gain to the JC 29. three plays later, Ben Miller ran the pigskin 19 yards down to the one, and two plays after that Jyzaiah Race bulled in from the one.

However, a 14-0 lead didn't look safe, even though there were only 38 second left in the half. The Wildcats returned the ensuing kick out near midfield and Harding found Keith Harris for a 26-yard gain to the Owego 21. On fourth-and-13, Miner picked the ball off at the two and rambled for a long return to end the half.

"I thought JC came out and played really hard. They were fast, they were flying to the ball and we weren't executing very well, so I think a combination of those things made it a competitive football game, especially the first half."

Seven Indian backs carried the pigskin 25 times for 212 yards with Kitchcart gaining 61, Phelps picking up 42, and Sage and Miller adding 39 apiece.

Phelps was also 12-for-20 for 125 yards passing with Hafer grabbing five receptions for 72 yards.

McDonald was the workhorse for JC (1-5), toting the ball 31 times for 126 yards. Harding was 3-for-15 for 61 yards with all the completions going to Harris.