HOMER - River Hawks' flag football took the lead early in the NYSPHSAA Class C Semifinal on Saturday morning and never gave it back, holding off Beekmantown out of Section VII, 38-33 to advance to tomorrow's State Championship.

OFA began with the ball in the first half and immediately put their foot on the gas. Quarterback Kylie Grippen connected on a pass to Ashlyn Dalton to convert on a third down play, moving the ball to midfield. Owego's Olivia Dodge would cap off the initial drive by taking a direct snap and making multiple defenders miss, en route to the first score of the game. After a failed extra point attempt, OFA was ahead 6-0.

Owego's defense stepped up next when Bella Silvestri tallied a sack, forcing Beekmantown to punt on their first possession. 

A big punt return from Dalton put Owego in their opponent's territory for their second stint on offense. The very next play, Grippen hit Dalton on a 25-yard touchdown pass to place OFA ahead 12-0.

Beekmantown made their next drive count however, with dynamic quarterback, Payton Parliament reversing field and scrambling down to the Owego three-yard line, before throwing for a touchdown to cut the lead to 12-7.

Owego came back firing. Silvestri had a long carry to cross midfield. The drive looked like it was going to stall, but on fourth down, the River Hawks converted with a timing route to Dalton. Dalton then took a direct snap for a touchdown. Dodge scored on the extra point attempt and Owego improved their lead to 19-7.

The Eagles continued to stay on OFA's heels, marching right down the field on the following possession. Parliament would keep it herself to beat the defense to the pylon, not just for a touchdown, but on the extra point as well to make the score 19-14.

Beekmantown got the ball back after intercepting Grippen on the next drive, but the River Hawks' defense held their ground forcing a three and out.

With 28 seconds left before the half and the ball in Eagle territory, Grippen connected with Dodge on a curl route, then again in the end zone. After Jaelynne Lovell caught a pass to convert the extra point attempt, Owego led at the break, 26-14.

Beekmantown managed to get the ball to midfield to start the second half, but another Silvestri sack forced the Eagles to punt.

Owego's first possession of the second half started on their own five-yard line. Dalton and Silvestri helped provide the offense necessary to move the drive down field. Grippen once again connected with Dodge on a pass down their opponent's sideline, this time to convert on fourth down, while also scoring to stay up on Beekmantown, 32-14 with 14:54 left in the game.

The Eagles would not go away though, scoring 13 straight points in back-to-back possessions to make it a one-score game, 32-27.

OFA responded under pressure with a pair of tough catches from Lovell and Dodge, as well as some solid running from Silvestri. This put together a long sustained drive for Owego that ended in a perfectly placed touchdown pass from Grippen to Lexi Herceg. After a failed extra point attempt, the River Hawks had padded their lead to 38-27.

With 3:42 left to play, Beekmantown put one final scare into Owego's bid for a State Final appearance when they notched a 60-plus yard touchdown to once again get within once score, 38-33.

The River Hawks worked the clock on the ensuing drive though to put the game away and punch their ticket to the Class C State Championship.

Grippen finished with 228 yards passing to go with multiple touchdown tosses. Dodge totaled three scores on 116 yards of total offense, while Dalton added two touchdowns and 138 yards receiving. Herceg had a timely touchdown reception and Silvestri earned 56 yards on the ground for Owego.

Defensively, Silvestri had five tackles and two sacks. Kylie Craven also tallied five tackles, while Dodge pulled four flags and Leah Clark grabbed two.

"We had to regroup at the end there, but we were able to keep calm and reset, now we're in the final. This feels incredible. We worked so hard today," said senior, Olivia Dodge.

"This is the best. I have dreamt of this moment for such a long time. That team was phenomenal, so it took everything we have learned over time to pull it all together and get the win today," added Lexi Herceg.

"Today came down to our reaction to any adversity that happened. When you are facing athletes like that who are excellent players, to be able to keep answering back shows a lot about our team's character," commented senior, Bella Silvestri.

"We have a veteran team that suffered a loss in this round last year, so I think their ability to stay composed today and have that experience in the tough moments went a long way," said coach Rusty Virkler.

"We will celebrate a little, but then we have to squeeze a week's preparation into 24 hours. We will stay and watch this next game, study some film and be ready to go tomorrow."

Owego flag football now advances to the NYSPHSAA Class C State Championship game tomorrow at Cortland High School, scheduled for 1:15 p.m. The River Hawks will meet the winner of Pioneer and Plainedge.