FOLLOWING FOOTBALL: TOUGH FOES AWAIT MOST TIOGA COUNTY TEAMS (2019-09-20)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
TIOGA COUNTY — After a 2-3 stumble in Week 1, I went 4-0 last week. Honestly, picking the winners in Week 2 was much easier than hitting the season openers correctly. 

The only question mark was the Newark Valley-Tioga clash. These teams were evenly matched and the outcome could have gone either way. If you didn't attend the game you missed another exciting clash between these rivals.

As we reach Week 3, Waverly has to be the surprise of Section IV. Granted, the Wolverines have yet to face a quality team — that occurs tonight — but they beat a Class A foe and dominated a division opponent. Waverly is doing it with an eighth grader under center and I don't care how good of an athlete he is, that fact in itself is impressive.

If you're into the rankings, the Wolverines are a surprising No. 17 in the New York State Sportswriters Association Class B poll. Chenango Forks came in at No. 2, M-E is No. 15 and Owego received an honorable mention.

In Class C, defending state champion Susquehanna Valley starts out at the top despite losing more than 90 percent of its roster to graduation. Sidney is No. 7, and Whitney Point and Windsor are honorable mentions.

Tioga begins at No. 2 in Class D and Delhi is No. 12. The shocker is the fact Walton, which almost knocked off Tioga with three starters out, got no love whatsoever.

COACHS' COMMENTS

Mike Chaffee — SVEC
• Positive takeaways from Week 2
When you get beat 55-6 there is not much positive that can be taken away from it. However, we were able to force a turnover on the first drive and take the ball down the field and score. Not many programs can say they have done that against SV in recent history. That would be our only score of the game, but we came out fired up and ready to play. That is something that we have stressed since day one because it has been a weakness of ours in the past.

• Areas which need improvement
We can’t continue to miss blocks, drop balls and miss tackles. Those three things have proven to be costly for us in both of our losses and will continue to haunt us unless we fix it. We have to be able to stop the run on defense and consistently move the ball on offense.

• Players who stood out
Nash Whitmore led us in tackles and continues to be a strong force for us on the defensive side of the ball. James Sutherlin was also impressive on defense with the way he came down into the box and delivered some hits.

• What to expect from next opponent
Walton looks to be back to their old ways of pounding the football with their big offensive linemen and running backs. They get off the ball and attack you at the line of scrimmage. It will be a physical matchup for sure come Saturday afternoon.

Steve Virkler — Owego
• Positive takeaways from Week 2
Any time you travel to Norwich and come away with a victory that is always a positive. I was really happy with how physical we played and were able to sustain it for four quarters. Making a fourth quarter comeback also provides confidence in our ability to make plays when we need them. We had a really good team effort all the way around.

• Areas which need improvement
We need to work on consistency on offense with our ability to maintain drives and put points on the board. We were able to do that early in the game and then stalled out on too many drives in the second and third quarters. Our defense and special teams provided us with ideal field position to set up our last two scores. We also need to take away the big play — they had several long runs which led to their scores.

• Players who stood out
Defensively we played much more physical and tackled much better overall. Wyatt Gunther had a really solid game for us at outside linebacker and Cam Doane was opportunistic in recovering two fumbles and blocking a punt. We also made a few moves on the offensive line which paid dividends — Sean Heffernan created consistency with our snaps at center and Cam Bundy filled in at guard doing a fantastic job — both of them also played very well defensively with Cam getting the interception leading to our sealing TD run and Sean recovering a fumble leading to a field goal.

• What to expect from next opponent 
Vestal is coming off a great year as the defending Section IV Class A champions — they have had a rough start but will be looking to get on track sooner rather than later. They have too many athletes to not compete so I'm sure they will come in here ready to go Friday night. Offensively they run a multiple set trying to establish the power run game and will throw some different looks at you to make sure you are playing sound defense. On the defensive side they bring a lot of pressure with their linebackers and are very skilled across all positions — they are a very athletic and physical team and we need to be prepared for our third battle of the year!

Ted Hardenstine — Newark Valley 
• Positive takeaways from Week 2
Our kids played more disciplined than they did in Week 1, and we played faster as a team. Also, we played much better on special teams.

• Areas which need improvement
We need to continue to improve upfront on both sides of the ball. I liked the growth I saw from that group from Week 1 to Week 2, and I would like to see a similar improvement this week.

• Players who stood out
Caden Bennett had a really nice game, having a large impact on offense, defense and special teams. Andrew Obregon played well, particularly on defense he had a couple of pass break-ups and was our leading tackler. Jake Armstrong had another good game on both sides of the ball. Levi Arnold has really started to develop into a quality offensive lineman. On the defensive line, Hunter Kelly played a great game at nose. Mike Wandell had another nice game at QB, making a number of good decisions and accurate throws.

• What to expect from next opponent
We face another quality opponent this week. Expect them to play aggressive on defense, trying to blow up a few plays in the backfield. Offensively, their QB is just as much a threat to run as he is to throw the ball. They are well coached, and have a fundamentally sound offensive attack that will require us to play physical and disciplined to have success.

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WEEK 3 PREDICTIONS

• Vestal (0-2, 0-2 Div. I) at Owego (1-1, 1-1 Div. II)
The Indians' defense and special teams carried them against Norwich, but the offense has yet to prove itself. Likewise for the Golden Bears' offense, which has yet to put the rock in the end zone.

Prediction: Owego by 10.

• Tioga (2-0, 0-0 Div. VI) at Bainbridge-Guilford (0-2, 0-0 Div. V)
After two hard-fought and close victories, the ground-gobbling Tigers will roll to an easy win. Need I say more?  

Prediction: Tioga by 37.

• Waverly (2-0, 1-0 Div. II) at M-E (1-1, 1-0 Div. II)
The Wolverines will return to earth. Despite some talented athletes, Waverly doesn't have the experience or depth to hang with the Spartans — not to mention M-E is at home where it is always a tough out.

Prediction: M-E by 28.

• Susquehanna Valley (2-0, 0-0 Div. IV) at Newark Valley (0-2, 0-0 Div. III)
You would think heavy graduation losses would have hurt the Sabers, but apparently their strong JV and modified programs have filled the voids. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are improving, but they are not at Sus Valley's level.

Prediction: Sus Valley by 26.

SVEC (0-2, 0-0 Div. III) at Walton (1-1, 0-0 Div, V)
The Warriors should be angry about being snubbed in the poll and try to take it out on SVEC. The Eagles need to spend this week and next focusing on fixing the areas where they are weak so that they will be ready to compete against Newark Valley in a divisional showdown in Week 5.

Prediction: Walton by 15.