While the victory enabled Owego to breathe a sigh of relief as its postseason possibilities became a little bit more positive, it also marked the first time in a long time that Owego has defeated the Spartans.

"I actually have a ton of respect for Maine-Endwell and coach Gallagher for what they've done and what they continue to do," Owego head coach Steve Virkler said.

That respect was reflected on his own team as well.

"I'm just really, really proud of how we came out and executed," he said. "We challenged them a little bit this week and I asked them to try and put forth our best game, best effort, because we thought that's what it was going to take, and I felt like we did that."

Clinging to a 21-20 edge, Owego took just two plays to find the end zone to start the third quarter. On second-and-eight from the Indian 33, Nick Wasyln found Ben Miller open over the middle for a six-yard completion. Miller would slip a tackle and bolt the remaining 61 yards to paydirt. 

Then, instead of kicking the extra point, almost always a sure thing for kicker Nate Bennett, the Indians would go for two and Mike Wasyln stepped into the end zone for a 29-20 lead just 56 seconds into the third quarter.

On the ensuing possession, M-E would move the ball into the Owego red zone, only to shoot itself in the foot with a pair of holding penalties, turning the ball over on downs at the 33 when Sean Heffernan and Wyatt Gunther snuffed a short pass play for a loss.

The Indians would turn the ball over on downs at the M-E 21, then both teams would go three and out. Miller would pin the Spartans back at their own 10 with a 41-yard punt, and on third-an-eight, Michael Mancini's pass would be tipped to running back Mike Smith for an 11-yard loss to the one. A penalty moved the ball back another yard-and-a-half and the M-E punt settled at the Spartan 25. Five plays later, Nick Wasyln scored on a two-yard keeper, then threw to Zach Miner for the two-point PAT and a 37-20 advantage with 5:48 left in the game.

The Spartans would advance the ball into Indian territory, but Mike Wasyln picked off Mancini's fourth-down pass and Owego would get the ball back at its own 21 with 4:29 to go. The Indians would end up punting, but Nick Wasyln stole the ball out of Ryan Brozovic's hands at the M-E 49 and headed to the end zone. The TD was called back by the referee, saying a fumbled punt couldn't be advanced, but the Indians had the ball at the M-E 49 with time winding down.

Good fortune was in Owego's favor during the early stages of the evening as well as the Indians came out of the gate fast and grabbed an early 14-0 advantage. However, it wasn't a total shock to Virkler.

"I don't know if it shocked us to come out of the gate," he said. "I think the turnovers certainly were a big part of that. We were able to capitalize on those turnovers. And then we turn it over and they take it down and score, and kind of get back in it."

Being opportunistic was clearly a key factor in the outcome.

"It's something we haven't done the last couple of weeks," Virkler said. "We haven't taken advantage of some opportunities and weren't able to finish drives and I felt that was a difference tonight. We were able to do that."

On the fifth play of the game, Brozovic coughed up the ball and Miller pounced on it at the M-E 30. Three plays later, Cam Bundy bolted 18 yards to the seven and Nick Wasyln scored on the next play. Bennett's kick made it 7-0 at 7:24.

Brozovic would fumble again on the next series and the Indians' Gio Fabi came up with the ball at the M-E 41. A pass interference call advanced the ball down to the 21. Five players later, Nick and Mike Wasyln hooked up on a 6-yard TD pass, Bennett kicked the extra point and Owego had a 14-0 cushion with 2:36 still on the first-quarter clock.

The Spartans would punt on their next possession, but get the ball back on a Nick Wasyln fumble at the M-E 42. Smith scored on a 3-yard run six plays later, the PAT run failed and the Indians' lead was 14-6.

Owego would incorporate a little trickery on the next play as a Nick Wasyln-to-Bennett-to-Miller hook-and-ladder play went for a 64-yard TD down the Owego sideline. Bennett's kick boosted the Owego lead to 21-6 with 7:18 left in the first half. 

However, it took the Spartans just five plays to get back on the scoreboard. Lance Gulliver scored on a 5-yard run and added the PAT run to narrow the gap to 21-14 with 5:21 on the clock.

Owego turned the ball over on downs four plays later and M-E took just five plays to score again. Brozovic's 7-yard TD run made it 21-20 with 48 seconds on the clock. The PAT run failed, leaving Owego with a one-point edge at intermission.

"We had a great, motivational halftime and we came out and scored on the first drive on that play to Ben and just took advantage of our opportunities after that," Virkler said. "I thought we did some good things tonight."

The upset has tightened up the challenge for the No. 2 seed in the Class B playoffs. Chenango Forks (6-0) has already clinched the division and top seed, but Owego, M-E and Chenango Valley are all 4-2 in the division.

The Indians host winless Johnson City Friday and M-E faces one-win Oneonta. If Norwich (3-3) can knock off CV, Owego, with a victory, will hold the tie-breaker over M-E for the No. 2 spot.

"I've got to check, but it certainly puts us in a much better situation than had we lost," Virkler said. 

Owego outgained M-E, 322-243. Nick Wasyln went 3-for-7 for 137 yards passing and ran the ball 26 time for another 98. Miller caught one pass for 67 yards and also had 59 yards on the hook-and-ladder. He doesn't get credit for the reception on the play. Bundy, Miller and Tyler Benjamin combined for another 87 yards on the ground. Zach Miner and Bennett added 11 combined receiving yards.

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IN PHOTO 1: Owego's Cam Bundy. ... PHOTOS 1-14 BY TIM TAYLOR. PHOTOS 15-24 BY CATHY DOANE.