SECTION IV FOOTBALL: NEWARK VALLEY RALLIES TO TOP TIOGA, 29-23 (24 PHOTOS) (2021-04-17)

By TIM BIRNEY
Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY — â€œBig games” rarely live up to the hype, except, of course, when it’s a Tioga-Newark Valley game.

On Saturday, the Cardinals scored two TDs in the fourth quarter to rally for a 29-23 win over the previously-unbeaten Tigers in Section IV, Class D football action.

“I’m so proud of these kids,” said Newark Valley coach Ted Hardenstine. “It’s really all about the kids, that they were able to keep their chins up, fighting, and believing in each other.”

Tioga coach Nick Aiello tipped his cap to the Cardinals.

“Hats off to them, they were down all game, and grinded it out at the end. That’s the type of game you’re going to get when you play Newark Valley.”

This is Newark Valley’s fifth win in its last six games against Tioga, with four of those wins by six points or less.

“For our kids, this was just Newark Valley-Tioga,” said Hardenstine. “Regardless of our records, or what the situations, Newark Valley and Tioga for decades has been something special.

“Probably nine times out of 10, it turns out being a game like this,” added Hardenstine.

“The last five years all the game have been close — they’ve won four and we’ve won one,” said Aiello. “It took us scoring inside two minutes, and knocking a pass down in the end zone at the end of the game last year to win.”

The Cardinals trailed by double-digits twice in the game, but Hardenstine praised his team’s resiliency.

“I think a lot of the emotion you saw today was about our seniors and this being their last home game,” said Hardenstine.

The Tigers took the early lead. After a defensive stop, Tioga scored on a quick three-play, 76-yard drive.

Junior Emmett Wood carried the ball all three times, capping the drive with a 61-yard run around left end. Freshman Gavin Fisher’s PAT kick made it 7-0 with 9:21 remaining in the first quarter.

After a series of punts, Tioga made the first mistake of the game when Newark Valley’s Max Flesher picked off an Ethan Agan pass at the Tioga 46.

On Newark Valley’s first play, Mike Wandell connected with Jake Armstrong on a 10-yard pass, but a holding call against the Cardinals moments later bogged down the drive and they were forced to punt.

After another exchange of punts, Tioga took over at its own 14 with 5:21 remaining in the first half.

On third and six, Agan hit Seth Franks across the middle for a 54-yard gain to the Cardinal 23. Five plays later, Wood went off left tackle for a 2-yard TD run to make it 13-0 with 1:21 remaining in the first half.

Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Wandell connected with Raidyn Ford down the visiting sidelines for a 60-yard TD to trim the deficit 13-6 with 55 seconds left in the half.

“That was a big play. It gave us something to be excited about before going into halftime,” said Hardenstine. “It was one of our kids making a play, and giving us a boost.

“Then, we had some big defensive plays right after the half, and you saw a little more excitement and physicality,” he added.

Newark Valley forced Tioga into a three-and-out to start the second half, and took over at its own 40.

On third and seven, Wandell connected with Armstrong on a short pass into the flats. Armstrong broke a pair of tackles and rumbled 57 yards to paydirt. Flesher’s PAT kick tied the game at 13-13 with 9:01 remaining in the third quarter.

“The play before the half was big, but it was nothing we did wrong,” said Aiello. “I think we were in good position, but the kid made a nice play.

“I think the bigger play was the catch and missed tackles right after the half,” noted Aiello. “We came out and made four mistakes on our first offensive series in the second half, and then we gave up that pass. I think that was probably a bigger play.”

After a 13-yard run by Isaac Peterson on Tioga’s first play of its ensuing possession, a holding call put the Tigers in a second-and-20 predicament. However, Agan and Franks hooked up again — this time on a 53-yard TD pass to put the Tigers back in the lead.

Fisher’s PAT kick made it 20-13 with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter.

Disaster struck the Cardinals moments later when they fumbled on the first play of their next possession, and Franks pounced on it at the Cardinal 47.

After runs of 5 and 7 yards by Wood, Peterson ripped off a 15-yard run, and Wood gained 17 yards to move the ball to the Newark Valley 3.

The Cardinal defense then stuffed Wood on consecutive carries, and Wandell sacked Egan for a 7-yard loss to put Tioga in a 4th-and-goal at the 10. Aiello elected to go for the field goal, and Fisher split the uprights from 27 yards out with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter to give the Tigers a 23-13 lead.

Newark Valley went almost exclusively to the ground on its next possession, and moved the ball deep into Tioga territory, thanks in part to runs of 10 yards by Wandell and 11 yards by Ford.

Facing a 3-and-5 at the Tioga 19, Wandell, scrambling to his right under heavy pressure, found Armstrong for a 14-yard gain to the Tiger 5 on the final play of the third quarter.

After Tioga was flagged for offside on the Newark Valley PAT attempt, the Cardinals chose to go for two, and Spoonhower bulled in from the 1 to trim the deficit to 23-21 with 11:57 remaining in the game.

Tioga picked up three first downs on its next possession, but the Cardinals stiffened at midfield.

Fisher, also the punter, bobbled the snap, but did a nice job to step up through the rush, and get off the punt, which rolled dead at the Cardinal 21. However, the Tigers were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and the march off of the 15-yard penalty gave the Cardinals the ball at their own 39.

Newark Valley again went to the ground game, and march 61 yards on 11 plays to take the lead. The key play on the drive was a 2-yard gain by Spoonhower on fourth-and-inches at the Tioga 26.

Spoonhower capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run with 1:02 left in the game. Brenton Rosenberg added the conversion run to make it to 29-23.

The Tigers went to the air, but three consecutive passes were broken up by the Cardinals, who took over at the Tioga 27, and took a knee in “victory formation” as time expired.

Wandell completed 4 of 8 passes for 141 yards and two TDs, with Armstrong catching three balls for 81 yards and one TD.

The Cardinals ran for 152 yards on 39 carries, with Ford’s 71 yards on 13 carries leading the way.

Tioga amassed 351 yards in total offense, including 244 rushing yards. Wood led Tioga with 205 yards and two TDs on 30 carries.

Agan completed 2 of 10 passes for 107 yards and one TD. Franks had both catches.

The fact this game could have been for a Section IV, Class D title in a normal year was not lost on Hardenstine.

“The woulda, coulda, shouldas of everything with the Covid year.

“Small School football in Section IV … I think you have some of the top teams in the state right here,” said Hardenstine.

“Hats off to Tioga — their players and their coaches,” added Hardenstine. “They are a lot of fun to go against as a coach because they are always going to be well-prepared. They did an outstanding job.

Newark Valley, now 3-2, closes out the season Friday at Dryden, while Tioga, now 4-1, hosts O-M / Watkins Glen.

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IN PHOTO 1: Newark Valley’s Jake Armstrong. … PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.