THE SPORTS REPORTS: TIOGA'S AIELLO HEADLINES BAKER'S DOZEN AS 'COACH OF THE FALL;' FIVE MORE TIOGA COUNTY COACHES ALSO MAKE THE LIST (2022-12-27)

The Sports Reports
Section IV titles, state qualifiers, state medalists, and even a couple state titles — the 2022 fall season in the Twin Tiers was one to remember.

Behind all the success this fall — or any season for that matter — is a coach, and his / her coaching staff.

Nick Aiello guided his Tioga Tigers to their second consecutive state title, and headlines The Sports Reports' 2022 All-Region Baker’s Dozen Coaches of the Fall as the “Coach of the Fall.”

The Tigers went 14-0 on the season, outscoring its opponents by an average of 46 to 12.7. During the postseason, Tioga went 5-0 and outscored its opponents by an average of 47.4 to 18.4.

Aiello directed the Tigers to their 10th Section IV, Class D title in the last 11 seasons, and the program’s third state title since 2015.

Aiello is 122-23 for his career, with a 26-2 record in the Section IV playoffs, and a 16-7 mark in the state playoffs.

Aiello’s coaching staff includes Adam Macauley, Jordan Hathaway, Jason Bellis, Jake Howland, Connor Hutchinson, Dan Pierce, and Tyler Spires.

The 2022 All-Region Baker’s Dozen “Coaches of the Fall”
Nick Aiello, Tioga football: See above.

Ray Lawson, Corning cross country: Lawson guided the Corning Hawks to a second straight state title in boys’ cross country. The boys also went to Nike Nationals and finished fifth at nationals.

He also coached the girls cross country team to a fourth-place finish at states, tied for the best finish in program history.

Tyler Sechrist, Canton football: The Warriors blew through the NTL again, their only close game the Old Shoe against Troy. They gave Jersey Shore, a state-ranked Class 4A team, their toughest game of the season until the state playoffs.

In the Class A playoffs, Canton blasted through its first three playoff games, before falling to eventual state champions Steelton-Highspire in a game it led in the fourth quarter.

Jason Miller, Waverly football: The Wolverines won 10 games in a season for the second year in a row, but more importantly knocked off Chenango Forks to win the Section IV, Class C Championship.

It’s the fourth Section IV title for Miller since 2008, and it was the first time since 1998 that Forks has lost in a Section IV championship game. The Blue Devils were 18-0 in that span.

Adam Russell, NEB cross country: The Lady Panthers overcame some injuries to sweep the NTL during the duals season, win the NTL Championship, and earn a District 4 title. Their margins of victory were wide, including a 23-point win at the NTL Championships, despite missing a top-five runner.

Russell also took a young NEB boys team full of potential and got them to realize it. They were the NTL Small School champions, and edged out Towanda for the District 4 title. The Panthers also saw Creed Dewing bring home an individual district title, and a state medal.

Des Ford, Tioga volleyball: Ford directed the Lady Tigers to a Section IV, Class D title — her seventh Section IV title since 2009, and ninth of her career.

Tioga was 15-2 in the regular season, with both losses coming in five sets, then went on to win the overall IAC Small School title, the Class D title, and one match in the state playoffs, before falling to defending state champion Mount Academy, which went on to repeat, in the quarterfinals. Tioga finished the season at 19-3.

Ford, who just finished her 37th year at Tioga, has a record of 224-39 since 2009.

Alessio De Michele, Owego boys soccer: De Michele led the Indians to a 15-2 season, and their second straight Section IV, Class B championship, and a regional title.

The Indians advanced to a second consecutive state quarterfinal, losing to eventual champion Skaneateles, 1-0 in OT. They finished the season ranked 11th in the state.

Mitch Stetter, North Penn-Liberty volleyball: After being upset in the District finals a season ago, Stetter and his squad entered the 2022 season with clear goals — win their sixth straight NTL championship and re-claim their position atop the District IV, Class AA field.

The Mounties did both in dominating fashion, running off a 14-0 record in the NTL and claiming their sixth straight title, while not losing a regular-season match to a league team since the streak began, and avenging their District final loss to Wyalusing by topping the Lady Rams for their fifth District title in six seasons.

North Penn-Liberty also crossed the border to take on one of New York State’s top teams in Corning, and beat the Lady Hawks, 3-2. Stetter also guided the Mounties to a state playoff victory, reaching the Class AA quarterfinals to put a bow on their amazing run.

Jason Banks & Gary Holmes, SVEC boys soccer: The co-head coaches led the Eagles to the IAC Large School and Section IV Class C championships, a regional title, and their first state playoff appearance.

SVEC ended the season with a 17-3 record and a No. 6 state ranking.
 
Barb Smith, Corning volleyball: Smith guided the Hawks to a Section IV title, a regional title and a trip to the state Final Four.

The Hawks got stronger and stronger as the year went on. After dropping two matches to Ithaca in the regular season, they swept them in sectionals, then won subregional and regional games to make the state final four.

John Heath, Owego cross country: The Lady Indians won the STAC Central Division title and the Section IV Class C championship. They finished seventh at the state meet.

The boys team was a sectional runner-up, but would have won the championship had their top runner not collapsed due to a medical condition less than 100 meters from winning the race.

Michael Johnston Jr, Corning football: Johnston Jr. guided the Hawks to a third straight SectionIV title, with an unbeaten Covid season in between.

Despite numerous injuries throughout the season, the Hawks were able to win another sectional title. They also recorded a win over state runner-up Newburgh to start the season.

Aaron Wooster, Cowanesque Valley, cross country: Wooster and the CV boys claimed an NTL title on the backs of a group of strong runners, with four Indians (Kristian Mizdail, Owen Cummings, Nathaniel Welch and Tori Stratton) qualifying for the state meet.
 
CV finished third at the District IV Championships, led by Mizdail’s second-place finish, and brought home a PIAA medal with Mizdail’s 11th-place finish.

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