HS FOOTBALL: OWEGO BOYS SECOND AT CORTLAND 7v7 TOURNEY; GIRLS REACH FINAL FOUR (2024-07-13) Tioga County Sports Report
CORTLAND — The Owego boys football team finished a surprising second at the New York State High School Football Coaches Association Football Classic at SUNY Cortland Saturday while the girls team reached the "Final 4" on Friday.
BOYS
The River Hawks went 2-2 in pool play in the 34-team Small School division, facing Carthage and Cortland from Section III, Pioneer from Section VI and fellow Section IV foe Dryden in the 7-vs-7 event.
Owego would earn the No. 15 seed for the single-elimination bracket play and defeat Waverly in its first game. The River Hawks also won against Sullivan West from Section IX and Section III’s New Hartford to advance to the championship game. Clymer-Sherman-Palmer won a tight battle to capture the title, 28-24.
GIRLS
The River Hawks posted a 4-0 pool play record, then defeated Cicero-North Syracuse and Binghamton to reach the semifinals.
Owego would fall to Minisink Valley, which went on to claim the championship.
The River Hawks’ lineup was missing Ashlyn and Taylor Dalton and Lexy Herceg, but head coach Rusty Virkler noted that quarterback Kylie Grippen “played unbelievable.” Owego also called up some 8th-graders to help out.
