SECTION IV FOOTBALL: NEWARK VALLEY DROPS 18-16 HEARTBREAKER TO ITHACA (24 PHOTOS) (2024-10-19)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
ITHACA — Lady Luck has not been smiling on the Newark Valley football team very often this season — and Saturday afternoon was no different.
Ithaca scored touchdowns late in the second and fourth quarters, and took advantage of an NV fumble to score another TD and escape with an 18-16 Section IV Football Conference action here Saturday.
“This was definitely a game of missed opportunities,” coach Ted Hardenstine said. “We had opportunities in the first half that we couldn't finish drives.
“Opportunities where we had them on fourth downs, and they were able to make the play on fourth down each time, both at the end of the game and the first half. Then at the end of the game, where we couldn't pick up that first down. Maybe it was a bit of an aggressive call, but we haven't been punting the ball particularly well, so I thought the chance to end it on offense versus, we've been averaging about 20 yards on our punts, was going to be a better thing for us to try to get that done and we just came up a little bit short.
The Little Red scored the game-winning TD on a 6-yard Noah Butler-to-Christian Barton pass on fourth-and-4 with 33 seconds remaining in the game. The 8-play, 46-yard drive came after stopping the Cardinal offense on a fourth-and-2, then drawing the NV defense offside on a 4th-and-2 three plays later.
A 21-yard halfback option pass from Leo Fiorello to Mikko Greene provided a highlight for Ithaca fans, giving their team a first down at the NV 12. On second-and-4 Connor Brundza and Titus Callahan stopped Butler for no gain on a QB keeper. The NV defense then pressured him into throwing an incomplete pass on third down, but he was able to find Barton open across the middle on fourth down.
Things were looking up for Newark Valley at the game’s onset as it recovered an onside kick to start the day. The Cardinals drove the ball 46 yards to the Ithaca 4 before turning it over on downs.
Jack Blomberg and Josh Karp teamed up for a tackle in the end zone on the next play, giving NV a safety and a 2-0 edge.
The Cardinals would cough up the pigskin at the Ithaca 23 on the ensuing possession and the Little Red went 77 yards in 10 plays with Fiorello scoring on a 5-yard run at 9:27 of the second quarter to grab a 6-2 lead.
NV would march 57 yards in 12 plays before turning the ball over on downs at the Ithaca 10. After giving up a 25-yard pass, the Cardinal defense regrouped and Callahan blocked a punt, giving the visitors the ball at the 13.
Karp carried the rock on the next two plays, the latter going eight yards for a TD to give Newark Valley an 8-6 advantage with 1:21 to go in the half.
Ithaca recovered the onside kick at the NV 49 and Butler picked apart the defense, hitting Greene with an 18-yard TD pass at the halftime buzzer. The score overshadowed a nice sack in which Blomberg took Butler down for a 13-yard loss.
The Cardinals sputtered on the opening possession of the second half, but Ithaca would turn the ball over on downs at the NV 23. Ten plays later, Gabe Merrill busted up the middle on a 17-yard TD run. Logan Rhodes ran for the PAT and a 16-12 lead with 15 ticks left on the third quarter clock.
“We came out in the second half and we had a really long, powerful drive, kind of got momentum, and were able to finally punch it in,” Hardenstine said.
The Little Red moved deep into NV territory early in the fourth quarter, but Tim Wojtysiak intercepted Butler at the NV 17 with 8:43 to go.
The Cardinals would chew up almost six minutes before turning the ball over on downs at the Ithaca 46 with 2:47 to play.
NV had one more opportunity to rally back as Nate Hinckley throwing to Wojtysiak, who made an acrobatic 31-yard catch at the Ithaca 36. Hinckley spiked the ball twice, with Rhodes running for 13 yards to the 23 in between, but Hickley’s pass on the final play of the game was picked off by Owen Webster.
The Cardinals outgained their host, 277-240, picking up 231 yards on the ground while Ithaca had 234 through the air.
Rhodes gained 61 yards on 11 carries, Merrill rushed seven times for 53, Karp added 43 on nine runs and King had 30 yards on six carries. Wojtysiak and Hinckley combined for 38 yards on 15 rushes while splitting time at QB. Hinckley was also 3-for-7 passing with all three completions going to Wojtysiak for 46 yards.
The NV defense held the Little Red to 0.35 yards per carry, but Butler was 19-for-29 for 213 yards passing the ball.
Newark Valley (0-1 Div. VI, 1-6) faces Bainbridge-Guilford (0-1, 5-2) in its first-ever home night game Friday, then closes out the regular season at Deposit/Hancock (1-0, 7-0) Nov. 1 at Hancock. NV must win both games to have a shot at the postseason.
“I’m very proud of these guys for fighting. They've had a ton of adversity this year that they've had to overcome and I feel bad for them that we weren't able to get a win today,” Hardenstine said. “It's difficult the way the season has gone, no doubt, but at the same time, you just hope that the guys you’ve got in here in the building with you are the guys that want to compete and, and that they realize that, regardless of if we had an opportunity or not, it's another opportunity to play football.
“That’s what I hope, first and foremost. I think the guys here, we don't have a lot of them, so I hope that the guys that are here, and I think that they're showing up to practice every day. They've gone through a season like this. I hope that they love the chance to compete.
“That's the first thing, and then, if it works out and we're able to get these last two wins, then there's a good shot, unless some kind of weird tiebreaker thing happens, we'll find ourselves in the playoffs again.
“I think that's something that probably our kids take pride in. I don't remember the exact (number), I think it's 12 or 13 years in a row we've been in the playoffs, so I'm sure they want to be able to be competitive and not be the team that breaks that streak.”
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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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