SECTION IV FOOTBALL: DEPOSIT/HANCOCK SECURES PLAYOFF SPOT WITH WIN OVER NEWARK VALLEY (2024-11-01)

Tioga County Sports Report
HANCOCK — Deposit/Hancock rebounded from its first loss of the season to defeat Newark Valley, 51-13, here Friday night and secure a Section IV Division VI playoff spot.

The Cardinals would lead early, but Deposit would reel off 37 consecutive points after taking a 14-13 edge.

The Eagles grabbed a 6-0 lead on quarterback Blake Fortunato’s 71-yard keeper, but NV QB Nate Hinckley tied the score with an 11-yard run with 53 seconds remaining in the first quarter and Josh Benjamin’s PAT kick made it 7-6.

Noah Bass tallied on a 9-yard run at 10:40 of the second period and D/H converted the PAT kick to go up 14-7.

Hinckley returned the favor 67 seconds later with a 65-yard TD run, but the 2-point PAT attempt failed, leaving the Eagles in front at halftime, 14-13.

Fortunato’s 2-yard toss to Tyler Persbacker and a 2-point PAT made it 22-13 at 10:04 the third quarter, then Fortunato scored on runs of one yard at 4:47 and 26 yards with five clicks on the Q3 clock. A pair of PAT kicks pushed the home team’s advantage to 36-13.

The Eagles would get one more TD pass from Fortunato, a 36-yarder in the fourth quarter, then backup QB Brody Matthews threw a 53-yard scoring strike to Connor Mills. PATs of one and two points made up the 51-13 final.

Deposit/Hancock (8-1) racked up 431 yards offense with Fortunato picking up 108 yards on eight carries and another 133 on 6-for-14 passing.

Nine different Cardinals ran the football, gaining 247 yards with Hinckley picking up 92 yards on 13 rushes. Gabe Merrill had eight carries for 51 yards, and Troy Stebbins and Logan Rhodes added 42 yards each on four and 12 runs, respectively.

Hinckley and Tristan Veruto combined for 31 yards through the air on one completion apiece.

Print Friendly Version