By TIM TAYLORTioga County Sports Report
SPENCER — The Spencer-Van Etten / Candor defense pitched a shutout and the offense scored 40 or more points for the fifth time this season as the Eagles crushed Groton, 41-8, in Section IV Football Conference Division VII action here Thursday night.
SVEC held the Groton offense under 200 yards while the Eagles’ offense rolled up nearly 470.
“The defense, it's kind of been our strong suit for the past few years and it has been for the most part this year and coach (Craig) Bennett does a great job getting those guys ready,” coach Gino Martone said. “They're focused all week long here and we were prepared, and then they executed on defense especially well. I attribute that just to good coaching and a good focus coming into this game.”
The victory keeps SVEC’s Class D playoff hopes alive, setting up a crucial showdown next week with Tioga, the state’s top-ranked team.
As they’ve done most of the season, the Eagles went to their big-play offense for another high-scoring victory.
“We kind of live and die by the big play a little bit, but when we can get them, and Logan (Aman) gets in the space; even Charlie (Hilbert). Charlie got in the space too,” Martone said. “When those guys get out in the open they're tough to bring down. Our job as coaches and everyone else around them, is just to get those guys in the open space. That's the plan going forward and we'll just keep doing it and try to do it again next week.”
SVEC overcame a few stumbles and scored 27 unanswered points to enjoy an S-VE Senior Night triumph.
With his team leading, 14-8, quarterback Jakobe Foster hit Logan Aman with a 48-yard over-the-shoulder TD pass with 5:25 remaining in the second quarter to give SVEC a 20-8 advantage.
“He's got speed and if you get him a crease, he'll take it the distance,” said Martone. “I'm sure he'll be the first to tell you that it doesn't start with anybody else but the guys up front, so credit to those guys too, creating those lanes for him to get open and once he gets that open field it's tough to bring him down. It's fun to watch, but a lot of credit goes to those front five there.”
Following a three-and-out, Charlie Hilbert darted up the middle and outran the Red Hawk defenders for a 74-yard TD on second-and-15. Foster found Teagan Kwiatkowski unguarded for the PAT, making it 28-8 with 2:32 on the clock.
The Eagles weren’t finished, however, as Foster intercepted Groton QB Kameron McClain at the SVEC 1 and returned it 40 yards. On the very next play, Aman would dash 59 yards to make it 34-8 with 26 seconds left in the half.
SVEC would fumble away the ball on the first possession of the second half, Groton turned the ball over on downs and both teams punted once in a scoreless third period.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Aman weaved his way to a 67-yard TD run and Jak Smith added the PAT kick for the final points of the night, giving SVEC a 41-8 cushion.
The Red Hawks started the game with the ball, but two tackles-for-losses and an incomplete pass, but a 44-yard punt return by Aman gave SVEC the ball at the Groton 19. Four plays later, the Eagles turned the ball over on downs after losing a yard.
A 17-yard pass from McClain to Lane Darling, an 18-yard run by Darling and a 20-yard toss from McClain to Derran Morris gave the visitors a first-and-goal at the nine. Darling toted the rock down to the two, but a penalty pushed the ball back to the seven and the SVEC defense held from there.
Aman broke loose for a 93-yard TD on the next play, giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead with 1:31 to go in the first quarter.
SVEC’s Rodney Vaow recovered an onside kickoff at the Groton 48 and Aman scored on a 12-yard run four plays later, making it 14-0 just 15 seconds into the second quarter.
The Red Hawks turned the ball over on downs at their own 42 and SVEC drove it down to the four. On first-and-goal the Eagles coughed up the pigskin and Darling scooped it up on the bounce and raced down the Groton sideline foa 94-yard TD. The PAT pass from McClain to Morris closed the gap to 14-8 with 5:41 on the clock.
SVEC scored on the second play of the ensuing possession to begin a surge of 27 unanswered points.
The Eagles racked up 469 yards offense (403 on the ground) with Aman accounting for 346. He carried the ball 16 times for 280 yards, had one reception for 48 yards and completed his only pass for 18 more.
Foster went 1-for-2 through the air for 48 yards and added 39 more on four runs. Hilbert had 80 yards on three rushes, and Kwiatkowski tacked on one catch for 18 yards and one run for four yards.
Groton finished with 191 yards offense with 105 coming on the ground. Darling had 19 carries for 91 yards and caught three passes for 26 more while McClain went 8-for-20 passing for 86 yards.
The 14th-ranked Eagles (3-1, 6-2 overall) move into second place in Division VII and visit front-runner Tioga (3-0, 6-1 overall) next Friday at 7 p.m.
“It's a big game every time you go against Tioga,” Martone said. “They're the team that everyone looks up to in this section and everyone knows what they're bringing to the table here. It's a big week and we've gone into this week before. We know what's ahead of us. We know what we need to do. Like I said, focus this last week was good. Focus needs to be better this (next) week, and we're going to go out there and give them what we’ve got.”
The game will feature a clash of Aman and the Tigers’ Logan Bellis, both of whom are among the Section IV rushing and scoring leaders.
“That is the matchup, right? What defense can contain the other Logan better, so we know that. We know Tioga knows that. They're smart over there, so like I said, it's going to be preparing for that, trying to limit the big plays and trying to make sure we get our big plays. We've got to take advantage of those, so we'll see, but we'll get ready for it. “
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IN PHOTO 1: SVEC’s Jakobe Foster. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
