By TIM TAYLORTioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — The Owego football team’s season has already gone three weeks longer than most people imagined, but the River Hawks aren’t ready to call it quits just yet.
On Saturday, the 5th-ranked River Hawks (9-3) will face top-ranked James Monroe (10-0) from Section V in the NYSPHSAA Class B West semifinal at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.
There’s an air of excitement surrounding the team as it sets its sights on extending this Cinderella season into December.
“Obviously the boys are pretty excited,” coach Patton Taylor said. “That was an exciting, dramatic win we had last Saturday. We’re just kind of enjoying every step of this, myself and my staff, and the player. We're all in this uncharted territory together so we're appreciating every moment of it.
“The families of the players, they've been super supportive. The community, they seem supportive. I think it’s just an exciting time, not just for the program, but for the community and the school district, Owego Apalachin.
“These kids have worked so extremely hard, dating back to last January when we started our workouts after school, you know, going four days a week for like an hour and a half. The spring workouts, stuff we did on the weekend, we get to the summer, they're finally starting to see that work pay off, so couldn't be happier with how things are going right now.”
Owego wasn’t supposed to be strapping on the pads after Thanksgiving after finishing third in Section IV Division III, but the River Hawks have knocked off three higher-ranked teams during the postseason.
“We definitely had our fair share of naysayers, externally and internally,” Taylor said. “This group of boys, they've always kind of been chippy. That's been their MO, so they took that personally and each week they just wanted to get better. We don't really talk about winning a whole lot. We talk more about the process, just getting one percent better every day, and they truly bought into that. Any outside motivation we got just kind of fueled the fire. It wasn't pretty at times. At times it was downright ugly, but they found a way. If I could best describe this team, it's find a way.”
The weather forecast calls for up to 15 inches of snow in Cicero from Friday into Saturday morning. Taylor is hoping that will benefit the River Hawks’ power offense more than the Red Jackets aerial attack.
“Elements will certainly play a role in this game,” he said. “They're from Rochester, so they're practicing in cold too. I don't see how temperature-wise it gives us an advantage or disadvantage. They get more lake effect snow than we do, but if the weather is as bad as the forecast says it's going to be, with our style of play, we definitely like that. Be physical, control the ball, three, four yards, maybe pop a big one here there, but I don't see how it gives us a clear advantage.
“Historically, typically the power offenses tend to do better, but they're going to be prepped for this as well. They're right in Rochester, they're used to the cold, they're used to the lake effect snow. I anticipate they're going to be prepped for this game as well.”
Strength of schedule leans in Owego’s favor, although it is not necessarily a key measuring stick in this clash. The River Hawks faced four state-ranked teams and two honorable mentions during the regular season, going 3-3. During the postseason the Owego upset 9th-ranked Maine-Endwell, 7th-ranked Waverly and 4th-ranked New Hampton. Only two of Monroe’s opponents finished above .500. One was state-ranked and two others received honorable mentions.
The Red Jackets outscored their foes, 412-11. In the playoffs, they defeated Honeoye Falls-Lima, 40-0, and Lackawanna, 40-14. Only the Section VI champion Steelers were state ranked, although two others earned honorable mentions.
“Our mindset heading into this is the same mindset we had last week,” Taylor said. “Do what we’ve got to do to go 1-0 this week, as cliche as that sounds. They're in the state semis for a reason and they do have some guys on their squad that when you watch film, it grabs your attention pretty quickly, but we’ve got some dudes too that can do a lot of damage, so they have to prep for us.
“We're not really worried about who they've played. Obviously, you’ve got to learn from the film. We're 9-3 now, but what's done is done. What truly matters is what do we have to do to win this game?”
A cohesive defensive unit has been the key to success for Owego, which didn’t allow more than two touchdowns in a game until last week.
“We're going to start up front with our T-N-Ts. We're a little banged up, but we anticipate to be close to full health or at full health come Saturday,” Taylor said. “I think Dom Scherrer is going to play a big role in this game. His ball get-off is extremely violent, and then you have (Dylan) Davis and (Lucas) Boccasini off to the sides. They're about as fundamentally sound D tackles as you'll find around, so we anticipate a big day from them and I think they understand the assignment as well.
“With our secondary, all season, during the regular season, with Section IV being predominantly a power run section, our corners and our safeties, we stress so much about helping us out in the run game.
“Pre-game plan for the past two weeks, it's been the complete opposite. I think you saw a little bit of that last Saturday with New Hartford. Once they kind of started finding the soft spot in our coverage, they really capitalized on that, so for a secondary, just communicating, picking up on their tendencies, depending on what formation they're in. Where's No. 2 at, where's No. 1 at, because they have that Oregon recruit. He's a phenomenal player, but they have some other guys who are pretty dangerous in space too. Just being able to communicate and kind of weather the storm. They're going to get theirs, they're going to make their big plays. We’ve just got to have a short memory and survive and get to the next play.”
Some followers claim Taylor has brought the “Haggerty style” of football to Owego, referencing the legendary Jim Haggerty, who won more than 230 games and had a .721 winning percentage at neighboring Tioga. Taylor played for the Tigers in high school.
“Obviously, there's some similarities,” Taylor said. “We can't be quite as bold, I would say. We have to get out of our power sets from time to time. That last drive we had against New Hartford last week, we had to spread it out a little bit, but our identity is the Power I quote unquote Haggerty way. I wouldn't have brought that to the table if it didn't work.
“Having played under (Nick) Aiello and seeing how he kind of morphed that into his own thing, (Jeremy) Pichany before him kind of had his own stamp on it and just kind of learning from my dad (Scot Taylor) growing up when he took over after Haggs, there's different iterations, but at its core, it all starts with a line. Without a good line, whatever iteration of the Haggerty offense is doesn't work. Our boys up front do a phenomenal job. They pick up backers. They're incredibly smart when it comes to, we're getting this shade or this shade. They're good at problem solving and without that I don't think we'd have the success that we've been having. “
Knocking off Monroe won’t be easy.
Quarterback Pooty Cunningham is 131-for-174 passing for 2,466 yards and 34 touchdowns. He has only been intercepted five times and has a 144.5 quarterback rating.
His top receiver is University of Oregon commit Messiah Hampton, who has 57 receptions for 952 yards and 11 TDs. Hampton is ranked No. 10 in the country by rivals.com.
Cunningham will also look for Ray Garcia (26-528, 7 TDs) and Luis Falu (22-501, 9 TDs).
The Red Jackets don’t run the ball much, but Jermaine Montgomery (41-346, 3 TDs), Ray Garcia (30-303, 4 TDs) and Deshean Thomas (38-281, 2 TDs) could get some carries, especially if snow and/or wind becomes a factor.
On defense, Christien Franklin and Jermaine Montgomery lead the team in tackles with 88 and 87, respectively. Anthony Omebe (55 tackles) leads the team in sacks with 11 and tackles for loss with 19. Hampton has contributed 62 tackles, Zhiere McKnight has 46 tackles, six sacks and 12 tackles for loss, D'Markos Trammell has five interceptions and James Brumfield has tacked on four more picks.
The River Hawks may not have rolled up the points this season, but they have outscored their opponents, 228-132. Their success has been fueled by the defense, which has held every opponent, with the exception of New Hartford, to two or fewer TDs, and has registered 26 takeaways.
Dylan Brace, who moved from defensive back to linebacker, has set the standard with 113 tackles, with 42 solo and 12 for losses. He also has 3 ½ sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Boccasini leads the team with 16 tackles for losses, 10 sacks, 12 QB pressures and three fumble recoveries. He has 68 tackles.
Lynkon Craft has 91 tackles, 13 for losses, and an interception; Atlas Boland has 77 takedowns, 15 for losses, seven QB pressures, seven pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery; Dom Scherrer has pitch in with 67 tackles, 12 for losses, two sacks, eight pass breakups and two fumble recoveries; Payden Morales has 64 tackles, eight pass breakups and two interceptions; Sam Sherwood has recorded 59 tackles, five for losses, eight pass breakups, four interceptions and one TD.
Davis has 57 tackles, 10 for losses, five QB pressures and three fumble recoveries; Nolan Card has 53 tackles, 11 for losses, two sacks, three QB pressures, four pass breakups, two sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and two TDs; and John Farrell has 47 tackles, six for losses, nine pass breakups, two interceptions and a TD. Sixteen other players have contributed tackles as well.
Owego’s run-oriented offense is led by Brace, who has rushed for 1,217 yards and 11 TDs on 208 carries and has only coughed up the pigskin once. Senior QB Garrett Phelps has bolstered the ground game with 681 yards and six TDs on 142 runs.
Also aiding the run game are Farrell (43-251, 6 TD), Dom Scherrer (24-156, 2 TD) and the quartet of Mathew Lewis, Cole Cokely, Craft and Mason Schneider, who have combined for an additional 97 yards on 22 carries.
Phelps has completed 45 of his 88 pass attempts for 572 yards and two TDs with seven interceptions. Farrell has both TDs and has made a dozen catches for 190 yards while Boland (15-192) is the leading receiver. Brace has eight receptions for 72 yards, Card has six for 82, and Schneider and Jaxson Calice have teamed to pull in four passes for another 36 yards.
Special teams have been a plus too as Farrell and Sherwood have each scored on a pick six, and Brace has split the uprights for two field goals and 18 PAT kicks.
The winner advances to the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse on Dec. 6 to face the winner between No. 3 Glens Falls and No. 4 Sleepy Hollow.
Tickets (no cash sales) are available at https://gofan.co/event/4579993?schoolId=NYSPHSAA for $13.60 or you can stream the game live at nfhsnetwork.com for $13.99.
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IN PHOTO 1: Dylan Brace has accounted for 40 percent of Owego’s offense. IN TOP PHOTO: Defense has played a key role in the River Hawks’ success. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
