By TIM TAYLORTioga County Sports Report
WALTON — With its back against the wall, Spencer-Van Etten/Candor rose to the occasion. The Eagles took advantage of several Walton turnovers to defeat the Warriors, 18-6, in a Section IV Football Conference must-win for both teams here Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, SVEC improved to 3-1 in Division VI and clinched the runner-up spot behind Delhi.
“We had two words at the beginning of the week,” coach Jared Wayman said. “It was answer for offense and refuse on defense, and I think you saw that they took it to heart. I mean, we said the season was on the line and it truly was.”
Wayman knew Walton would pose a formidable challenge to the Eagles.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” he said. “This team's no slouch by any means, and it was a dogfight. These are the games that you want to be in, especially games that you need to win, and it feels that much better.
“It was a totally a team effort. Guys stepped up that this is probably their first real varsity experience and it showed that we're improving in the depth chart and it's a next man up mentality here, and they answered the bell. I'm more than excited with this win. We're going to go to the playoffs.”
Two of the Eagles’ touchdowns came on possessions following Walton turnovers while the game-winning TD was a 62-yard run by Logan Aman, which came just two plays after the Warriors tied the game at 6-6.
Darrin Walley scored on a 10-yard run with one minute on the first-half clock to tie the score at six apiece, then the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds.
SVEC would start at its own 36 and on 2nd-and-8, Aman went to hit the hole, but there wasn’t one, so he bounced outside and raced to paydirt with 37.7 seconds remaining. He ran for the PAT, but it was erased by a penalty. The kick failed, leaving SVEC ahead, 12-6, at intermission.
The Eagles added an insurance TD with a 15-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter as Chris Merrick scored on a 2-yard quarterback keeper. Charlie Hilbert kept the drive alive on a 2-yard run on 4th-and-2, then SVEC picked up consecutive first downs on runs of 16 and 21 yards by Aman, and 12 yards by Jakobe Foster. Aman would fumble at the one, but Ryan Huizinga was there to pounce on the loose ball.
With 6:02 to go, the Warriors got the ball at the 35 following an out-of-bounds kick and would chew up four minutes on the ensuing possession. Sparked by runs of 10 and 12 yards by Walley and a 19-yard London Gardner-to-Walley pass, Walton set up a first-and-goal at the seven, but a SVEC goal line stand gave the Eagles the ball at their own one with just over two minutes to play.
Following a SVEC three-and-out, Foster intercepted Gardner at the 14 to secure the win. It was the second pick for Foster, who aso intercepted Gardner on the first possession of the third period, ending 55-yard drive at his own 13.
Reaching the end zone didn’t seem possible early on as the Eagles struggled with a pair of three-and-out possessions to start the day.
The Warriors would squander a prime scoring opportunity, however, coughing up the ball at the SVEC 21 on the first play of the second quarter with Huizinga jumping on the loose rock. Four plays later, Aman darted 55 yards down the sideline for a TD at 9:43.
Following an exchange of punts, the teams also swapped fumbles with Matthew Smith getting a recovery for the Eagles. The next two possessions resulted in TDs by each team.
Walton held a decisive advantage in possession, logging 62 offensive plays to the Eagles’ 38. The Warriors also chalked up 339 total yards to SVEC’s 243, but having the turnover battle weigh in its favor was a major factor in the outcome.
“We've preached ball security since week one,” said Wayman. “In the beginning of the season, we were having trouble with that. There were a few that we put on the ground. Fortunately, we got them back, so we definitely need to tighten that up.
“We definitely took advantage of mistakes and that's what we need to do.We've had it done to us countless times. We talk about Delhi in the past and that was a close game until we started shooting ourselves in the foot.
“The self-inflicted stuff we didn't give into and we just made the best of it, and the guys never let up. It was the same attitude the whole way through and they just kept jacking it up every quarter.”
Aman led all rushers, chalking up 174 yards on 19 carries. Hilbert had nine runs for 38 yards and Foster added 29 yards on eight runs. Merrick attempted just one pass.
Walley finished with 150 yards on a workmanlike 29 carries while Parker Cash ran the ball 12 times for another 108. The Warriors ran the ball 52 times for 294 yards. Gardner completed four of his 10 passes for 45 yards with Walley having two receptions for 25 yards.
SVEC (3-1, 4-4 overall) will finish out the regular season at home on Senior Night Friday against Schuyler (1-5), which recorded its first win of the season Saturday against Whitney Point, 44-6.
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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
