Union-Endicott hopes for second straight semifinals appearance

After an 0-2 start to the season under first year Head Coach Tom Baleno, Union-Endicott has responded quite nicely.

The Tigers are currently riding a five game win streak and have come out on top in seven of their last eight contests. On the docket for the Tigers is Class A's 16th-ranked team, Carthage. U-E comes in at No. 18 in Class A.

On the heels of its second straight sectional title, Union-Endicott hopes to make their second straight state semifinals appearance as well.

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Maine-Endwell could be in trouble in quarterfinals

The Maine-Endwell Spartans could be in some trouble in their state quarterfinal game against Cazenovia this Saturday. Six Spartans, according to Head Coach Matt Gallagher, broke an undisclosed team rule.

Gallagher said that disciplinary action will be taken care of in-house. When asked if the unnamed players will be in the lineup Saturday, he said it is quite possible that some will be sitting out.

All 51 Spartans will dress for the quarterfinal contest, however.

Maine-Endwell enters the state playoffs with hopes of a third straight Class B Title. Their quarterfinal matchup is against Cazenovia at 6 PM Saturday, at Union-Endicott's Ty Cobb Stadium.

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Tigers(x2) and Blue Devils take home Section Titles

Three games left on the Section IV Finals schedule for Saturday, none disappointed.  Class D started off the day with a bang as Tioga blasted Unatego 80-53.  Class C followed with a Chenango Forks 49-15 victory over Waverly.  The night concluded with the Union-Endicott Tigers holding off the rival Vestal Golden Bears for the 20-14 win.

The Class D Shootout, as it were, saw Tioga take a 59-12 lead into the locker room.  Finals MVP Jesse Manuel led the first half attack with 16 carries, 217 yards, and three touchdowns but he and the rest of the first stringers for the Tigers did not see any action in the second half.  Meanwhile, quarterback Ryan Vergason threw the ball once.  One complete pass for 28 yards.  Outside of Manuel's running game, the rest of the Tigers ran the ball  41 times for 405 yards and six touchdowns.  That's a total running game of 57 carries, 622 yards and nine TDs.  But that's not the most impressive stat of the day.

The Unatego Spartans came out guns a-blazing in the second half.  Offensive Player of the game, Spartans QB, Josh Feyerabend set the NYS single game record for passing yards.  His 29-40, 581 yard, 7 TD performance stole the record away from CBA's Greg Paulus who went 30-50 with 543 yards.  Feyerabend also came up just one TD shy of the record 8 set by St. Joseph's Gary Castine.  Feyerabend joins 8 other NYS QBs to throw for 7 TDs in one game.

The Tigers follow their third straight section title with a Regional matchup agianst Herkimer at 7:00 on Friday at U-E's Ty Cobb Stadium.

For the Chenango Forks Blue Devils, it's their second straight Class C title, and 4th in 5 years (with 2013 opponent Waverly taking 2011 honors).  Including their previous seasons in Class B, Forks has won Section titles in 11 of the last 13 seasons.  Saturday's 49-15 victory over the Wolverines was highlighted by the play of Finals MVP Isaiah Zimmer.  Zimmer's four TDs came on 25 carries and 219 yards rushing.  The Blue Devils have successfully integrated a solid passing game over the last few seasons, but Saturday, Head Coach Dave Hogan said the ground game was working too well to throw the ball.  A classic case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."  JC Sweeney picked up just seven yards passing on one completion and four attempts.  Ryan Bronson was named Offensive Player of the Game, Mike Zurenda, Defensive Player of the Game.

Chenango Forks draws the winner of Immaculate Heart and General Brown (those two play Sunday at the Carrier Dome).  Blue Devils regional game is at noon on Saturday at U-E.

The nightcap featured two bitter rivals, the U-E Tigers and the Vestal Golden Bears in a rematch of last year's Class A Finals.  The Tigers got the best of that one, 27-3 but this year, it would be a little closer.

Trailing 20-14 late in the 4th quarter, the Golden Bears forced a fumble and took over possession.  On 4th down, QB Nick Wegmann took off scrambling, gained significant yardage, but fell mere inches shy of the first down line.  From there, the Tigers took over possession and just needed to take a knee to make it back-to-back titles in Class A.

Sammy Davis led the Tigers on the ground with 20 carries, 122 yards, and 1 TD.  Joey Orlando 8-16 with 123 yards and two interceptions.

The Tigers next opponent, Carthage, scored it's last TD with 21 seconds left to beat Indian River 21-20 for the Section III Class A Title.

U-E and Carthage battle it out at 7:00 Friday night at Vestal (U-E is not allowed to play on its home field).

Friday night's winners, Elmira (AA) and M-E (B) also now know when their next game is, but only Elmira knows who it's against.  Elmira will play CBA at 3:00 Saturday at U-E.  M-E gets the winner of Cazenovia and Oneida (Sunday), that game at 6:00 Saturday at U-E.

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Spartans 4-peat, Patriots fall in Section Finals

Five Sectional titles this weekend.  With three games Saturday, Friday night provided a teaser with plenty of thrills.

In the evening game, the M-E Spartans rode three consecutive touchdowns by Darnell Woolfolk to take down the JC Wildcats 35-15.  For the Spartans it's their 4th straight Section IV Title.  They won the Class A Title in 2010 and '11 and made it back-to-back Class B Titles Friday evening.  Next up: the winner of Cazenovia and Oneida.  Those two teams play for the Section III Title on Sunday.

In Class AA nightcap, the Binghamton Patriots gave the Elmira Express a run for their money, but couldn't get the job done late in the game.  Trailing 22-14 at the half, the Patriots tied the game up early in the 3rd, but the Express, appropriately, quickly scored and subsequently ran away with it and ended the game 42-22.  For Elmira, it's the team's first Sectional title in the three years since the ESS/EFA merger.

Saturday's schedule:

Class D: Tioga vs. Unatego, 12:00, Alumni Stadium

Class C: Chenango Forks vs. Waverly, 3:00, Alumni Stadium

Class A: Union-Endicott vs. Vestal, 9:00, Alumni Stadium

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Blue Devils, Tigers ready for Section Title games

As we prepare ourselves for the excitement that is the Section IV Finals, the teams on the field have plenty of preparing to do as well.  In Class AA, Binghamton and Elmira met in week 8, so the Patriots loss, is all too fresh in the memory bank, and they're ready for revenge, U-E and Vestal get a second rivalry showdown for the Class A Title, and in Class B, another rivalry, the Spar-Cat,  M-E and JC head-to-head in a rematch of week 4.

Meanwhile, in Class C, the Chenango Forks and Waverly go head-to-head in a rematch of last season's Section Final.  The Blue Devils won that won, and if not for Waverly in 2011, would be looking for five Section titles in a row.  But as Head Coach Dave Hogan knows, the biggest chink in his team's armor is it's pass defense.

Finally, in Class D, the Tioga Tigers are putting their 9-0 record on the line in their quest for a third straight title.  To do so, they will go up against the 8-1 Unatego Spartans.  The Spartans have scored 122 more points than they've allowed this year, a differential second only in Class D to their next opponent Tioga.  While most Class D teams are known for their ground and pound offenses, both teams showed off impressive and blossoming air attacks in their semi-final games on Saturday.  For Tigers Head Coach Nick Aiello, the arm of three-year starter Ryan Vergason will be a key to victory.

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Semi-Final Saturday: Scores and Highlights from Section IV Football

Several games on the schedule to set the schedule for the Section IV Finals (home team listed second):

Class AA:
Elmira vs. Binghamton, 11/8, 8:00pm, Ty Cobb Stadium

Class A:
Horseheads 0 - Union-Endicott 50
U-E vs Vestal, 11/9, 6:00, Alumni Stadium

Class B:
Owego 6 - Maine-Endwell 49
Norwich 14 - Johnson City 35
JC vs. M-E, 11/8, 5:00, Ty Cobb Stadium

Class C:
Lansing 26 - Chenango Forks 48
Newark Valley 20 - Waverly 25
Waverly vs. Forks, 11/9, 3:00, Alumni Stadium

Class D:
Spencer-Van Etten 0 - Tioga 54
Notre Dame 12 - Unatego 20
Unatego vs. Tioga, 11/9, 12:00pm, Alumni Stadium

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Section IV Semi-final weekends: Friday Night

Scores and highlights from around Section IV in the Section IV Semi-Final round (home team listed second):

Class AA:
Ithaca 24 - Binghamton 54

Class A:
Corning 14 - Vestal 33

Non-Playoff Games:
Walton 6 - Sidney 20

Greene 0 - Windsor 32

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