Class D title on the line for week 8 rematch

ENDICOTT – The Greene Trojans and the Tigers of Tioga met back in the final week of the regular season. Tioga won the game with a final of 41-14, the lowest point total by the Trojans all season. Now, the two teams will clash on the field 5 p.m. Friday at Union-Endicott with a shot at the Section IV Class D title.

The Tigers pulled of what some call an upset against the Sidney Warriors in the Class D championship game a year ago and will be looking to defend as the favorites of Friday’s contest.

However, the Trojans can’t be counted out this early and they proved that last week with their 24-23 win over Sidney.

Raise your hand if you thought Greene was going to pull off probably the biggest win of the 2018 season.

Bet very many didn’t raised their hand.

Sidney was 8-0 and averaging 45.6 points scored per game heading into the semifinal matchup. The Warriors had already topped the Trojans in week one and twice last year.

Yes, all three were close games and the two teams always battle until the last play usually. However, many people in attendance or those who listened on the radio probably thought Sidney was going to find a way to pull out the win.

The Trojans squad believed in themselves the whole time. And they are gearing up to the same against the Tigers with hopes of bringing home the first Section IV championship football trophy in program history.

Tigers run

Tioga favors the run game nine times out of ten. In the first meeting the season, Tioga ran for 409 of their 446 total offensive yards. Any team would when they have four strong ball carriers that can break down a defense for 90-percent of the season’s rushing total.

The Trojans are going to have to limit the yards at the line of scrimmage for Eric Wood, Brady Worthing, John Worthing and Owen Wanck – the Tigers core four. These four totalled all the yardage in the game against Greene.

Brady Worthing is Tioga’s quarterback but can carry the ball down field when needed. He currently averages 56.2 yards per game and has a total of 506 yards for the season. However most of the time, he is handing the ball off to brother John, Wood and Wanck.

John Worthing is a double threat as he can run the ball on the ground but can catch the ball down field when the Tigers do drop back to pass. His rushing totals this season are 772 (85.8 per game) yards and 10 scores while he has caught the ball for 232 yards and three touchdowns. In the first meeting between Greene and Tioga this season, he ran for 120 yards and one score while catching another touchdown with 34 yards receiving.

Wanck is the short yardage guy for Tioga, playing more of a fullback type position. He has the lowest amount of carries by the running backs for the Tigers with 98. He has the lowest total of rushing yards for the team’s core four. He has, however, scored 10 touchdowns this season – including three against Greene earlier this season. All three of his scores against the Trojans were five yards or less away from the goal line.

Wood is the last threat Greene will have to handle. So far this season, Wood has 1,101 yards on 125 carries. He is the only back of the group who averages 100-plus yards per game (122.3) and leads the team with 13 touchdowns. Wood racked up 156 yards on the ground in 17 carries and one touchdown against the Trojans in the regular season finale.

How will Greene win?

“We need to be disciplined,” said Trojans’ head coach Dave Gorton. “We can’t worry about the past play, good or bad, because it’s over. We have to just keep focusing on the next play.

Greene’s coaching staff is well aware of Tioga’s run game. Just like they were informed of Sidney’s passing abilities prior to last week’s semifinal game. The Trojans’ coaching staff made the adjustments they needed to in the practices leading up to the contest and you can bet they have been doing the same this week.

Seeing a team more than once in a football season is a nice advantage for any team. What helps Greene is that they didn’t see them that long ago, making it hard for teams to have a totally different game plan on offense.

Of course everyone knows that the coaches aren’t going to be the ones to make the plays on defense. What they are able to do is set the players on the field with the best chance to. It will come down to the players doing the work on the field.

“We have to play assignment football, not try and cover for someone else,” said Gorton of his defense. “[Tioga] is great with faking and they have quick linemen who are dangerous at the second level.”

Pre-game words of wisdom

“We have a chance to do what everyone wants to do on the first day of practice,” said Gorton said to his team. “We are in a sectional final. Have fun and keep going forward.”

What happens next?

If Greene is able to come out as the winners of Friday’s Class D Championship, they will see the Section III winner next week at Cicero-North Syracuse at 5 p.m. on Friday.

The game Section III championship between No. 3 Herkimer and fourth-seeded Onondaga takes place at Noon on at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.

The Trojans, the underdogs of Class D Section IV football, are taking one game at a time right now.

Tonight’s forecast:

The 90-percent chance of rain is scheduled for later in tonight’s forecast but it could come earlier. The temperature for Endicott at kick-off is predicted to be 61-degrees and will be expected to drop no lower than 57 by the end of the game. Bring an umbrella and another layer just in case.