Dominant wins for Corning, Horseheads, TAE, Waverly in football semis

Corning, Horseheads, Waverly, and Thomas A. Edison were dominant in Section 4 football semifinal contests, earning spots in championship games next week.

Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour fell short against defending state champion Tioga Central in a Class D semifinal.

A recap of Elmira-Corning region teams in sectional semifinals played Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7.

Hours after it was announced he was named the section's Class AA Player of the Year by the Section 4 Football Coaches Association , Corning's John Graham returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to set the tone in the Hawks' home semifinal triumph Friday night.

"When we're clicking on all three sides of the ball, we're pretty good and we're tough to beat," Corning head coach Mike Johnston Jr. said. "To open the game up with the kickoff return was huge. He shows why he's the Section 4 Class AA Player of the Year and continues to make big plays for us."

Graham added touchdown runs of 5 yards and 1 yard as Corning led 30-7 at halftime on the way to its second lopsided win this season against the Little Red. Corning, which began its combined program in 2010, has never lost to Ithaca.

Graham finished with 96 yards on 13 rushes on a night Corning had 10 players run the ball.

Fellow wingback Keegan Kelly added 86 yards on eight rushes to go with an interception on defense. Fullback Keegan VanCise carried 14 times for 78 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown.

Ashton Neally added two touchdowns for the Hawks, the first on a 19-yard reception of a Nate Bretch throw, and the second on a 4-yard run that put Corning up, 44-7, just over two minutes into the final quarter.

"It wasn't like somebody ran for 200 yards," Johnston said. "It was a collective effort by our team. A lot of the credit goes to our line. We were able to throw the ball tonight as well, and our defense was pretty solid as well. Just an all-around great effort by everybody."

Touchdowns for Ithaca (5-5) came on a 36-yard run from Jasmir Robbins in the first half, and a 29-yard strike from Leo Fiorello to Shy'von Williams late in the game.

Robbins rushed for 72 yards on eight carries. He sat out the second half after he was shaken up on the final play of the first half.

Corning responded after a 33-7 loss to Union-Endicott in last week's regular-season finale. Little went right for the Hawks in that game, including more than 200 penalty yards, a dropped touchdown, and some injuries that sidelined key players in the second half.

"I'd like to think that we turned the corner," Johnston said. "We've still got a ways to go with some guys, getting them healthy. I know Elmira gets the bye week and their kids will be back to full go."

Up next : Corning (6-4) will play Elmira (6-3) in the championship game at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 at Elmira's Thomas J. Hurley Athletic Complex. Elmira topped Corning, 14-8, in the regular season and has beaten the Hawks in the last three Section 4 Class AA finals.

"This is the rivalry game that you play for all season," Johnston said. "Both of us have this date circled on the schedule, that we want to play each other in the sectional championship. That's our ultimate goal, to win the sectional championship."

Five players scored touchdowns Friday night as the Blue Raiders built a 41-0 halftime lead on the way to a home semifinal victory over the Patriots.

Jaxson Burchard had touchdown runs of 44 and 76 yards. He carried three times for 130 yards before leaving with an injury.

Bryce Thomas added 58 yards and a touchdown on five rushes, Sullivan Kraft contributed 132 yards and a TD on seven rushes, and Ben Peffer had 32 yards and a touchdown on three carries.

Horseheads quarterback Lyncoln Bennett connected with Jack Patchett for touchdowns of 4 and 24 yards.

Thomas led the defense with seven tackles. Patchett and Noah Gee had five tackles each, with Elijah Miller contributing four tackles.

Up next : Horseheads (8-2) will host Union-Endicott (7-3) in the championship game Friday, Nov. 13. Horseheads beat U-E, 21-15, during the regular season after falling to the Tigers, 21-20, in overtime in last year's sectional final .

U-E was a 35-0 winner over Vestal in Friday's other semifinal.

8-man: Thomas A. Edison 54, Unatego/Franklin/Unadilla Valley 27

Edison senior quarterback Jace Schiller accounted for seven touchdowns for the third time this season as the Spartans moved within one victory of the program's first Section 4 title with an eight-man semifinal victory at Ithaca High School.

Schiller completed 10-of-14 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. His contribution on the ground included 255 yards and five touchdowns on 40 carries.

On Friday, Schiller was named the Section 4 Football Coaches Association's eight-man Player of the Year.

Connor Lasko had four catches for 84 yards and a TD for Edison. Tanner Buchanan also caught a touchdown pass.

TAE's Paxton Hoover caught four passes for 52 yards, and he had five carries for 61 yards.

Edison's other touchdown came on a 12-yard run from Jimmy Haskins to make the score 54-14 early in the final quarter.

In Edison's 48-44 regular-season win over Unatego/Franklin/UV, Schiller passed for four touchdowns and ran for three. He opened the season by scoring seven touchdowns against Elmira Notre Dame in a game called at halftime.

Up next : Edison (7-1), the state's third-ranked eight-man team, will meet Lansing in the championship game at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 at Chenango Valley. Edison was a 34-21 winner over Lansing during the regular season.

Class C: Waverly 41, Susquehanna Valley 12

Cooper Chrystie rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns to go with 129 passing yards and a TD as Waverly downed Susquehanna Valley at home Friday in a Class C semifinal.

Bryce LaForest carried 10 times for 86 yards and a touchdown for Waverly.

Up next : Waverly (8-2) will face defending sectional champion Chenango Forks (10-0) in the title game at noon Saturday, Nov. 14 at Binghamton Alumni Stadium. Forks, ranked first in the state, was a 54-14 semifinal winner over Oneonta on Friday.

Class D: Tioga 12, Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour 7

Tioga quarterback Jackson Bombard ran for two touchdowns in the final six minutes as the Tigers rallied to beat Watkins Glenn/Odessa-Montour in a Class D semifinal at Union-Endicott.

Bombard's 3-yard TD run brought the Tigers within 7-6 with 5 minutes, 25 seconds remaining. The try for two was no good. Tioga then recovered a high kickoff at Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour's 34-yard line. Bombard scored on a 29-yard run with 3:49 to play for the game's final points.

The Storm's Mason Dupay broke a scoreless tie with a 4-yard TD run with just over nine minutes remaining. He finished with 56 yards on 12 rushes.

WG/O-M quarterback Hunter Mowry completed 10-of-14 passes for 103 yards. Kayden Garrabrant had three catches for 60 yards.

The Storm finished with a 7-3 record after posting the program's first playoff victory against Sidney, 49-6, in the quarterfinals.

Up next : Tioga (8-2) will play Delhi (9-1) in the sectional final at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 at Chenango Valley. Delhi opened the season with a 41-26 win over Tioga.