HS Football: 2nd-ranked Tioga bumps into No. 1 in semi

The first of two No. 1 vs. No. 2 clashes involving a Section 4 team will open a two-day, five-game card of state semifinals at Union-Endicott’s Ty Cobb Stadium.

No. 1 Clymer/Sherman/Panama will oppose No. 2 Tioga Central in Class D, with the Tigers targeting the program’s second Week 13 start in the Carrier Dome. Game time is 4 p.m. Friday.

On its path to last weekend’s 29-6 quarterfinal win against second-ranked Alexander, the Section 6-champion Wolfpack has had a single close game. That came Oct. 6, when CSP was outscored by 14-0 in the final quarter of a 25-20 slip past Maple Grove.

CSP quarterback Gerrit Hinsdale has passed for 1,428 yards and 17 touchdowns on 63-percent accuracy. His most frequent target is 6-foot-4 Cameron Barmore (35-679, nine TDs), with 6-4 tight end Chance Meeder among a capable cast.

Heading Wolfpack rushers is Derek Ecklund’s 1,136 yards on 169 carries, with Michael Beatman second (95-832).

“They’ve got athletes all over the field, they run a style of no-huddle that we’re going to have to be prepared for,” Tigers coach Nick Aiello, whose exposed right thumb paid the price as he filmed the upcoming opponent in frigid conditions Saturday. “They do a really good job of formationing to get the ball in their athletes’ hands and they’re a big-play type of offense, so limiting the big play is going to be key.

“When you see them on offense and they’re going no-huddle, they can really catch a team on its heels, that’s something we need to be prepared for.

More:HS Football: Tioga rolls into state semifinal

“And their speed on defense stuck out to me. They get to the ball quickly and they’re really good tacklers, they tackle from the knee down quite a bit.”

That Wolfpack defense has intercepted 18 passes and sacked quarterbacks 18 times.

Tioga’s well-stocked stable of backs is headed by Emmett Wood and John Worthing, both four-figure rushers this year. Next is Owen Wanck, who last weekend banged out 125 against Onondaga in a 56-6 runaway.

The Tigers haven’t been in a true tight spot while building an eight-game win streak— 37 the average margin, 23 the closest outcome.

But no right-thinking observer is prognosticating a one-sided game Friday, which will represent the Tigers’ seventh state semifinal in eight years.

“There’s a reason they’ve been No. 1 all year. They’ve got good personnel and they back that up with a good scheme on both sides of the ball,” Aiello said. “As always for us, the battle is going to be up front. Our best shot is doing some good things up front on both sides of the ball. That’s what’s going to keep us in the game and give us the best shot at winning.”

Follow Kevin Stevens on Twitter @PSBKevin.

Matchup: Clymer/Sherman/Panama (11-0) vs. Tioga (9-2).

When: 4 p.m. Friday.

Where: Union-Endicott.

Admission: $10.

State rankings: CSP No. 1; Tioga No. 2.

Win streaks: CSP 11; Tioga 9.

To the winner: Moriah (8-2) or Haldane (7-1), noon Nov. 23 in the Carrier Dome.