GREENE – Tioga will surely enjoy the second half of the game film from Greene Friday night. The first half, well, that was the equivalent of a horror show.
The Trojans ran and passed at will for 24 minutes to build a 24-point lead, and coasted to a 36-22 non-division win over the Tigers.
Greene quarterback Nate Whittaker went 8-for-10 for 99 yards and one touchdown, and the senior speedster raked in a 34-yard TD pass from backup quarterback Scott Gorton at the end of the first half to put the home club up, 30-6.
“We need to start the game off well, get a few defensive stops, and some more scores,” said Tioga head coach Jeremy Pichany.
It wasn’t as if Tioga was rolling over and allowing the Trojans to march down the field uncontested. In fact, Tioga had the ball a good share of the first half, and consistently moved the chains against a stout Trojans defense that blanked Oxford last week, 37-0.
Sophomore quarterback David Ulrich used a little bit of deception with an option keeper to set up the Tigers’ first scoring drive. About to get flattened by a Greene lineman, he pitched to Zeth Henneman for a 16-yard gain, the team’s opening first down of the game.
Josh Manuel followed that up two plays later with a nifty 31-yard scamper in which he juked and shed multiple Greene defenders. Manuel cut the score to 8-6 on a six-yard TD run.
As the Tigers’ offense began to solve their Trojans counterparts, the defense had no answers for Greene’s multi-faceted attack.
In just seven plays, Greene had a response to the first score it gave up this season. Whittaker completed three passes for 33 yards – all for first downs – and Dan Carlin polished off a 56-yard drive with an untouched dash up the middle.
The Trojans were much more effective throwing the ball this week, finishing with 133 total yards through the air. “Both of our quarterbacks can throw the ball, and we have guys that can catch it,” said Greene sixth-year coach Tim Paske. “We have to make sure that we can run or pass against whatever team we play.”
Mistakes compounded Tioga’s troubles later in the first half. Driving inside the Greene 40, a false start penalty halted the progression and forced a punt. Later in quarter, Tioga again trekked into Greene territory, and a personal foul penalty moved the chains up to the Greene 26. On the next play after the penalty, however, Ulrich’s long pass was underthrown to the opportunistic Whittaker. Whittaker, with a penchant for open-field running, carried his pilfer back 56 yards to set up another Greene touchdown.
Greene had 221 total yards in the opening half scoring on all five of its drives, and there was no let-up on the opening second-half drive. Whittaker’s eight-yard TD pass to Josh Clink padded the lead to 36-6.
Ulrich came on strong in the second half rushing for 95 of his game-high 116 yards including a sterling 51-yard TD keeper down the left sideline. Manuel had his second straight 100-yard day finishing with 112 yards and two touchdowns. Manuel’s second score, a seven-yard run with 2:10 left in game forced Greene to re-insert its starting offense.
“We were much more aggressive in the second half, and we did the same thing last week,” Pichany said. “We came on strong at the end, we just need to do a better job at the start of the game.”
Paske, meanwhile, came away impressed with a Tioga lineup that had just six healthy substitutes on the sideline. “They’re a good football team and they will beat some teams in Class D,” he said. “They probably have a shot at winning their division, and I’m sure they gained some confidence in the second half against us.”
Score by Quarters
Tioga 6 0 0 16--22
Greene 16 14 6 0--36
Scoring Summary
First quarter
G: Tyler Beckwith 10 run (Nate Whittaker run)
T: Josh Manuel 6 run (pass failed)
