The Waverly defense stopped an Owego two-point conversion attempt and watched a late field goal try miss wide left as they held on for a thrilling 15-13 win on Friday at Owego Free Academy. As heard live on WEBO, Waverly scored the first points of the game on a safety and a touchdown run by Peyton Miller to go up 9-0. Owego scored before halftime on a double pass from Patrick Bilbrey to Will Gladney to make it 9-7.
Miller found Shane Carpenter to give Waverly a 15-7 lead in the third quarter, and then Owego battled back. With starter Logan Neira injured, Bilbrey took over at quarterback and led the Indians on a 95-yard scoring drive that ended with his second touchdown pass to Gladney. Owego got the ball back and had it at the 15 after a long Bilbrey run, but the Waverly defense stiffened and forced the long 42-yard field goal attempt.
The Wolverines will play Chenango Valley for the Section 4 Class B Championship at 3pm Saturday at Binghamton’s Alumni Stadium. Two other Tioga County teams will join them in the sectional finals after semifinal wins. In Class C, Newark Valley could not be stopped as the Cardinals took down Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour 54-25. Brett Stewart scored four touchdowns for Newark Valley, who will play Chenango Forks on Saturday at noon. In Class D, Tioga continued their run to a fifth straight sectional title with a 47-22 win over Walton. Jesse Manuel ran for 211 yards and four touchdowns. The Tigers will play unbeaten Deposit-Hancock on Friday at 8pm.