Is it time for another Hoover to make his mark on the Section Four playoffs?
Fourth-year Oneonta High coach Adam Hoover leads the Yellowjackets into the Section Four Football Conference playoffs for the first time since 2002, when they meet Maine-Endwell at noon Saturday at Dick Hoover Stadium in Vestal.
The stadium the game will be played is named after Hoover's late grandfather, who won 165 games at Vestal from 1951-76.
Adam Hoover's father, Jim, is the all-time winningest coach in Section Four history (271-64-1) and leads Walton into the Class C playoffs Saturday against Newark Valley at Union-Endicott's Ty Cobb Stadium.
Area teams are also involved in the two Class D semifinals at Binghamton Alumni Stadium _ with Delhi meeting Tioga and Bainbridge-Guilford facing Groton. The following is a look at area teams in playoff games Saturday:
{"Sports agate body centered"/}CLASS B
Oneonta (5-3) vs. Maine-Endwell (7-1)
Noon Saturday at Hoover Stadium, Vestal
The teams will meet for the second time this season with Division IV champion Maine-Endwell winning the season-opener, 28-0, at Oneonta's Lloyd F. Baker Field on Sept. 4.
OHS followed that with a 48-20 road loss to Johnson City before going on a three-game winning streak. Norwich ended that with a 30-14 victory Oct. 9, before Oneonta finished the season with key victories over Chenango Valley and Windsor to earn the second spot in Division III.
OHS' three losses are to the other teams in the playoffs.
"I think we've progressed a lot from those first two games we lost," Anthony Delgado said following Oneonta's 42-30 victory over Windsor this past Saturday. "We just have to keep working. We have to play all 48 minutes."
The Yellowjackets likely will have to pay attention to Nathan Reynolds, who rushed for 259 yards and four touchdowns in the first meeting between the teams.
Reynolds has 874 yards and nine touchdowns on 98 carries this season.
Dan Broe and the passing game has been a big part of Oneonta's success this season. Broe, a senior, has completed 62 of 133 passes for 1,080 yards and eight touchdowns. He's also been intercepted 10 times.
The two top targets for Broe arew junior Michael Gilmore and senior Kasey Hogan. Gilmore has 27 catches for 518 yards and six touchdowns. Hogan has 408 yards and two touchdowns on 22 receptions.
The rushing game has also found success, with senior Doug DiMartin (99 carries, 573 yards), sophomore Bryce Wooden (89-454) and junior Zach Vaccaro (43-316) leading the way. Vaccaro broke out last Saturday with 156 yards against Windsor.
"We have to do a better job with the beginning and ends of games, offensively and defensively," Adam Hoover said. "We play well once we get going, but toward the end we start to tail off. We have to do a better job of using that momentum and using that momentum a little sooner."
Johnson City (7-1) played at Norwich (5-3) Friday night. The championship is scheduled for 5 p.m. Nov. 6 at Binghamton Alumni Stadium.
{"Sports agate body centered"/}CLASS C
Walton (6-2) vs. Newark Valley (7-1)
Noon Saturday at U-E's Ty Cobb Stadium
Walton won the last two Section Four Class D titles, the former including a state championship and the latter a spot in the state semifinals. The Warriors moved to Class C this season and finished behind Chenango Forks (8-0) in Division V.
Outside of back-to-back losses to Forks and rival Delhi, it's been business as usual for the Warriors.
Walton, which is on a four-game winning streak, has again counted on its ground game to lead the way. Defense has also played a big part over the past four games as the Warriors have outscored opponents, 139-39.
That defense likely will be tested Saturday by Travis French.
French has rushed for 1,575 yards and 19 touchdowns on 162 carries, leading the Cardinals to the Division VII title. They've outscored opponents, 245-127.
The Warriors' running game is led by senior Phil Hanley, who has 732 yards and nine touchdowns on 116 yards. Senior Bryant Mead had 493 yards and five touchdowns on 66 carries, and senior fullback Evan Boyd has 360 yards and four touchdowns on 66 carries. Boyd also has two interceptions returned for touchdowns.
Walton's Dan Gehl, a senior, has completed 23 of 49 passes for 319 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Waverly (7-1), which won the Class B championship last year, meets Chenango Forks in the other semifinal at 3 p.m. Satuday at Binghamton Alumni Stadium.
The championship is scheduled for noon Nov. 7 at Binghamton Alumni Stadium.
{"Sports agate body centered"/}CLASS D
Delhi (8-0) vs. Tioga (6-2)
1 p.m. Saturday at Binghamton Alumni
Delhi's defense likely will play a major part in a Class D semifinal. The Bulldogs, who have four shutouts, have allowed the second fewest points in Section Four this season with 46, behind Chenango Forks' 23.
Tioga's Josh Manuel could pose some problems. He leads the Tigers with 929 yards and 19 touchdowns on 193 carries _ an average of 4.8 yards per touch. Quarterback David Ulrich has completed 14 of 26 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown for the Division VIII runner-up. He also has rushed 51 times for 364 yards and five touchdowns.
"We just have to play our hearts out again and continue playing good defense," Delhi's Jack Fletcher said after his team's Division-VII clinching 7-0 victory over Bainbridge-Guilford last Saturday. "We have to go in with confidence and play as hard as we can."
Fletcher, a junior, leads Delhi's ground attack with 966 yards and eight touchdowns on 149 carries. The Bulldogs likely will have to continue their success on the ground to control the clock as they haven't scored much recently, winning their final three games by a combined 30-6.
Senior Rich Ennist (95 carries, 593 yards, eight TDs) and J.J. Darling (87-401) are also threats in Delhi's backfield.
Junior Anthony Salerno has completed 25 of 50 passes for 302 yards, eight touchdowns and an interception.
According to the Section Four website (www.sectionivathletics.com), the Class D final is slated for 4 p.m. Nov. 7.
{"Sports agate body centered"/}B-G (6-2) vs. Groton (7-1)
4 p.m. Saturday at Binghamton Alumni
Bainbridge-Guilford makes its second straight appearance in the Class D playoffs, after losing to Walton in a quarterfinal last season, 38-0.
The Bobcats, who finished second in Division VII, had a six-game winning streak snapped last Saturday with a 7-0 loss at Delhi.
Division VIII winner Groton, which lost, 32-7, to Walton in last year's Class D championship, is led by running back Ethan Tilebein, who has rushed for 1,125 yards and 13 touchdowns on 102 carries.
"Groton is a tough team," B-G coach Tim Mattingly said. "We scouted them (Oct. 23 in a 33-6 victory over Tioga). We've got a task ahead of us."
Junior Daren Terpstra leads the Bobcats with 625 yards and four touchdowns on 101 carries. Dakota Vandermark, also a junior, has 88 touches for 594 yards and seven touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Justin Pepper is a two-way threat, completing 15 of 57 passes for 284 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions. He's also rushed 74 times for 331 yards and nine touchdowns.
Another to watch is sophomore fullback Billy Holden, who has rushed for 101 yards on 31 carries. He has six rushing touchdowns and also has returned a kickoff 75 yards for a score.
"We have competition ahead of us," Pepper said after the Delhi game. "There are some strong teams, but we're a strong team, too. It's a little different (this year) because we have a feeling of what's going on (in the playoffs) and we're ready for it."
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P.J. Harmer can be reached at pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.
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